Celibate Monks
The traditional view of a monk is someone who denies himself sexual pleasure, though in fact many monks have an active, if not always conventional sex life. The extensive boy-love scandals of the Roman Catholic priests are but a recent example.
When we speak of the fertile monk, we are also speaking of a vow of celibacy in the sense that we vow to make raising our offspring our first priority. This is a vow of immense commitment, one which may not only limit our sexual involvements but also our careers and hobbies.
The fertile monk puts his fatherhood above all other pursuits. Like any other vow, we may sometimes stray or fail. Such failures often strike those who think they are not vulnerable. Devoting some time to the study of ways we can fail may provide better protection than denying our vulnerability.
The first step in protecting ourselves is to know ourselves. What do we love most? Most disasters engage us through our own receptivity. Knowing our points of receptivity is the first step in taking control of our destiny.
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