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Sister Annuntiata is director of the St. Joseph hospital in southern Taiwan and a Missionary Sister of Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, whose motherhouse is in New Jersey. She is one of 115 delegates to AMOR XV, a nine-day gathering of women religious superiors and other women religious leaders from Asia and Oceana being held at a conference center 30 miles outside of Bangkok.
I spoke to her about the pressures she faces running a hospital. While admitting to those pressures she told me that her training as a religious and her attitude toward her work helps her to stay balanced and focused. She does this, she says, through daily meditation, a practice that calms her and keeps her connected to God.
Wanting to know more about how, as a religious, she got into Eastern meditation, I asked her to tell her story. What follows is an edited and slightly condensed version of her story.
Fox: So tell me how this all started.
Sister Annuntiata: When I was first in formation we would, of course, say our official prayers. But we did others as well. I remember getting up daily about 4:30 or 5:00 and we went out to do Tai Chi. It is a slow and deliberate movement. You can feel you whole body as you do it. It brings together your body and mind. You think about your breathing, in and out, in and out.
That practice was followed each day by a half hour of meditation. We put a special emphasis on meditation. We would, at times, Buddhist monks come in to our community to teach their meditation practices. I would call what we did “sitting meditation.” We would use the mantra “Jesus Christ.”
In Buddhism you work to concentrate on your breathing. This is how you quiet down. This is how you unite your body and mind. You can use a word, it can be a different word, but the idea is that quietly repeating it, you calm down. We would do this for a half hour or even up to an hour every day. And, then, after meditation we would go out for mass.
Later in the morning we would begin our studies in theology and philosophy. But the day would start by tai chi and meditation. Then, in the afternoon, we study calligraphy, which is another way to slow you down, to focus you, to train your mind, to come inside you.
We had a revolutionary formation. We were ahead of our times. This kind of Buddhist association is more common in Taiwan today, but then it was not. We had forward-looking community leaders. There was ongoing dialogue with the Buddhists. We were very early in this kind of dialogue.
Some years ago German sisters founded our congregation. Of course, back then the attention, in prayer, was on words, lots of words. But eventually we began to use our own culture and we began to find ways to use or own prayer traditions. I think you can say that in Taiwan we are pioneers in this kind of inculturation. Of course, it varied from congregation to congregation.
And so how does training affect you today?
I practice. I meditate every day. It keeps me calm and helps relieve pressures. I pay attention to staying calm, trying to allow time to be inward in my prayers. The purpose of this practice is to empty yourself. In meditation you empty yourself and this allows you to open of space within. Sometimes when I am very, very busy, I stop and try to empty myself. We live with limitations. We all have limitations. But the practice of meditation accepts you to accept yourself, to see yourself more clearly, and it takes you beyond your limitations. This is because you become connected with the Spirit. You unite with the Spirit in your life.
Would you call your practice Zen meditation?
I am not sure one would call what I do “Zen.” It is not Zen in the strict sense. I would just call it “sitting meditation.”
Tell me about how you do it?
I cross my legs, sit quietly, position my hands, touching my thumbs to by fingers. I close my eyes, sitting in a dim light. I don’t like to use candles. They flicker. Then I begin my meditation, maybe repeating a mantra. If I get distracted I focus more on my breathing. I count. That helps. I do this in the morning before mass. During the day I meditate when I can, even if just for a few minutes. This helps calm me down. It really has changed me. My ministry involves a lot business, a lot of pressure.
Do you see meditation as prayer?
I can tell you what I think prayer is. I think prayer is the moment you feel God is with you. That’s what prayer is. It’s recognition and a connection. You don’t need to say words to have this connection.
Would you say the practice has help you grow in consciousness?
You might say the purpose of this is to see yourself more clearly. Like the Buddha and his awakening. You become very clear. It is a kind of awakening. When you see yourself more clearly you see your true self. When I see my true self it becomes easier for me to accept my limitations. In meditation, as you come to your true self, you become aware two are becoming one. I feel I am a palace of God. When I am crazy in my work I can ignore God. Only when I empty myself can I see God in me, and then I know God is always in me.
What do you do to stay in a meditative state?
When my mind runs away I start to count numbers and this returns me to my breathing. Eventually, as you deepen your meditation, your breathing slows down and seems to disappear. At that point you are recognizing the Oneness. You become one.
How long doe it take?
It depends on the day and my human limitations. I would say about five or ten minutes.
So then what is the place for vocal prayers in your life?
Once you empty yourself you can go out - you want to go out - and pray in voice, in community. When you empty yourself you find you want to flow out. It’s then the right to pray in community at mass.
Any last thoughts?
I just want to be a religious. I want to pray. I want to be able to be of service to people.
Thank you.
