The Similarities of the Ideals of Self-Mastery Found in John Cassian’s First Conference, Buddhism and Hinduism
Number of pages:
5
ABSTRACT:
This is a 5 page paper noting the similarities between the Christian ideals and self-mastery as found in Cassian’s Conference I and the Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Monk and Christian writer John Cassian (360-435) wrote two major collections of works dealing with the principles of monastic life: The first collection “The Institutes” deals mainly with “what belongs to the outer man and the customs of coenobia (i.e., Institutes of monastic life in common); and the other, “The Conferences” deals rather with the training of the inner man and the perfection of the heart”. The Conferences contain mainly the conversations between Cassian and Germanus with the Egyptians they met throughout their many journeys with the central subject being “the interior life”. Because of the nature of Cassian’s Conferences, the ascetic ideals within the works involve a great deal of self-mastery and renunciation often found through the act of meditation and his work not only influenced his own contemporaries and many of the later founders of religious orders but also is similar to the self-mastery which is found in some of the Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.
Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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File: D0_TJConfI1.rtf
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