At the height of the vietnam war, he welcomed a vietnamese buddhist monk to. At prayer with thomas merton 2007, sorin books, isbn 1933495057. May 01, 2008 in the 1969 book recollections of thomas mertons last days in the west, benedictine monk br. Now, for the first time, some of his most lyrical and prayerful writings have been arranged into a book of hours, a rich resource for daily prayer and contemplation that imitates the increasingly popular ancient monastic practice of praying the.
Thomas merton and dialogue with buddhism america magazine. Michael mort called it the seven mountains of thomas merton. Merton was a great writer who has a total of 70 books to his credit. In the seven mountains of thomas merton, biographer michael mott called merton a.
The long encounter of thomas merton and his abbot, james fox by roger lipsey in may. Forty years after his death, fans of thomas mertonfrom a wide array of faith traditionscontinue to consult the spiritual wisdom found in his voluminous writings. I read a prayer section each day for devotions and ignored the suggested times to pray. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of contemporary violence. A book of hours mar 1, 2007 by thomas merton, john giuliani, kathleen deignan thomas merton was the most popular proponent of the christian contemplative tradition in the twentieth century. The international thomas merton society was founded in 1987 and reports a. Jan 31, 2015 this is thomas merton s last talk hours prior to his untimely death. Now, for the first time, some of his most lyrical and prayerful writings have been arranged into a book of hours, a rich resource for daily prayer and contemplation that imitates the increasingly popular ancient monastic practice of praying the hours. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. What merton meant by zen buddhism was the religion that began in china and spread to japan as well as. The relation of contemplation to self transcendence. At prayer with thomas merton 2007, sorin books, isbn 1 933495057. Thomas merton biography thomas merton childhood, life and.
Nov 09, 20 the second half of thomas mertons book dealt with a topic that i had a lot of experience with, though i was by no means an expert. A separate list of works by thomas merton is also available. Even if you are not particularly knowledgable about merton s writings, you will find his comments on so many aspects of the spiritual life meaningful and tantalizing, you will want to study his works further. On eastern meditation by thomas merton, paperback barnes.
Three essays on thomas merton 2006, the thomas merton society of great britain and ireland, isbn 0955157110. In the 1969 book recollections of thomas merton s last days in the west, benedictine monk br. Thomas merton ocso january 31, 1915 december 10, 1968 was an american trappist. She is the editor of when the trees say nothing, a collection of thomas merton s writings on nature.
Thomas merton was the most popular proponent of the christian contemplative tradition in the. It is modeled on the book of hours, a devotional resource popular in the middle ages as a means of nurturing the spiritual life of lay christians. The fons vitae thomas merton series paul m pearson, james a. Thomas merton was the most popular proponent of the christian contemplative tradition in the twentieth century. Praising god from dawn to dusk thomas merton center. The relation of contemplation to selftranscendence. We talked long about my idea of buddhist dialogue and of a meditation monastery that would be open to buddhism the asian journal of thomas merton, p. The thomas merton center at bellarmine university, the official repository of thomas merton s literary estate, will be hosting a special exhibit of artifacts relating to thomas merton s historic november 1968 meeting with his holiness the 14th dalai lama. An ever growing number of books by and about thomas merton are now available in electronic format with many more due to be released in the coming months and years.
Jul, 2012 i have been asked, first, to sit in meditation with a buddhist group in san francisco at the end of this month and,then, give them a talk on thomas merton and the dialogue with buddhism. Thomas merton books available at carmichaels carmichaels. In 1944, new directions brought out thomas mertons first book of verse. When i was in the convent, we spent half an hour in silent meditation before mass and morning prayer most mornings, and it was one of the most difficult aspects of the religious life for me. Thomas merton 19151968, a trappist monk, was one of the most wellknown catholic writers of the 20th century.
When he flew out of san francisco for asia on october 15, 1968, he left with the expectation of religious discovery, as if his monastic life at the. You may also know her through her uplifting repertoire of sacred songs, her lectures on classical and contemporary. Quotes and reflections from meditation by thomas merton. Thomas merton s encounter with buddhism and beyond book. David steindlrast wrote that thomas said that he wanted to become as good a buddhist as i can. Books by thomas merton author of the seven storey mountain. See all books authored by thomas merton, including the seven storey mountain, and new seeds of contemplation, and more on. A trappist monk of the abbey of gethsemani, kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. By the way, i discovered that i typed the web site on judith carpenters book with the wrong spacing last week. Almost twenty years after mertons death, a group of fifty monks, buddhist and catholic, met at mertons monastery, gethsemaniunder the tutelage.
He was the author of more than 60 books, including the story of his conversion, seven storey mountain, a modern spiritual classic. These are the best formed breviary prayers ive found in a lifetime. For example, the fourteenth general meeting of the international thomas merton. Thomas mertons abiding legacy by kathleen deignan ecourse. You may already know kathleen through her exquisite books when the trees say nothing, the first collection of merton s writings on nature, and thomas merton. A book of hours, a daily breviary for engaged contemplatives. Book of hours by thomas merton, john giuliani, hardcover. This is a marvelous collection of writings from the works of thomas merton, the trappist monk, assembled in the form of a book of hours. Published in book form for the first time, thomas mertons cold war letters is a collection of 111 letters to friends, peace activists, artists, and intellectuals, written between october 1961 and october 1962 at the height of cold war tensions. Mar 28, 2007 a book of hours by thomas merton, 9781933495057, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Thomas merton was a very famous american catholic author of the twentieth century who is greatly known for writing classics like the seven storey mountain, new seeds of contemplation and zen and the birds of appetite. A book of hours kindle edition by merton, thomas, john. Merton called seasons of celebration his liturgy book and this edition includes a new foreword. The modern monkhood of thomas merton the new yorker.
Thomas merton 19151968 is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential spiritual masters of the twentieth century. Spiritual and contemplative books by merton and others. Wiseman, roger lipsey, bonnie bowman thurston, thomas merton, jonathan montaldo, roger corless on. Finally, shambhala, best known for books on buddhism, will publish make peace before the sun goes down. Thomas merton was born in 1915, to parents living in the french pyrenees. He called his own life story the seven storey mountain. A book that takes thomas mertons best writings and arranges them in prayers for sunday genesis to saturday wisdom at the 4 hours named. By the time of his tragic, untimely death in 1968, father louis as he was known at the trappist monastery where he lived for twentyseven years had published upwards of fifty books and pamphlets, including several more collections of poetry. The thomas merton studies center at bellarmine college in louisville, kentucky, contains over 10,000 items related to merton and some 3,000 of his manuscripts. Thomas merton and the synergy of christianity and buddhism i. Thomas merton in dialogue with zen buddhism jaechan anselmo park in 2015, the one hundredth anniversary of his birth, thomas mertons contribution to christian spirituality is receiving heightened attention. And i believe that by openness to buddhism, to hinduism, and to these great asian traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about the potentiality of our own traditions, because they have gone, from the natural point of view, so much deeper into this than we have. Thomas merton and dialogue with buddhism i have been asked, first, to sit in meditation with a buddhist group in san francisco at the end of this month and,then, give them a talk on thomas merton.
The merton legacy trust, devoted to gathering all future merton scholarship, is also located at bellarmine. Kathleen deignan is an educator, theologian, and composer. Mertons biographer, george woodcock, once wrote that almost from the beginning of his monastic career, thomas merton tentatively began to discover the great asian religions of buddhism and taoism. Jun 03, 2009 saint bernadette soubirous of lourdes from who cares about the saints. Recent and forthcoming publications thomas merton center. Thomas merton books list of books by author thomas merton. This book is set up in the daily liturgical cycle, but instead of prayers from a lectionary or scripture readings, it is entirely composed of thomas mertons thoughts. The pocket thomas merton new seeds pocket classics 25nov2005. In this volume, she has gathered from his wideranging works his glosses on the texts of divine revelation speaking in nature, scripture, history, culture, and his own heart. Thomas merton and the dalai lama thomas merton center. The following is a list of works about thomas merton, publications about thomas merton, the trappist monk from abbey of gethsemani.
In india, merton met with the dalai lama three times and said that there is a real spiritual bond between us the asian journal of thomas merton, 1975 edition, p. Merton, a longtime social justice advocate, first approached eastern theology as an admirer of gandhis beliefs on nonviolence. A book of hours by thomas merton edited by kathleen deignan. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name father louis. I loved seven storey mountain, so i was delighted to pick up this book as well.