Thomas Merton draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the hot topic of contemplation/meditation in depth and to show how we can practise true contemplation in everyday life. Never before published except as a series of articles in an academic journal, this book on contemplation was revised by Merton shortly before his death. The material bridges Merton's early work on Catholic monasticism, mysticism, and contemplation with his later writing on Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality. This book thus provides a comprehensive understanding of contemplation that draws on the best of Western and Eastern traditions.

The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation

Thomas Merton

William Henry Shannon

HarperSanFrancisco

Now in paperback, revised and redesigned: This is Thomas Merton's last book, in which he draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the hot topic of contemplation/meditation in depth and to show how we can practice true contemplation in everyday life. 
 Never before published except as a series of articles (one per chapter) in an academic journal, this book on contemplation was revised by Merton shortly before his untimely death. The material bridges Merton's early work on Catholic monasticism, mysticism, and contemplation with his later writing on Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality. This book thus provides a comprehensive understanding of contemplation that draws on the best of Western and Eastern traditions.
 Merton was still tinkering with this book when he died; it was the book he struggled with most during his career as a writer. But now the Merton Legacy Trust and experts have determined that the book makes such a valuable contribution as his major comprehensive presentation of contemplation that they have allowed its publication.

The Inner Experience: Thomas Merton's Unfinished Masterpiece on Contemplation, Bridging Catholic Monasticism and Eastern Meditation Traditions

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

The second volume of Thomas Merton's uncensored journals spans an eleven-year period from 1941 to 1952 and offers a portrait of daily monastic life, Merton's developing literary style, and his dedication to both

The Journals of Thomas Merton, Vol. 2, 1941-1952: Entering the Silence - Becoming a Monk & Writer

Harpercollins

A third volume of the Trappist monk's journals explores the question of who and what a monk should be as he studies Zen, existentialism, Latin American culture, and Marxism and deals with disapproving superiors and the rigors of monastic life.

A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk's True Life (The Journals of Thomas Merton, vol.3)

Harper-San Francisco

Having embraced a life of solitude in his own hermitage, Thomas Merton finds his faith tested beyond his imagination when a visit to the hospital leads to a clandestine affair of the heart. Jolted out of his comfortable routine, Merton is forced to reassess his need for love and his commitment to celibacy and the monastic vocation.This astonishing volume traces Merton’s struggle to reconcile his unexpected love with his sacred vows while continuing to grapple with the burning social issues of the day – including racial conflicts, the war in Vietnam, and the Arab-Israeli conflict – visiting and corresponding with high-profile friends like Thich Nhat Hanh and Joan Baez, and further developing his writing career. Revealing Merton to be ‘very human’ in his chronicles of the ecstasy and torment of being in love, Learning to Love comes full circle as Merton recommits himself completely and more deeply to his vocation even as he recognizes ‘my need for love, my loneliness, my inner division, the struggle in which solitude is at once a problem and a ‘solution’. And perhaps not a perfect solution either’ (11 May, 1967).

Learning to Love: Exploring Solitude and Freedom (The Journals of Thomas Merton Vol. 6)

Religion & Spirituality

Thomas Merton loved life with the passion of a romantic poet. At the age of twenty-six he chose to become a Trappist monk and began to pursue his ultimate, lifelong passion. From his austere quarters at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, Kentucky, Merton worked to change the world and to come closer to his God. The drawings and prayers in this volume are the intimate, beautifully rendered record of that pursuit -- Merton's dialogue with God. The prayers have been gathered from all of Merton's writings -- his books, journals, letters -- and are collected here, along with his largely unknown drawings, for the first time.
In his drawings we see the evolution of Merton's art from purely representational to the more abstract, reflecting his interest in Zen andEastern cultures. It is easy to see that art was in his genes; both of his parents were artists. With each prayer and in every brushstroke, we sensethe depth of Merton's passion as we pause and incline our ear to his voice offering these heartfelt songs to God and to the world. Dialogues with Silenceinvites the reader to enter into that sacred realm of contemplation where we listen in silence and await the divine presence in our lives, where emptiness becomes the juncture for the interchange between the outer and inner worlds, where darkness is transformed into light -- the place where the voice of God is revealed.

Dialogues with Silence: Prayers and Drawings

HarperOne

A 365 daily with inspirational and provocative selections from the journals of Thomas Merton combined with drawings and photographs by Merton.This volume of daily inspiration from Thomas Merton draws from Merton's journals and papers to present, each day, a seasonally appropriate and thought-provoking insight or observation.Each month will begin with one of Merton's delightful pen-and-ink drawings or one of his elegant black-and-white photographs.

A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals

Christian Books & Bibles

The correspondents to whom these letters, dealing with religious experience, are addressed include poets, heads of state, and religious leaders of various faiths

Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Experience and Social Concerns

Harcourt

The Seven Storey Mountain

SPCK Publishing

This is the first complete publication of Merton's last book, revised by the author shortly before he died, in which Merton draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the subject of contemplation/meditation in depth, and to show how true contemplation can be practised in everyday life.

The Inner Experience : Notes on Contemplation

Worship & Devotion

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Books by Thomas Merton