Facing the Seeming Pointlessness of Aspirant Life: Acedia and Thīna-Middha

PRECIS:

This study places Evagrius's exposition of the logismos of acedia alongside the Buddhist nīvaraṡa of thīna-middha (sloth-torpor). Both are considered the last obstacles to be overcome by the aspirant, and overcoming both marks the arising, respectively, of apatheia for Evagrius, and samādhi for the practitioner of the Dharma. Considering both together, I show that these are not garden-variety spiritual obstacles but afflictions particular to sustained renunciant-contemplative work. As such, they point to the importance of ascesis for contemplative/meditative practice, which is, of course, the starting point for both Evagrius and the Buddha. Rather than focusing on ultimate attainments, which only a few can or do know, focusing on this messy and oftentimes vexing level of dedicated practice offers a point of fruitful, grounded, and revealing exchange between these two traditions.