The Praktikos Chapters on Prayer - Essay Example

An Idle Mind is the Devil’s Workshop Written by Evagrius, the Praktikos is his “best-known work on the ascetic life.” In this particular work, he takes his readers and practically puts them in the shoes of the hermits, making them understand that the monks are the “most frequently tempted by the demons by means of passionate thoughts.” Of the one hundred chapters that make up his work, Evagrius focuses on the power of the different kinds of demons on the thoughts and actions of man, and on his life as a whole. Even during the times of Plato, demons have already been believed to play a significant role. However, they were then believed to be intermediaries between gods and men, even “rendering various benign services to man.” Later on though, Neo-platonists started incorporating the idea of evil demons that co-exist with the good demons. During the period of the early Christian faith, the concept of demons had to be incorporated into their belief. It was then that they concluded that, “the world of the demons was […] a given fact in the life of man […] an important, even crucial fact of experience.” It was also during the early times of the Church that a single governing rule was put into place, so to speak: “the ascetic life is a war against demons.” It is from this way of thinking that the concept of martyrdom during the early times was thought of. They believed that martyrs achieve such a state only if they “struggle to the death.” Just like in the work of St. Athanasius, Life of Anthony, one of the key ideas in this particular work of his is that “the spiritual life is a combat against the demonic forces.” Because of man’s nature and his tendency to be negligent, which is believed to be “responsible for the fall away from unity and which plays an important part […] as a continuing tendency in man’s nature,” the good demons, or the angels as people know them, “are interested in us and do not rest because of us.” The Praktikos particularly focuses on the evolution of the study and understanding of demons and takes from the practical side of things rather than just pure theoretical assumptions and statements. The most remarkable of the Praktikos is the study of the eight kinds of evil thoughts, all discussed in one particular section. These thoughts, which are manipulated and controlled by their corresponding demons, are the driving force as to the understanding human passions. The demons and the passions are considered to be two separate entities yet coexist and affect, either favorably or adversely, each other. “And so the conqueror of the demons […] despises not only the demon […] but also these kinds of thoughts he causes.” Therefore, in order to understand the demon, one must carefully and attentively observe one’s passions and thoughts. Evagrius used a somehow scientific and logical approach, and wants others to do the same: If there is any monk who wishes to take the measure of some of the more fierce demons so as to gain experience in his monastic art, then let him keep careful watch over his thoughts. Let him observe their intensity, their periods of decline, and follow them as they rise and fall. Let him note well the complexity of his thoughts, their periodicity, the demons which cause them, with the order of their succession and the nature of their associations. Then let him ask from Christ the explanations of these data he has observed. In the first section of the Praktikos, Evagrius addresses his brother, Anatolius, providing him answers as to the symbolisms that surround the lives of the monks. He speaks of six different symbols, each having their own meaning and purpose in the solitarian life: The cowl is a symbol of charity of God our Savior, [which] protects the most important part of the body and keeps us […] warm. […] Their hands bare is a symbol of a life lived free of all hypocrisy, [that] the good must be pursued for its own sake [and] not for some other cause. The scapular, which has the form of a cross and which covers the shoulders of the monks, is a symbol of faith in Christ, which raises up the meek, removes obstacles, and provides for free, untrammeled activity. The belt, which they wear about their loins, signifies their rejection of all impurity and proclaims that ‘it is a good thing for man not to touch a woman.’ The sheep-skin garment signifies that they continually bear in their bodies the mortification of Jesus and check all the irrational passions. The staff is the tree of life that affords secure footing to those who hold on to it […] to support themselves upon it as upon the Lord. Evagrius, through his work, gave a comprehensive and more in-depth look at the demons, temptations, and passions, among others. However, not everything that he has learned and observed was included “so as not to give what is holy to the dogs or to cast our pearls before swine.” It is believed that “desire precedes every pleasure, and it is feeling which gives birth to desire.” This train of thought can be applied to both good and evil. When a person desires something, nothing can keep him away from wanting to achieve his goal. However, it should be remembered that just because the end is good does not and will not justify the means of attaining the goal. There are eight kinds of evil thoughts, each with its own corresponding demons: gluttony, impurity, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vainglory, and pride. Evagrius could not have defined each any better: Gluttony […] brings to his mind concern for his stomach, for his liver and spleen, the thought of a long illness, scarcity of the commodities of life and finally of his edematous body and the lack of care by the physicians. Impurity impels one to lust after bodies, [attacking] more strenuously those who practice continence. [It] has a way of bowing the soul down to practices of an impure kind, defiling it, and causing it to speak and hear certain words almost as if the reality were actually present to be seen. Avarice suggests to the mind a lengthy old age, inability to perform manual labor, […] famines that are sure to come, sickness that will visit, the pinch of poverty, the great shame that comes from accepting the necessities of life from others. Sadness tends to come up at times because of the deprivation of one’s desires. On other occasions, it accompanies anger. The most fierce passion is anger, […] defined as a boiling and stirring up of wrath against one who has given injury—or is thought to have done so. It constantly irritates the soul and […] it seizes the mind and flashes the picture of the offensive person before one’s eyes. Acedia—also called the noonday demon—is the one that causes the most serious trouble of all. [It] makes it seem that the sun barely moves […] and that the day is fifty hours long. [It] constrains the monk to look constantly out the windows, to walk outside the cell, to gaze carefully at the sun to determine how far it stands form the ninth hour, to look now this way and now that. [It] instills […] a hatred for the place, a hatred for his very life itself, a hatred for manual labor. [It] drives him along to desire other sites where he can more easily procure life’s necessities, more readily find work and make a real success of himself. Only a state of deep peace and inexhaustible joy arise out of this struggle. Vainglory is the most subtle. It leads them to desire to make their struggles known publicly, to hunt after the praise of men, […] seeking audience. Pride is the cause of the most damaging fall for the soul. For it induces the monk to deny that God is his helper and to consider that he himself is the cause of virtuous actions. Anger and sadness follow on the heels of this demon, and […] derangement of mind. Though it may seem to be extremely difficult to battle these demons and triumph over the struggle, there are certain things that one can do or achieve in order to succeed, depending on what one wishes to aim or which particular demon one is battling against. Some of which are reading, vigils, prayers, hunger, toil, solitude, singing of Psalms, patience, almsgiving, afflict one’s body with bread and water, limiting one’s intake of water, charity, fleeing from worldly pleasures, meekness, firm hope, continence, and spiritual love. These demons make use of certain methods in order to lure men. Sometimes, even making it seem that choosing and going with what they are offering is the right thing. However, one must keep in mind that these are just sugarcoated promises. Demons have nothing but their interest in mind. Keep in mind, nonetheless, that certain passions work both ways. Anger, for example, can be used for good or for evil. It “is given to us so that we might fight against the demons and strive against every pleasure.” But, when directed toward the wrong thing, then it becomes an evil thought, which will eventually eat one up from the inside. When one is put in a situation wherein he is being tempted, instead of following the urge to flee and run away from the demon, it is much more advantageous, for lack of a better term, to face the demon head-on. It is also important to keep in mind that one should “not fall immediately into prayer.” A disturbed and distracted soul will not be able to pray, with all the impure thoughts that are bothering him. Monks live a way of life that follow two seemingly simple rules: “always live as if he were to die no the morrow but at the same time that he should treat his body as if he were to live on with it for many years to come.” More than anything that one will need to combat evil, it is important to instill humility in one’s self, for it is with a humble disposition that the odds will be tipped in one’s favor. When one has achieved this state, it is much easier for him to seek God, fear God, love God, and do nothing but please God. Most people have always believed that actions speak louder than words. In the case of good and evil, however, it is what is immaterial that is more dangerous than what is tangible. It is not really necessary to find out whether thought causes passions or the other way around; for some believe the former, while others adhere to the latter. What is more important is the understanding that both affect the human mind and soul, in both the good and evil senses. In order to prepare one’s self, one must first “recognize the different types of demons and take not of the circumstances of their coming: […] which of the demons are less frequent in their assaults, which are the more vexatious, which are the ones which yield the field more readily, […] which are more resistant, [and] which are the ones which make sudden raids.” Once these have been identified, it is just as important to figure out ways in which to combat them and not fall into their traps. It is necessary to plan ahead, as it will be much more difficult, almost impossible, to fight them without a plan of action that has been carefully thought out beforehand. “For the mind is easily moved indeed, and hard to control in the presence of sinful phantasies.” Prayer is one of the most powerful forces against evil. In actuality, humans have “the obligation to pray without ceasing.” But since the human body has certain limitations, then it is most necessary to strengthen the spirit in order to be able to fulfill this obligation. A healthy spirit will enable a person to pray without any distractions, enabling him to tune out the outside world. Thoughts that occur in sleep, more commonly referred to as dreams, are believed to be an indication of some deeper thought or passion. Often, they are manifestations of the person’s past—whether distant or recent. In preparation of one’s self, it is also important to know one’s weaknesses and how to effectively and successfully overcome them: “learn to recognize by which emotion you are more inclined to be led astray, and employ your whole strength in pleading with God to ward off your enemies in this second manner also.” “Both the virtues and the vices make the mind blind.” In this particular case, one does not exist without the other. When a person is equipped with the right virtues, then demons will not be able to penetrate his personhood; though it still does not mean that the demons will not even try. However, the lack of virtues will mean that he is more susceptible to temptations and the ways of the demons. Virtues, in the Praktikos, are likened to medicinal drugs. Just like the latter, virtues cleanse the soul. However, unlike it, it is retained and not eliminated after it has done its cleansing. Just like there are eight evil thoughts, there are eight virtues that compose the three parts of the soul: the rational part, the concupiscible part, and the irascible part. The proper work of prudence is to war against the hostile powers and to protect the virtues, to draw up its forces against the vices, and to arrange affairs according to the requirements of the times. The province of understanding is to direct all those things which lead to our perfection in such a way that they harmoniously achieve their aim. Wisdom governs the contemplation of the meaningful structure of both corporeal and incorporeal objects. Temperance has the function of enabling us to look upon those affairs which cause irrational phantasms, remaining the while free of passion. Charity has the role of showing itself to every image of God as being as nearly like its prototype as possible no matter how the demons ply their arts to defile them. Continence has the power of refusing with joy every pleasure of the palate. The work of courage and patience is to know no fear of enemies and eagerly to endure afflictions. Finally, justice produces a certain harmony and symphony among the various parts of the soul. “Virtues have knowledge as their fruit.” And once a person has obtained knowledge, more importantly contemplative knowledge, then he has reached a higher state of being and will be more equipped and better ready to face the demons and the challenges they proposition. WORK CITED Evagrius Ponticus. The Praktikos Chapters on Prayer. Trans.John Eudes Bamberger. Michigan, Cistercian Publications, 1978. Read More