Contemplation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contemplation comes from the Latin root templum (from Greek temnein: to cut or divide), and means to separate something from its environment, and to enclose it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek 'theory' (theoria). In a religious sense it is a type of prayer or meditation. Within Western Christianity it is related to mysticism, and expressed in works by mystical theologians St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross, as well as the writings of Margery Kempe, Augustine Baker and Thomas Merton.

In Eastern Christianity contemplation is understood as the directing of all the faculties of one's consciousness toward God or things divine. This is to cultivate an understanding and relationship with the divine.

Many religions share the concept of contemplation. Naropa University, for example, offers a Master's program in contemplative education in the context of Buddhism.

Contemplation was an important part of the philosophy of Plato; for Plato, by means of contemplation the soul may ascend to knowledge of the Form of the Good or other divine Forms.

The words contemplation and meditation sometimes have almost opposite meanings in the Western and Eastern traditions. In the West, contemplation may refer to a contentless direction of the mind to God (Christianity) or to the Good (Platonism), whereas meditation may involve a specific, directed mental exercise, such as visualization of a religious scene or consideration of a scriptural passage. In the East, however, these two terms' definitions may be reversed.

Contemplation as a practice is finding greater resonance in the West both in business (for e.g. Peter Senges book - [The Fifth Discipline]: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation) and in an academic network involving a diverse range of universities and disciplines from architecture, to physics, to liberal arts.

In Catholic Christianity, contemplation is given importance. The Catholic Church's "model theologian", St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation." One of his disciples, Josef Pieper commented: "For it is contemplation which preserves in the midst of human society the truth which is at one and the same time useless and the yardstick of every possible use; so it is also contemplation which keeps the true end in sight, gives meaning to every practical act of life." [1]