{"title":"Thomas Merton","description":"\u003cp\u003eThomas Merton’s works invite readers into profound explorations of spirituality, blending Christian mysticism with insights from Eastern traditions. His writings, such as \u003cem\u003eOn Eastern Meditation\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Way of Chuang Tzu\u003c\/em\u003e, offer thoughtful reflections on silence, contemplation, and the search for inner peace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in \u003cstrong\u003eReligion \u0026amp; Spirituality\u003c\/strong\u003e and enriched by philosophical inquiry, Merton’s texts like \u003cem\u003eWatch for the Light\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eZen and the Birds of Appetite\u003c\/em\u003e engage deeply with themes of joy, awareness, and the human psyche. His collections, including interviews and anthologies, provide a nuanced understanding of spiritual life and practice.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"zen-and-the-birds-of-appetite-by-thomas-merton-9780811201049","title":"Zen and the Birds of Appetite","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Zen enriches no one,\" Thomas Merton provocatively writes in his opening statement to \u003cem\u003eZen and the Birds of Appetite\u003c\/em\u003e—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 was there, suddenly appears. That is Zen. It was there all the time but the scavengers missed it, because it was not their kind of prey.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis gets at the humour, paradox, and joy that one feels in Merton's discoveries of Zen during the last years of his life, a joy very much present in this collection of essays. Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Zen, especially through his dialogue with the great Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki, the book makes an excellent introduction to a comparative study of these two traditions, as well as giving the reader a strong taste of the mature Merton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNever does one feel him losing his own faith in these pages; rather one feels that faith getting deeply clarified and affirmed. Just as the body of \"Zen\" cannot be found by the scavengers, so too, Merton suggests, with the eternal truth of Christ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47433400713452,"sku":"9780811201049","price":44.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780811201049.jpg?v=1774765023"},{"product_id":"silence-joy-by-thomas-merton-9780811228237","title":"Silence, Joy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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, \u003cem\u003eSilence, Joy\u003c\/em\u003e is an invitation to slow down, take a breath, make a space for silence, and open up to joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePoet, monk, spiritual advisor, and social critic, Thomas Merton is a unique—and uniquely beloved—figure of the twentieth century, and this little rosary brings together his best-loved poems and prose. Drawn from classics like \u003cem\u003eNew Seeds Of Contemplation\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Way Of Chuang Tzu\u003c\/em\u003e as well as less famous books, the writings in \u003cem\u003eSilence, Joy\u003c\/em\u003e offer the reader deep, calming stillness, flights of ecstatic praise, steadying words of wisdom, and openhearted laughter. Manna for Merton lovers and a warm embrace for novices, this slim collection is a delightful gift.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464212300012,"sku":"9780811228237","price":24.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780811228237-silence-joy.jpg?v=1775042624"},{"product_id":"watch-for-the-light-by-john-donne-9780874869170","title":"Watch for the Light","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere'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?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether dipped into at leisure or used for formal daily devotions, this unparalleled collection gives the phrase 'Christmas preparations' new depth and meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWatch for the Light\u003c\/em\u003e includes writing from Kathleen Norris, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Annie Dillard, John Donne, Meister Eckhart, Dorothy Day, T. S. Eliot, Gustavo Gutierrez, Eberhard Arnold, G. M. Hopkins, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther, Henri Nouwen, Edith Stein, Thomas Aquinas, Dorotee Soelle, Philip Yancey, and others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471897149676,"sku":"9780874869170","price":64.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780874869170-watch-for-the-light.jpg?v=1775262716"},{"product_id":"the-way-of-chuang-tzu-by-thomas-merton-9780811218511","title":"The Way of Chuang Tzu","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorking 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).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name—Zen. The Chinese sage abounds in wit and paradox and shattering insights into the true ground of being. Thomas Merton, no stranger to Asian thought, brings a vivid, modern idiom to the timeless wisdom of Tao.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487679889644,"sku":"9780811218511","price":28.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780811218511-the-way-of-chuang-tzu.jpg?v=1775752663"},{"product_id":"on-eastern-meditation-by-thomas-merton-9780811219945","title":"On Eastern Meditation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMerton'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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough Gandhi, Merton came to know the great Hindu text the \u003cem\u003eBhagavad Gita\u003c\/em\u003e and in time came to have dialogues with the Dalai Lama and Taoist leader D. T. Suzuki. Merton then became deeply interested in Chuang Tzu and Zen thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOn Eastern Meditation\u003c\/em\u003e, edited by Bonnie Thurston (author of \u003cem\u003eMerton and Buddhism\u003c\/em\u003e), gathers the best of his Eastern theological writings into a gorgeously designed gift book edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597428277484,"sku":"9780811219945","price":26.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3de3912ddd2671269aef63c8280b08c9.jpg?v=1777959133"},{"product_id":"thomas-merton-insights-and-interviews-an-anthology-drawn-from-35-years-of-the-merton-annual-1988-2022-by-thomas-merton-9781941610565","title":"Thomas Merton: Insights and Interviews  An Anthology Drawn from 35 years of the Merton Annual (1988-2022)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis two-volume set of essays and interviews from over 35 years of \u003cem\u003eThe Merton Annual\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis volume is a sumptuous banquet bringing together the highlights of this important scholarship and providing readers with firsthand accounts of Merton from among his fellow monks, close friends, and other key figures. The stories and reminiscences, the humorous anecdotes, and the thoughtful reflections of Merton's confreres, friends, and scholars invite us to sit in on conversations that illuminate the person and spirit of Thomas Merton himself — the monk, the writer, the friend, the spiritual guide, the prophet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese volumes are a treasure trove and must-reads for anyone interested in Thomas Merton, monasticism, Christianity, Catholicism, spirituality, contemplation, and religion in general.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47608198365420,"sku":"9781941610565","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/48da43a18c87b68e8829cb7344a530e9.jpg?v=1778202317"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/thomas-merton.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}