What makes Sofia a monastery? How is that different from a retreat center?
What makes Sofia different from a retreat center or an intentional community is that our life revolves around a monastic rule and a liturgical way of life.
Our life at Sofia is demanding and engaged. We strive to live deeply and courageously every day and we believe that real spiritual maturity comes slowly and with dedicated daily practice.
Our life at Sofia is demanding and engaged. We strive to live deeply and courageously every day and we believe that real spiritual maturity comes slowly and with dedicated daily practice.
What does liturgical mean?
Our liturgical life means that we gather daily around relevant and well tested scriptures as a way of continually realigning our hearts towards the pursuit of compassion and wisdom. While we root ourselves in the ancient and authentic Mahayana Buddhist tradition we also incorporate a variety of other expressions of awakening including Christian and Advaita Vedantic scriptures.
Our unity is in our commitment as Mahayana practitioners and our individual diversity and vitality is expressed by the different paths and callings of each member of the community.
Our unity is in our commitment as Mahayana practitioners and our individual diversity and vitality is expressed by the different paths and callings of each member of the community.
What are the practices that you do?
The foundation of our life is the development of meditative stillness and compassion and to this end we practice a variety of different meditation techniques depending on each of our dispositions. In our liturgy we focus on scriptures that emphasize the Mahayana idea of emptiness and the development of compassion in practical ways. The liturgy is both spoken and sung and we incorporate music and chant into our daily worship. We also practice yoga asana as a way of keeping the body fit and pliable for the development of stillness and compassion.
Why Yoga Asana?
At Sofia we are unified in our commitment to yoga asana. Our bodies and what we put into them have a direct impact on the success of our practice to cultivate stillness and compassion. Yoga and monasticism are designed for each other and we all are drawn together by a desire to keep this well needed pair matched. Being physically fit and the modest use of healthy natural food are essential components of our life together.
What do you mean by Earth Literacy or Stewardship?
The American mystic Mildred Lisette Norman ("The Peace Pilgrim") often stated, "I shall not accept more than I need while others in the world have less than they need". We strive to be as brave as her in this regards and we are committed to a fully integrated ecological awareness and radical simplicity. We believe that this radical simplicity is one of the more profound ways of both reaching our own goals of santosha as well as protesting the gross trends of waste and excess in the western world. We also seek to refurbish depleted land by our very presence on it. In this respect we consider ourselves stewards and not owners of the land we live on and we strive to leave the land continually more vibrant and healthy as time passes.
What do you mean by "stillness"?
Stillness also called śamatha (Sanskrit), shiné (Tibetan) and samatha (Pāli) is a stage of meditation characterized by uninterrupted concentration and absorption. Śamatha is the doorway to profound and transformational wisdom.
What is the history of Sofia? Where does the inspiration come from?
Inspired by the growing New Monastic Movement in the West and modeled on the traditional Russian Sketes and Poustinia's, Sofia seeks to apply the nine vows of the New Monastics with a life dedicated to the yogic ideals of the Mahayana and Vajrayana path.
1. I vow to actualize and live according to my full moral and ethical capacity.
2. I vow to live in solidarity with the cosmos and all living beings.
3. I vow to live in deep nonviolence.
4. I vow to live in humility and to remember the many teachers and guides who assisted me on my spiritual path.
5. I vow to embrace a daily spiritual practice.
6. I vow to cultivate mature self-knowledge.
7. I vow to live a life of simplicity.
8. I vow to live a life of selfless service and compassionate action.
9. I vow to be a prophetic voice as I work for justice, compassion and world transformation.
Like the traditional Sketes we live together as men, women and couples and seek a middle path between the extreme isolation of the more traditional anchorite eremitic communities while also being less communal then the cenobitic monastic systems. In other words we seek to create a joy-filled balance between solitary devotion and communal practice.
1. I vow to actualize and live according to my full moral and ethical capacity.
2. I vow to live in solidarity with the cosmos and all living beings.
3. I vow to live in deep nonviolence.
4. I vow to live in humility and to remember the many teachers and guides who assisted me on my spiritual path.
5. I vow to embrace a daily spiritual practice.
6. I vow to cultivate mature self-knowledge.
7. I vow to live a life of simplicity.
8. I vow to live a life of selfless service and compassionate action.
9. I vow to be a prophetic voice as I work for justice, compassion and world transformation.
Like the traditional Sketes we live together as men, women and couples and seek a middle path between the extreme isolation of the more traditional anchorite eremitic communities while also being less communal then the cenobitic monastic systems. In other words we seek to create a joy-filled balance between solitary devotion and communal practice.
Are there vows one takes to live at Sofia?
Yes anyone who stays at Sofia for short or long periods of time agrees to keep the Yamas and Niyamas of Ashtanga as well as the Pratimoksha and Layperson vows of Buddhism while at the monastery.
Long term residents also agree to keep the monastic rule of Sofia. All long term members democratically contribute to this rule during periodic re-evaluations of the rules use and efficacy.
Long term residents also agree to keep the monastic rule of Sofia. All long term members democratically contribute to this rule during periodic re-evaluations of the rules use and efficacy.
Is Sofia a celibate community?
Recognizing that forced celibacy causes many problems Sofia is not a celibate community. We do offer optional celibacy vows for short and renewable periods of time just so we can feel the benefit of temporarily removing our selves from the world of sexuality. We do this not as a rejection of sexuality but rather as a way of re-channeling sexual energy for other purposes.
Who is Sofia now?
Presently Sofia is a loosely knit collection of people who are seeking to put some of these ideas to the test. Like any good lab work we expect to fail some tests and succeed in others and, in keeping this process open and public, we hope to contribute to the religious and spiritual evolution of our modern world.
How do you see Sofia fitting into the larger human community?
Personal practice as service
Many people doubt whether one persons clarity can positively influence those around them. Its hard to see the correlation at times because it is subtle. But certainly all of us can see how one persons lack of clarity and lack of compassion can negatively affect those around them. We simply believe the opposite is also true; that one persons efforts to awaken to greater clarity and compassion does impact others in very real ways. With this in mind our individual work is done as a kind of service to others as well as ourselves.
Teaching as service
But we also create avenues for more direct service by actively teaching in the larger community. The variety of Buddhist teachings on meditative stillness are incredibly effective and applicable to almost all modern problems. Since it is unnecessary to adopt Buddhist beliefs in order to benefit from these practices we seek to share our own developed skills in these different practices with a much broader population and be a positive force of transformation in the world.
Hospitality as service
Lastly the doors of Sofia are open to people of all walks of life to come actually live a monastic life with us for periods of time in order to share in the vision of the possibility of a reflective, intentional, and joy filled way of life.
Many people doubt whether one persons clarity can positively influence those around them. Its hard to see the correlation at times because it is subtle. But certainly all of us can see how one persons lack of clarity and lack of compassion can negatively affect those around them. We simply believe the opposite is also true; that one persons efforts to awaken to greater clarity and compassion does impact others in very real ways. With this in mind our individual work is done as a kind of service to others as well as ourselves.
Teaching as service
But we also create avenues for more direct service by actively teaching in the larger community. The variety of Buddhist teachings on meditative stillness are incredibly effective and applicable to almost all modern problems. Since it is unnecessary to adopt Buddhist beliefs in order to benefit from these practices we seek to share our own developed skills in these different practices with a much broader population and be a positive force of transformation in the world.
Hospitality as service
Lastly the doors of Sofia are open to people of all walks of life to come actually live a monastic life with us for periods of time in order to share in the vision of the possibility of a reflective, intentional, and joy filled way of life.
What is the significance of the name Sofia?
THE WORD SOFIA IS GREEK FOR WISDOM. PLATO AND SOCRATES CONSIDERED THEIR LIFE'S WORK AS "PHILO-SOPHIA" LITERALLY "FRIENDS OF WISDOM".
Mahayana is based on two driving forces: the cultivation of both method and wisdom. "Method" here refers to all of the different ways we reach out to try and help and care for others. But Kamalashiela, in his beautiful text Bhavanakrama, notes something that is repeated again and again in the scriptural traditions; method without wisdom just leads to greater suffering. To this end we seek not just to care for ourselves and others but to do so with wisdom. And so it is with wisdom that our natural compassion becomes a force for change and healing in the world.
Sofia seeks to be a place where the ancient wisdom traditions are preserved and cultivated.
Mahayana is based on two driving forces: the cultivation of both method and wisdom. "Method" here refers to all of the different ways we reach out to try and help and care for others. But Kamalashiela, in his beautiful text Bhavanakrama, notes something that is repeated again and again in the scriptural traditions; method without wisdom just leads to greater suffering. To this end we seek not just to care for ourselves and others but to do so with wisdom. And so it is with wisdom that our natural compassion becomes a force for change and healing in the world.
Sofia seeks to be a place where the ancient wisdom traditions are preserved and cultivated.
If I want to get more involved how can I do that?
There are a number of different ways to be involved with Sofia. If you'd like to be on our email and to get involved in any way please let us know. We would love to meet you.
