Contemplation comes from the Latin root templum (from Greek temnein: to cut or divide).
It means separating something from its environment and enclosing it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek 'theory' (theoria).
In a religious sense it is usually a type of prayer or meditation.
In Christianity, contemplation refers to a content-free mind directed towards the awareness of God as a living reality.
This corresponds to what in Eastern religion is called meditation. In Christianity, however, meditation refers to a specific, directed mental exercise, such as visualization of a religious scene or consideration of a scriptural passage.
Contemplation as a practice is finding greater resonance in the West both in business - for example in Peter Senge's book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization - and in universities in fields as diverse as architecture, physics, and the liberal arts.
In Catholic Christianity, contemplation is given importance. The Catholic Church's "model theologian," St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation."
One of his disciples, Josef Pieper commented: "For it is contemplation which preserves in the midst of human society the truth which is at one and the same time useless and the yardstick of every possible use; so it is also contemplation which keeps the true end in sight, gives meaning to every practical act of life."
It means separating something from its environment and enclosing it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek 'theory' (theoria).
In a religious sense it is usually a type of prayer or meditation.
In Christianity, contemplation refers to a content-free mind directed towards the awareness of God as a living reality.
This corresponds to what in Eastern religion is called meditation. In Christianity, however, meditation refers to a specific, directed mental exercise, such as visualization of a religious scene or consideration of a scriptural passage.
Contemplation as a practice is finding greater resonance in the West both in business - for example in Peter Senge's book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization - and in universities in fields as diverse as architecture, physics, and the liberal arts.
In Catholic Christianity, contemplation is given importance. The Catholic Church's "model theologian," St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation."
One of his disciples, Josef Pieper commented: "For it is contemplation which preserves in the midst of human society the truth which is at one and the same time useless and the yardstick of every possible use; so it is also contemplation which keeps the true end in sight, gives meaning to every practical act of life."
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