Christian monk activist Brother Wayne Teasdale passed away on October 20. His deep passion for global change and his inner mystical fire were an inspiration to all of us at WIE, and we considered him a dear friend and comrade.

Teasdale was a close friend of many spiritual masters including the Dalai Lama. But perhaps the two most influential figures in Teasdale’s life were Trappist monk Father Thomas Keating, and the late Benedictine monk Father Bede Griffiths, who founded a Hindu/Christian ashram in southern India. The powerful mystical orientation of both Griffiths and Keating left its mark on Brother Wayne’s soul, as did their ecumenical spirit and open hearted embrace of other paths and traditions. Teasdale was instrumental in breathing new life into the interfaith movements. He helped revitalize the Parliament of the World’s Religions and also worked with the Dalai Lama and others to organize the innovative Synthesis Dialogues—a unique invitation-only conference of top religious leaders from around the world.

He called himself a lay monk, or a monk in the world, because though he had given up worldly life for higher matters, he had not given up on the world, and he dedicated his life to its transformation. He was a prolific author, a respected teacher, and a courageous example of integrity in religious affairs, unafraid to stand up to the Vatican or question the status quo. For example, he refused an invitation to attend the 2000 UN Millennium Summit to protest the Dalai Lama’s exclusion from that seminal gathering.

In these difficult and dangerous times, Brother Wayne’s example of mystical sensibility and radical activism has been a powerful beacon of hope and possibility, and that shining light will long survive his passing.

“The real revolution, the definitive revolution, is the spiritual awakening of humanity. The real revolution is one that goes to the radical core of human limitation and raises that up to transformation, to development. Unless that happens, the seeds of corruption are still going to be there—and the seeds of inequity, of exploitation, and of a selfish, greedy existence that neglects the welfare of the masses and of the planet.”

—Brother Wayne Teasdale
Transforming the Seeds of Corruption