--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: …the interesting thing was that the Roman…" description: "\"…the interesting thing was that the Roman Catholic monks and the Buddhist monks had no trouble understanding each other. Each of them was seeking the s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/joseph-campbell-300_abyss_the-interesting-thing-was-that-the-roman_1530625.jpg" --- # …the interesting thing was that the Roman Catholic monks… ![“…the interesting thing was that the Roman Catholic monks and the Buddhist monks had no trouble understanding each other. Each of them was seeking the same experience and knew that the experience was incommunicable. The communication is only an effort to bring the hearer to the edge of the abyss…” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/joseph-campbell-300_abyss_the-interesting-thing-was-that-the-roman_1530625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/joseph-campbell-300_abyss_the-interesting-thing-was-that-the-roman_1530625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/joseph-campbell-300_abyss_the-interesting-thing-was-that-the-roman_1530625.jpg) > “…the interesting thing was that the Roman Catholic monks and the Buddhist monks had no trouble understanding each other. Each of them was seeking the same experience and knew that the experience was incommunicable. The communication is only an effort to bring the hearer to the edge of the abyss; it is a signpost, not the thing itself. But the secular clergy reads the communication and gets stuck with the letter, and that's where you have the conflict.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Different spiritual traditions can intuitively grasp the same deeper reality, but institutional dogma often blocks that direct experience. **In simple terms:** Monks sense shared truth; doctrines can hinder. Key Takeaway Seek personal experience over rigid interpretation. Themes spirituality interfaith communication dogma experience Mood contemplative reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - interfaith dialogues - personal meditation - educational curricula - intercultural workshops Key Concepts Mysticism symbolic language cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor shared experience while respecting doctrinal differences? - What practices help move beyond literal interpretation? A Different Perspective Dogmatic focus can limit openness to lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Buddhist monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-monk/) [Buddhist Monks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-monks/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Clergy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clergy/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) [Roman catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman-catholic/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding each other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-each-other/) ## Related quotes > [Hearing, seeing and understanding each other, humanity from one end of the earth to the other now lives simultaneously, omnipresent like a god thanks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/hearing-seeing-and-understanding-each-other-humanity-from-one-end-of/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [I just want to open up the avenues for people to express themselves. That's what the media ought to be. It shouldn't just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-just-want-to-open-up-the-avenues-for-people-to-express-themselves/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [Just because we're related doesn't mean we are any good at understanding each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/just-because-we-re-related-doesn-t-mean-we-are-any-good-at/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [The main reason for civilization is that life is more comfortable. In a way, houses are there to protect us from rain, cold, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pipilotti-rist/the-main-reason-for-civilization-is-that-life-is-more-comfortable-in/) [Pipilotti Rist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pipilotti-rist/) > [If you understand each other you will be kind to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/if-you-understand-each-other-you-will-be-kind-to-each-other/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I think the notion of understanding each other is a relief. It's not a thing you get with everyone you hang out with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-homme/i-think-the-notion-of-understanding-each-other-is-a-relief-it-s-not-a/) [Joshua Homme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-homme/) > [ What \[Franz\] Kafka says about the Tower of Babel: In the beginning there were actually many languages, and then as a punishment God gave… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-franz-kafka-says-about-the-tower-of-babel-in-the-beginning-there/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ Little by little, Leo \[Messi\] and I are understanding each other better. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/little-by-little-leo-messi-and-i-are-understanding-each-other-better/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [How can there be peace without people understanding each other; and how can this be if they don't know each other?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-b-pearson/how-can-there-be-peace-without-people-understanding-each-other-and/) [Lester B. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-b-pearson/) > [“The trains in any country contain the essential paraphernalia of the culture: Thai trains have the shower jar with the glazed dragon on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-trains-in-any-country-contain-the-essential-paraphernalia-of-the/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“Buddhist monks cremated the remains of Sherpa guides who were buried in the deadliest avalanche to hit Mount Everest, a disaster that has prompted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhist-monks-cremated-the-remains-of-sherpa-guides-who-were-buried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I make a distinction between Buddhism with a Capital 'B' and buddhism with a small 'b'. Sri Lanka has the former, in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulak-sivaraksa/i-make-a-distinction-between-buddhism-with-a-capital-b-and-buddhism/) [Sulak Sivaraksa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulak-sivaraksa/) > [“For most of their history in China, Pugs were treasured dogs. By law, they could only be owned by nobility or by Buddhist monks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-palika/for-most-of-their-history-in-china-pugs-were-treasured-dogs-by-law/) Liz Palika > [It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-probably-even-the-case-that-if-you-stoked-up-some-buddhist-monks/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [“Wouldn't it be great if health-care plans included a list of Buddhist monks among the network providers?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/wouldn-t-it-be-great-if-health-care-plans-included-a-list-of-buddhist/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "…the interesting thing was that the Roman Catholic monks and the Buddhist monks had no trouble understanding each other. Each of them was seeking the same experience and knew that the experience was incommunicable. The communication is only an effort to bring the hearer to the edge of the abyss; it is a signpost, not the thing itself. 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