Thomas Merton

"Zen enriches no one," Thomas Merton provocatively writes in his opening statement to Zen and the Birds of Appetite—one of the last books to be published before his death in 1968. "There is no body to be found. The birds may come and circle for a while...but they soon go elsewhere. When they are gone, the 'nothing,' the 'no-body' that...

In this day of mindless distraction, we're desperate for reasons to put down our phones and reconnect with our spiritual selves. In time for the 50th anniversary of Thomas Merton's death in 1968, Silence, Joy is an invitation to slow down, take a breath, make a space for silence, and open up to joy. Poet, monk, spiritual advisor, and social...

There's plenty out there on the 'real' meaning of Christmas; this volume steps back further to examine more vital questions: What does it mean that God took on human form? That Mary believed? That Christ came down to earth, and will one day come again? Whether dipped into at leisure or used for formal daily devotions, this unparalleled collection gives...

Working from existing translations, Thomas Merton composed a series of his own versions of the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries B.C., is the chief authentic historical spokesperson for Taoism and its founder Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu's writings). Indeed...

Merton's 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." Merton, a longtime social justice advocate, first approached Eastern theology as an admirer of Gandhi's beliefs on non-violence. Through Gandhi, Merton came to know the great Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita...

This two-volume set of essays and interviews from over 35 years of The Merton Annual is a sterling resource for Merton readers. Volume II brings together seminal oral-history interviews with people who knew Merton personally, along with little-known or previously unpublished writings by Merton himself. This volume is a sumptuous banquet bringing together the highlights of this important scholarship and...

The personal tones of the translations, the blend of reverence and humour so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth-century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contemplation in the deserts of the Near East. The hermits of Screte who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like...