Contemplative Prayer Paperback – 31 January 2000
by Thomas Merton (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 275 ratings
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In this classic text, Thomas Merton offers valuable guidance for prayer. He brings together a wealth of meditative and mystical influences-from John of the Cross to Eastern desert monasticism-to create a spiritual path for today. Most important, he shows how the peace contacted through meditation should not be sought in order to evade the problems of contemporary life, but can instead be directed back out into the world to affect positive change.
Contemplative Prayer is one of the most well-known works of spirituality of the last one hundred years, and it is a must-read for all seeking to live a life of purpose in today's world.
In a moving and profound introduction, Thich Nhat Hanh offers his personal recollections of Merton and compares the contemplative traditions of East and West.
Print length
128 pages
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Review
"[Readers] will find Contemplative Prayer valuable. Merton shows that all living theology needs to be rooted in exercises where men somehow happily establish contact with God." --New York Times Book Review
From the Inside Flap
This is Thomas Merton at his contemplative best, applying ancient wisdom to the longings of our age through his thoughtful commentary on Scripture and important writers of the Western spiritual tradition.
About the Author
THOMAS MERTON (1915-1968), Trappist monk, author, and peace activist, came to international prominence at a young age with his classic autobiography, The Seven Story Mountain. Over the rest of his life he wrote prolifically on a vast range of topics, including prayer, interior growth, social responsibility, violence, and war. Toward the end of his life he played a significant role in introducing Eastern religions to the West. He is today regarded as a spiritual master, a brilliant religious writer, and a man who embodied the quest for God and human solidarity in the modern world.
THICH NHAT HANH is an internationally respected Zen poet and teacher. He is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Zen Keys and Living Buddha Living Christ.
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Product details
Publisher : Image; New edition (31 January 2000)
Language : English
Paperback : 128 pages
4.6 out of 5 stars 275 ratings
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has millions of copies and has been translated into over fifteen languages. He wrote over sixty other books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race.
After a rambunctious youth and adolescence, Merton converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.
The twenty-seven years he spent in Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena, where he became, according to Daniel Berrigan, the conscience of the peace movement of the 1960's. Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." For his social activism Merton endured severe criticism, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who assailed his political writings as unbecoming of a monk.
During his last years, he became deeply interested in Asian religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, and in promoting East-West dialogue. After several meetings with Merton during the American monk's trip to the Far East in 1968, the Dali Lama praised him as having a more profound understanding of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known. It was during this trip to a conference on East-West monastic dialogue that Merton died, in Bangkok on December 10, 1968, the victim of an accidental electrocution. The date marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of his entrance to Gethsemani.
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M. J. Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a 'How to' book but an insight into a traditionReviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2010
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Merton's writings (1915-1968) inspire us to understand more about the depths of early Christian life. This prolific writer could take a lifetime to read and his insights into the spiritual life (not only in the Christian tradition) are profound. This book on contemplative prayer is not a 'how to' book on how to pray in a contemplative way - for that you will need to seek elsewhere among the bookshelves. This book explores the history of monastic prayer and contemplation and provides a comprehensive background for anyone who wishes to gain an insight into what prayer and meditation means. The first half of the book (up to chapter XI) is more about the history of contemplation and has an academic flavour.
The second half of the book from page 82 onwards (Chapter XI) is perhaps the core of the work. As it states on the back cover Merton stresses we shouldn't look for a 'method' or a 'system' in meditation but cultivate an 'attitude' or 'outlook'. Chapter XI (page 82) begins 'What is the purpose of meditation in the sense of "the prayer of the heart"?' and from this moment on Merton unfolds to the reader what contemplation should really be about. Some key words and phrases are 'purity of heart', 'surrender', 'listening in silence', 'the incomprehensibility of God'. There is so much more for each reader to mine from this short but deep work (144pp). The second half of this book requires short bursts of reading and contemplation on each concept in order to fully appreciate what Merton is saying to the hopeful contemplative in this modern day. It is not an easy path and a lonely one but one worth following and one that is sorely needed at this time. A worthwhile read particularly the second half of the book.
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Sam
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book- a fantastic resource particularly for those who practice ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 December 2015
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An amazing book- a fantastic resource particularly for those who practice contemplative or centering prayer. Merton's insights about the process of contemplative practice is both informative and capable of occasioning new developments in one's practice itself. His explanation of the history and development of contemplation places the practice in its theological and liturgical context, and allows one to relate contemplation to the wider experience of the faith.
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Robert B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Contemplative prayer made easierReviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 April 2018
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Excellent explanation of the approach to Contemplative Prayer
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hazel
5.0 out of 5 stars ExcellentReviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2018
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Wanted to read more of Thomas Merton books
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John Cullaigh
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Exactly what I was looking forReviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 October 2015
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Excellent. Exactly what I was looking for.
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