The spiritual and psychological insights of these essays were nurtured in a monastic milieu, but their issues are universally human. Thomas Merton lays a foundation for personal growth and transformat
Wherever man and society exist; where there are hopes, ideals, aspirations for a better future; where there is love - and where there is mingled pain and happiness - there the contemplative life has a
Chuang Tzu—considered, along with Lao Tzu, one of the great figures of early Taoist thought—used parables and anecdotes, allegory and paradox, to illustrate that real happiness and freedom are found o
Begun five years after he entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, The Sign of Jonas is an extraordinary view of Merton’s life in a Trappist monastery, and it serves also as a spiritual log
Merton defines Christian mysticism, especially as expressed by the Spanish Carmelite St. John of the Cross, and he offers the contemplative experience as an answer to the irreligion and barbarism of
A short but profound presentation of the demands and purposes of God's Word, it is written with such effective technique that the reader will be impelled to further study of the Bible.
Thoughtful and eloquent, as timely (or timeless) now as when it was originally published in 1956, Thoughts in Solitude addresses the pleasure of a solitary life, as well as the necessity for quiet re
The New Man shows Thomas Merton at the height of his powers and has as its theme the question of spiritual identity. What must we do to recover possession of our true selves? By way of an answer, Mert
This unique spiritual autobiography is the account of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man whose search for peace and faith eventually leads him, at the age of twenty-six,
The Psalms, which Thomas Merton called "one of the most valid forms of prayer for men of all time," are the most significant and influential collection of religious poems ever written, summing up the
Life and Holiness is Thomas Merton's classic text on incorporating spirituality into everyday life. Merton here makes clear that he was a monk who knew the world. Of course, Merton lived a secular lif
An ecumenical anthology, Thoughts on the East gathers Merton's essential definitions of the religions that so much interested him - Taoism, Buddhism (in many forms, but especially Zen), Sufism, and H
In this series of notes, opinions, experiences, and reflections, Thomas Merton examines some of the most urgent questions of our age. With his characteristic forcefulness and candor, he brings the rea
Merton, whose own tortuous path to spiritual maturity is well known, here offers the knowledge gained during that experience. He discusses the meaning and purpose of spiritual direction, and how to pr
These essays explore the coming together of the active and the contemplative life and the relationship of individuals to society. Merton’s writing is both lively and profound as he leads the re
Merton presents one of the most significant encyclical letters of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, together with an introduction to the life and teachings of the great mystic. "A study that will h
The writings in this work were precipitated by a variety of events during the last decades of Merton's life - the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s among them. His timeless moral integrity
The best-known Cistercian of the twentieth century reflects on the teaching and life of the most reknown Cistercian of the twelfth century. Three essays written in the 1950s explore the relation of co
Although it first appeared after his death in 1968, he had arranged for its publication, written a foreword for it, and was delighted with the prospect of its at last becoming a part of his published
"The moment of takeoff was ecstatic...joy. We left the ground--I with Christian mantras and a great sense of destiny, of being at last on my true way after years of waiting and wondering..." With the
The personal tones of the translations, the blend of reverence and humor so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the four
