Acedia III: Jomon vs Acedia

The day after writing about wrestling with the demon of Acedia, my husband picked up the Spring issue of Tricycle magazine.  Inside is a wonderful article called Into the Demon's Mouth by Aura Glaser.  You'll have to pick up the magazine to read the article, and I strongly recommend that you do.  

Wrestling + Swords. 

Aura Glaser is a dharma teacher and psychotherapist.  This article is about deeply accepting our demons, not trying to eradicate them.  She tells the story of Milarepa, who, upon finding his cave full of demons, attacks them, trying to forcibly evict them.  His efforts seem to cause them to settle in more.  


He then decides to teach them the Dharma.  An indirect effort at changing the situation.  Still the demons just stare at him, and continue to make themselves more comfortable.  


So he gives up, and figures he's now got a few stinky roommates.  He surrenders to his situation, looks into each of their faces, and bowing, opens himself to whatever they have to teach him.  And suddenly they all disappear.  


Except one.  The meanest-looking, scariest demon of them all.  So he goes right up to this demon, and offers himself completely to the demon as a meal.  Only then does the demon dissolve.  

Not wrestling.  

Andrew Solomon titled his book about depression The Noonday Demon.  Acedia has been referred to by this moniker as well. Whereas most demons like to hide under cover of darkness, this is a demon that seems to be unaffected by the light of day.  It is unapologetic about its existence.  Seeing it clearly does not move it.  Having insight about it does not change it.  It doesn't even blink when presented with Dharma teachings!

I know what I need to do.  

And that does not make me do it. 

In her wonderful article, Aura Glaser even references one of my favorite quotes by Carl Jung:  "We don't become enlightened by imagining beings of light but by making the darkness conscious."  But she left out the rest of the quote:  "The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable, and therefore not popular." 


This is where Acedia and the Dark Night of the Soul might intersect.    

Acedia II

The term acedia was used first used in Christianity by monks and other ascetics who lived solitary lives, and were tempted to become listless and inert, or begin longing to be elsewhere or to do something other than what they were doing.  

Evagrius numbers acedia as one of the eight bad thoughts, and St. Thomas Aquinas (following Gregory the Great) numbers it as one of the seven capital vices (so-called because they are the source of many kinds of sin). Though related to depression, acedia is not considered entirely the same in the monastic and Christian tradition. It is usually seen as naming a fault, which is subject to one's will, rather than simply a psychological state. Acedia is to spiritual health something like what depression is to mental health.

From www.pathsoflove.com Catholic Vocation Discernment

Yep, before there were Seven Deadly Sins (take this test and find your faves!), there were Eight Bad Thoughts.  The first Christian monastics out in the desert in the 3rd Century CE were the ones who had the contemplative experience to perceive the subtlety of thought and intention as a precursor to unskillful action.  Then the Church just concerned itself with regulating behaviors, and Acedia got folded into Sloth. 





The monastics saw these states of mind as demons.  Acedia was considered the most dangerous of them all.  Sometimes it was referred to as the "Midday Demon" or "Noonday Demon."  This is a demon capable of powerful distraction from spiritual practice.  Using many different tools, and affecting the monastic in many different ways, this demon could sour the mind about the present place and community, or turn the mind towards the good old days of lay life.  

The demon of acedia which is also called the 'midday demon' is the worst of all...  First he makes it seem as though the sun hardly moves or has stopped, and the day goes on for fifty hours. Then he makes the monk fix his eyes continually on the window, to leave his cell, to watch the sun to see if it near the ninth hour, and to look about him to see if a brother is not coming. Then again he inspires in him disgust for the place where he is, for the life that he leads, for manual work. After that he puts into his head the idea that charity has disappeared from among the brethren, and there is no one to console him. 

If it happens during this time that someone offends the monk, the demon uses this too to increase his distress. He prompts him to desire to live elsewhere, in a place where he can find what he needs more easily, follow a less arduous calling and one which brings greater success. He then suggests that it is not the place which pleases the Lord; according to the Bible God can be adored everywhere. 

On top of all this, he recalls to the monk's memory his family and the life he led in the world. He puts into his head the idea that life lasts a long time and asceticism is very laborious. In short he does all he can to persuade the monk abandon his cell and run away from the struggle.No other demon follows close upon the heels of this one (when he is defeated) . If the soul triumphs a state of peace and inexpressible joy comes over him.     

Evagrius Ponticus (345-399) The Praktikos

Is Acedia depression?  The Dark Night of the Soul?  Burnout?  What is the opposite of Acedia? Am I willing to wrestle with this demon?  


These are just a few of the questions to share.  I hope to hear how this phase in practice is for you.