David Steindl-Rast

Br. David Steindl-Rast

David Steindl-Rast (born July 12, 1926, Vienna) is a Catholic Benedictine monk, notable for his active participation in interfaith dialogue and his work on the interaction between spirituality and science.

Steindl-Rast was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. He received his MA degree from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Vienna (1952). He emigrated to the United States in the same year and became a Benedictine monk in 1953 at Mt. Saviour Monastery in Pine City, New York, a newly founded primitive Benedictine community. With permission of his abbot, Damasus Winzen, in 1966 he was officially delegated to pursue Buddhist-Christian dialogue and started the study of Zen with masters Haku'un Yasutani, Soen Nakagawa, Shunryu Suzuki and Eido Tai Shimano.

Steindl-Rast continued creating bridges between Christian spirituality and eastern wisdom and, through interdisciplinary social commitment, contributing to understanding and peace in the world, for instance by co-founding the Center for Spiritual Studies with Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi teachers.

Steindl-Rast's thought has spawned significant research,^{[citation needed]} from the first interfaith symposia (1972) comparing methods of meditation, to the modern scientific research in positive psychology as developed by Robert Emmons, Martin Seligman and others. Among the findings which have forced changes^{[citation needed]} in the scientific view of spiritual practice are: the role of gratefulness in political and altruistic action, the relationship between gratefulness and happiness and the application of contemplative practice in character development and health. He is a member of the Lindisfarne Association.

Widely published as a writer, with more than 500 articles and 30 book chapters published, Steindl-Rast was included in The Best Spiritual Writing 1998 and cited in the 2002 volume. His books include Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, The Music of Silence (with Sharon Lebell), Words of Common Sense and Belonging to the Universe (co-authored with Fritjof Capra). His most recent achievement is co-founding A Network for Grateful Living, an organization dedicated to gratefulness as a transformative influence for individuals and society.

Religion and Mysticism

During LinkTV's Lunch With Bokara 2005 episode The Monk and the Rabbi, he stated:

The religions start from mysticism. There is no other way to start a religion. But, I compare this to a volcano that gushes forth ...and then ...the magma flows down the sides of the mountain and cools off. And when it reaches the bottom, its just rocks. You'd never guess that there was fire in it. So after a couple of hundred years, or two thousand years or more, what was once alive is dead rock. Doctrine becomes doctrinaire. Morals become moralistic. Ritual becomes ritualistic. What do we do with it? We have to push through this crust and go to the fire that's within it.

In that same episode, he expressed his belief in panentheism, where divinity interpenetrates every part of existence and timelessly extends beyond it (as distinct from pantheism).

Selected writings

• 1984, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness, N.J. Paulist Press 1984. ISBN 0-8091-2628-1
• 1991, Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality, coauthored with Fritjof Capra and Thomas Matus, Harper San Francisco, ISBN 978-0-06-250187-5
• 1995, Music of Silence: A Sacred Journey through the Hours of the Day, coauthored with Sharon LeBell, Ulysses Press, 2. Ed. 2001, ISBN 1-56975-297-4
• 1996, The Ground We Share: Everyday Practice, Buddhist and Christian, coauthored with Robert Baker Aitken. Shambhala Publications, ISBN 1-57062-219-1
• 1999, A Listening Heart: The Spirituality of Sacred Sensuousness, Crossroad, ISBN 0-8245-1780-6
• 2002, Words of Common Sense for Mind, Body and Soul, Templeton Foundation Press, ISBN 1-890151-98-X
• 2008, Common Sense Spirituality. The Crossroad Publishing Company, ISBN 0-8245-2479-9
• 2010, Deeper than Words: Living the Apostles' Creed, Doubleday Religion, ISBN 978-0-307-58961-3
• 2010, David Steindl-Rast: Essential Writings, selected with and Introduction by Clare Hallward, part of the Modern Spiritual Masters Series Edited by Robert Ellsberg, Orbis Books, ISBN 978-1-57075-888-1

In addition he has contributed to numerous works, including:

• Introduction, Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body, and Soul, by Robert A. Emmons and Joanna Hill
• Afterword, Benedict's Dharma: Buddhists Reflect on the Rule of Saint Benedict, by Norman Fischer, Joseph Goldstein and Judith Simmer-Brown, edited by Yifa, and Patrick Henry
• Foreword, Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Further reading

• Henry, Patrick et al., Benedict's Dharma: Buddhist Reflect on the Rule of Saint Benedict, Riverhead Books, New York, NY, pp. 222.
• Lafevere, Patricia, "Spirituality of gratefulness begins with existential ‘Wow!’ at God’s giving," National Catholic Reporter, December 8, 2000 ([1])

External links

• Steindl-Rast's website
• Interview on a public radio show, Humankind, by David Freudberg
• Several articles by Steindl-Rast and others.

See also: Steindl and Rast

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Name	Steindl-Rast
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Date of birth	July 12, 1926
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