Oración Mental, Mindfulness, and Mental Prayer: The Training of the Heart in the Iberian School of Abbot García de Cisneros of Montserrat and St. Teresa of Avila
Buddhist-Christian Studies January 1, 2018 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1353/bcs.2018.0022 via OpenAlex
Summary
The article discusses the concept of oracin mental in sixteenth-century Iberian schools, focusing on Garca Jimnez de Cisneros and St. Teresa of Avila. It suggests that their ideas on contemplation emphasize a 'prayer of the heart' that transcends cognitive processes. The article also compares this with the Buddhist practice of sati, proposing that oracin mental is better understood as 'mindfulness' rather than 'mental prayer.'
Study at a glance
| Population | Iberian authors from the sixteenth century, specifically Garca Jimnez de Cisneros and St. Teresa of Avila |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Oracin mental may be more accurately translated as 'mindfulness' rather than 'mental prayer'. |
Abstract
The article explores the practice of oracin mental in the Iberian schools of the sixteenth century "Golden Age," concentrating on the works of two authors: the Exercitatorio de la vida spiritual / Exercitatorium vite spiritualis of Garca Jimnez de Cisneros (1455-1510), abbot of Montserrat from 1493 to 1510 and El Libro de la Vida of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), reformer and first prioress of the Discalced Carmelite Order. The article argues that both present a notion of contemplation that deliberately circumvents the mental or cognitive faculties advocating something closer to a notion of "prayer of the heart." Alongside these Iberian authors the article essays the Buddhist notion of sati, as recently popularized in the West as the practice of mindfulness. In juxtaposing the two practices it argues that oracin mental, especially as presented by Cisneros and Teresa, may more fruitfully be translated by the term "mindfulness" rather than the more usual and less helpful "mental prayer.