Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., was born Franz Kuno Steindl-Rast on July 12, 1926, in Vienna, Austria. Raised in a Catholic family during a time of political unrest, he endured the hardships of World War II, including conscription into the German army, though he did not see combat. He earned a master’s degree from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and a PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Vienna in 1952. That same year, he emigrated to the United States and entered Mount Saviour Monastery in Pine City, New York, becoming a Benedictine monk in 1953.

With his abbot’s permission, David Steindl-Rast began interreligious dialogue in the 1960s and studied Zen Buddhism with teachers such as Haku’un Yasutani and Shunryu Suzuki. In 1968, he co-founded the Center for Spiritual Studies alongside leaders from several religious traditions. His writing and teaching explore the relationship between mysticism, science, and spiritual practice. Among his published works are Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, Belonging to the Universe (with physicist Fritjof Capra), and The Music of Silence. He spent extended periods in monastic communities and in solitude at the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California.

Gratitude has remained central to David Steindl-Rast’s teaching, which he describes as a way of recognizing our shared life and cultivating peace. In 2000, he co-founded A Network for Grateful Living to support this vision. His TED talk on gratefulness has reached a wide audience, and his message continues to resonate through interviews and dialogue with spiritual and cultural leaders. He emphasizes that religious forms must remain alive by reconnecting with their inner vitality, encouraging a return to what he calls “the fire that’s within.” Now in his late nineties, his life continues to reflect a sustained inquiry into gratitude, belonging, and interfaith understanding.