5 ms·

Fetters and freedom: on Thomas Merton’s vision of transcendence through faith

45 points by lermontov 10y ago

prefect42 10y ago
I've never studied Zen Buddhism, but Thomas Merton's message seems (to me) to be inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. I like a guy who extols the virtues of meditation.
- fitzwatermellow 10y ago
  A fine "beat" poet as well ;) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/thomas-james-merton https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detai... Had he come of political consciousness during the Digital Age, rather than the Cold War, his message would be exactly the same. Any technological advancements that take us further away from the Mysterious Unity, the Mother of All, will necessarily bind us in webs of illusion and ultimately lead to disunity and strife.
  - trhway 10y ago
    >Any technological advancements that take us further away from the Mysterious Unity, the Mother of All, will necessarily bind us in webs of illusion and ultimately lead to disunity and strife. i find that blaming of technology is kind of like cheating, kind of easy scapegoating. Emergence of eukaryotes was a great bio-hack by the life back then and that bio-hack directly led to separate organisms as we exist now thus to disunity and strife. I guess we should instead have stayed as simple molecules happily floating in the primordinary soup, in full nirvana and mysterious unity.
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      Look, if you're expecting terms like "Mysterious Unity" and "Mother of All", complete with Capital Letters for Extra Cosmic Importance, to actually mean anything, you're expecting too much.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    Disunity is inherent in individual embodiment. It's worthwhile to remind oneself of the godhead from time to time, but there's a point past which that can become flight from the nature of one's existence, which strikes me as both wasteful and futile.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
  What does the Bhagavad Gita have to do with Zen Buddhism.
  - prefect42 10y ago
    Eh? Those are from two different (though somewhat related in history) traditions. I don't remember which meditation book, it's been a while, but it had clear terminology from the Gita. Wasn't one of the books with "Zen" in the title, FWIW.
cpr 10y ago
My father visited Merton several times at the monastery in the early 60's (on his own way in to the Catholic church, as an Episcopal clergyman), and found him a most gracious man, giving the clear impression of timeless availability, coupled with fervent interest in my father's situation. A truly holy man.
mockturtle 10y ago
I found it pretty odd that in an article about Thomas Merton, there wasn't a single reference to Jesus Christ.
- throwanem 10y ago
  Need there be? I don't see where the lack harms the article.
pmoriarty 10y ago
"Each day consisted of the same routines: He chanted the Divine Offices in the monastery’s church with his brothers, prayed in solitude at various points in the day, and worked on the monastery’s grounds scrubbing floors, chopping wood, and engaging in other tasks. He lived in an austere cell; ate plain meals..." Recently a documentary was made about the daily life in another monastery. It's called "Into Great Silence",[1] and I recommend it for a glimpse in to this sort of life. I've long been interested in trying to live such a simple existence, but I'm afraid I don't know of any such places that aren't religious in some way, which is a real pity. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence
- nsomaru 10y ago
  http://www.vedantaworld.org http://www.vedantaworld.org ; depends what you mean by religion. If you mean rituals, chanting, singing and livery, sure there's some of that. But it's the most non-secular approach to 'rejoining with the source' (religion = re-ligare) that I could find, as a previously confirmed and staunch atheist. The daily schedule involves a relatively austere but comfortable routine, which is supported by a strong questioning and reasoning regime. The entire living experience speaks to and reinforces the knowledge imparted. I don't believe in God, now. But perhaps been purged of the arrogance that the equipments I have are capable of knowing everything. Edit: there's a retreat in India in December, here's a link to the invite: http://vedanta.org.za/media/pdf/2016_Vedanta_International_Retreat.pdf http://vedanta.org.za/media/pdf/2016_Vedanta_International_R... Disclaimer: alumnus of the Vedanta Academy and Vedanta teacher for 3 years in South Africa.
- skissane 10y ago
  I wonder, if there are no such places that aren't religious in some way, could that be evidence that it is impossible to sustain such places without having some sort of religious foundation to them?
Animats 10y ago
Well, if you're going to OD on religion, that's one of the better ways to do it.
somberi 10y ago
"A wounded man is not an agnostic - he just has different questions, arising out of his wound." - Merton.
brooklyndude 10y ago
Thomas Merton is pretty far out. Some amazing souls have walked the earth. Get away from your screen someday, and you mind may be blow, like really blown far away. Add to your list to explore: Dorothy Day Allan Watts Ram Das Krishnamurti Should keep you busy, for a few decades.

45 points by lermontov 10y ago

I've never studied Zen Buddhism, but Thomas Merton's message seems (to me) to be inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. I like a guy who extols the virtues of meditation.

fitzwatermellow 10y ago
A fine "beat" poet as well ;) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/thomas-james-merton https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detai... Had he come of political consciousness during the Digital Age, rather than the Cold War, his message would be exactly the same. Any technological advancements that take us further away from the Mysterious Unity, the Mother of All, will necessarily bind us in webs of illusion and ultimately lead to disunity and strife.
- trhway 10y ago
  >Any technological advancements that take us further away from the Mysterious Unity, the Mother of All, will necessarily bind us in webs of illusion and ultimately lead to disunity and strife. i find that blaming of technology is kind of like cheating, kind of easy scapegoating. Emergence of eukaryotes was a great bio-hack by the life back then and that bio-hack directly led to separate organisms as we exist now thus to disunity and strife. I guess we should instead have stayed as simple molecules happily floating in the primordinary soup, in full nirvana and mysterious unity.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    Look, if you're expecting terms like "Mysterious Unity" and "Mother of All", complete with Capital Letters for Extra Cosmic Importance, to actually mean anything, you're expecting too much.
- throwanem 10y ago
  Disunity is inherent in individual embodiment. It's worthwhile to remind oneself of the godhead from time to time, but there's a point past which that can become flight from the nature of one's existence, which strikes me as both wasteful and futile.
GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
What does the Bhagavad Gita have to do with Zen Buddhism.
- prefect42 10y ago
  Eh? Those are from two different (though somewhat related in history) traditions. I don't remember which meditation book, it's been a while, but it had clear terminology from the Gita. Wasn't one of the books with "Zen" in the title, FWIW.

cpr 10y ago

My father visited Merton several times at the monastery in the early 60's (on his own way in to the Catholic church, as an Episcopal clergyman), and found him a most gracious man, giving the clear impression of timeless availability, coupled with fervent interest in my father's situation. A truly holy man.

mockturtle 10y ago

I found it pretty odd that in an article about Thomas Merton, there wasn't a single reference to Jesus Christ.

throwanem 10y ago
Need there be? I don't see where the lack harms the article.

pmoriarty 10y ago

"Each day consisted of the same routines: He chanted the Divine Offices in the monastery’s church with his brothers, prayed in solitude at various points in the day, and worked on the monastery’s grounds scrubbing floors, chopping wood, and engaging in other tasks. He lived in an austere cell; ate plain meals..." Recently a documentary was made about the daily life in another monastery. It's called "Into Great Silence",[1] and I recommend it for a glimpse in to this sort of life. I've long been interested in trying to live such a simple existence, but I'm afraid I don't know of any such places that aren't religious in some way, which is a real pity. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence

nsomaru 10y ago
http://www.vedantaworld.org http://www.vedantaworld.org ; depends what you mean by religion. If you mean rituals, chanting, singing and livery, sure there's some of that. But it's the most non-secular approach to 'rejoining with the source' (religion = re-ligare) that I could find, as a previously confirmed and staunch atheist. The daily schedule involves a relatively austere but comfortable routine, which is supported by a strong questioning and reasoning regime. The entire living experience speaks to and reinforces the knowledge imparted. I don't believe in God, now. But perhaps been purged of the arrogance that the equipments I have are capable of knowing everything. Edit: there's a retreat in India in December, here's a link to the invite: http://vedanta.org.za/media/pdf/2016_Vedanta_International_Retreat.pdf http://vedanta.org.za/media/pdf/2016_Vedanta_International_R... Disclaimer: alumnus of the Vedanta Academy and Vedanta teacher for 3 years in South Africa.
skissane 10y ago
I wonder, if there are no such places that aren't religious in some way, could that be evidence that it is impossible to sustain such places without having some sort of religious foundation to them?

Animats 10y ago

Well, if you're going to OD on religion, that's one of the better ways to do it.

somberi 10y ago

"A wounded man is not an agnostic - he just has different questions, arising out of his wound." - Merton.

brooklyndude 10y ago

Thomas Merton is pretty far out. Some amazing souls have walked the earth. Get away from your screen someday, and you mind may be blow, like really blown far away. Add to your list to explore: Dorothy Day Allan Watts Ram Das Krishnamurti Should keep you busy, for a few decades.