Word: mertonism
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CABLES TO THE ACE by Thomas Merton. 60 pages. New Directions...
...might be directed to the words of Thomas Merton, who died just before the end of this strange year: "What is the good of exalting the 'greatness of man' simply because the concerted efforts of technicians, soldiers and politicians manage to put a man on the moon while four-fifths of the human race remains in abject misery, not properly clothed or fed, in lives subject to arbitrary and senseless manipulations by politicians or violence at the hands of police, hoodlums or revolutionaries? Certainly the possibilities and the inherent nobility of man are stupendous, but it is small...
Fascinated by Zen. Merton's wide-ranging, eclectic mind could touch upon the Beatles or the Bomb, but for a quarter of a century he never left the Abbey of Gethsemani, except for trips to the doctor or drives with visiting friends around neighboring Kentucky hills. In fact, for almost a decade, with his ab bot's permission, he had withdrawn from much of the community life, living Thoreau-like in a small hermitage on abbey property more than a mile from the main buildings. This year he was finally granted a leave of absence from Gethsemani...
...Merton had long been fascinated by Zen, and he argued that Buddhism was a philosophic discipline that could well be employed by Christians. "Buddhism is not word," a he told religion in friends our at sense of the California's Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions on his way to Asia in October. "It's a totally different approach to reality, a psychological thing. I be lieve it's quite possible for a Catholic to enter into the esoteric traditions of Tibetan Buddhism." He departed for Asia, said W. H. Ferry of the Center, "absolutely bouncing...
From New Delhi, he wrote of long meetings with the Dalai Lama in the Himalayan foothills and of an eight-day retreat among the exiled Tibetan monks. One lama courteously composed a poem celebrating their meeting, and Poet Merton returned the compliment. There was an added serenity in his final letter to the Center. "In my contacts with these new friends, I also feel a consolation in my own faith in Christ and his in dwelling presence," wrote Merton. "I hope and believe he may be present in the hearts...