Mystics and Zen MastersThe spiritualist author of The Seven Storey Mountain explores various religions and theologies and examines their similarities. Thomas Merton's devotion to the Roman Catholic Church never impeded his ability to appreciate the world's varieties of religious thought—if anything, the contemplative nature of his monasticism encouraged it. In Mystics and Zen Masters, Merton discusses diverse religious and theologies—from Russian Orthodox spirituality and Shakers to the Tao Te Ching and Zen Buddhism—and in the process examines the deep-rooted similarities between Eastern and Western mysticism. "All these studies," Merton wrote, "are united by one central concern: to understand various ways in which men of different traditions have conceived the meaning and method of the 'way' which leads to the highest levels of religious or of metaphysical awareness." However, Merton performs more than a mere external analysis, and in the end achieves a full grasp of these religions from within through an active engagement with their values and philosophies. |
Contents
| 3 | |
CLASSIC CHINESE THOUGHT | 45 |
LOVE AND TAO | 69 |
THE JESUITS IN CHINA | 81 |
FROM PILGRIMAGE TO CRUSADE | 91 |
VIRGINITY AND HUMANISM IN THE WESTERN FATHERS | 113 |
THE ENGLISH MYSTICS | 128 |
SELFKNOWLEDGE IN GERTRUDE MORE AND AUGUSTINE BAKER | 154 |
PROTESTANT MONASTICISM | 188 |
PLEASANT HILL | 193 |
CONTEMPLATION AND DIALOGUE | 203 |
ZEN BUDDHIST MONASTICISM | 215 |
THE ZEN KOAN | 235 |
THE OTHER SIDE OF DESPAIR | 255 |
BUDDHISM AND THE MODERN WORLD | 281 |
NOTES | 289 |