Thomas Merton Recomendations

[The Comedian]

Hello all,

I'm looking to read a book by Thomas Merton. I've long wanted to start reading him, but I don't have a good place to start. Are there any titles that you recommend?

Thanks!

[Virgil]

I'm interested myself.

[NikolaiI]

I'm interested too, but I haven't gotten to read him yet either. I've only read a couple of pages here and there, and some of his poetry, which is available online. I really like some of it. Like I think it's called, "A song for Nobody" or something like this, that is a nice poem.

[hellsapoppin]

Merton? Wow. He wrote so many great books and poems that it is impossible to say which is the first one of these you should read.

But I have an idea: why not begin by reading his famous quotes?

These one liners give you a clear view of his messages and what his spiritual views were all about:


http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_merton.html


Enjoy!

[pagebypage]

The Seven Story Mountain.

[mal4mac]

Idealism. Like later Huxley. Though not as well written. Antidote needed. Try Kafka instead.

[NikolaiI]

Thanks for the link, hells - this one is nice... "A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire."

It reminds me of something I heard recently, that you can't have a spiritual life while being materially absorbed - it is like trying to light a fire in a block of wood while simultaneously pouring water on it. So we have to sort of purify ourselves by spiritual practices.

I do know about Thomas Merton that he collaborated with Thich Nhat Hanh on one or more works... I don't know too much more, but just that they worked together in an interfaith direction.

[The Comedian]

Just thought I'd note here that I've started to read Merton's Seven Story Mountain and have thus far found it highly enjoyable. I'll post a few more comments as I get father along.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Just thought I'd note here that I've started to read Merton's Seven Story Mountain and have thus far found it highly enjoyable. I'll post a few more comments as I get father along.

Great. Mine has come, but I am swamped with other stuff at the moment so I'll have to put mine on hold.

[PeterL]

I read The Seven Story Mountain years ago, and I was very put off. It is a memoir, and Merton was not a sort of person that I admire. He clung to religion as a crutch.

[The Comedian]

I read The Seven Story Mountain years ago, and I was very put off. It is a memoir, and Merton was not a sort of person that I admire. He clung to religion as a crutch.

Well, he was a Trappist monk. . . .I'm kind of expecting him to see faith and sacrament as essential to a complete human life.

[Lynne50]

I always wanted to read that too. The Seven Storey Mountain.
Did you know that he died tragically? If I'm not mistaken, he got electrocuted from a faulty fan in the bathroom.

[PeterL]

Well, he was a Trappist monk. . . .I'm kind of expecting him to see faith and sacrament as essential to a complete human life.

That would have been fine, but he was running away from ordinary existence. The religious life was a refuge from the ordinary activities of life.

[NikolaiI]

That would have been fine, but he was running away from ordinary existence. The religious life was a refuge from the ordinary activities of life.

Well it rather depends on what you define as necessary for ordinary existence. We don't all do the same thing. Would you criticize Jimi Hendrix for not working in a office job? Probably not, and it would make no sense. Life is so varied, I don't know that you can say there is an ordinary or normal existence.

Thomas Merton became a monk, which maybe we can't all do, but he gave us some valuable insights therefore. Do you think that no one should be a monk, and that there shouldn't be monasteries? In our human history, monasteries have been places which have saved a lot of learning when the rest of the world went to ruin.

Not everyone does the same thing in life, nor should they. Monks don't work 9-5, 40-week-hour jobs, and pay taxes, but then maybe that shouldn't exactly be the necessary standard for existence.

I guess my main point is that the only logical follow-up on your criticism of Thomas Merton for being a monk, is that you would say that no one should be a monk...

What about a (secular) hermit? Is that wrong too?

[PeterL]

Well it rather depends on what you define as necessary for ordinary existence. We don't all do the same thing. Would you criticize Jimi Hendrix for not working in a office job? Probably not, and it would make no sense. Life is so varied, I don't know that you can say there is an ordinary or normal existence.

Thomas Merton became a monk, which maybe we can't all do, but he gave us some valuable insights therefore. Do you think that no one should be a monk, and that there shouldn't be monasteries? In our human history, monasteries have been places which have saved a lot of learning when the rest of the world went to ruin.

Not everyone does the same thing in life, nor should they. Monks don't work 9-5, 40-week-hour jobs, and pay taxes, but then maybe that shouldn't exactly be the necessary standard for existence.

I guess my main point is that the only logical follow-up on your criticism of Thomas Merton for being a monk, is that you would say that no one should be a monk...

What about a (secular) hermit? Is that wrong too?

Opinions vary, and I don't have a copy of SSM handy, but the way he expressed it was like an adult grabbing a teddy bear and sucking his thumb.

[NikolaiI]

That seems like a very silly thing to say but perhaps it's true. I will read the book when I can and see for myself.

[The Comedian]

I've got about 150 pages into Seven Story Mountain, and thus far I am greatly enjoying it. I have always enjoyed autobiographies (or fictional accounts that use a first person narrator).

So far the book reminds me of St. Augustine's Confessions (another book that I liked) in that we see Merton coming to faith out of an intellectual need: yes he also seeks spiritual and emotional fulfillment as well. But seeing his mind grow into faith is something that is quite beautiful to see as I turn the pages.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I've started reading it today, I'm about 50 or so pages into it and I'm enjoying too. I certainly love the romantic imagery of rural France - (France along with Italy are two of the places I long to visit) which is where I am at present. It seems an well written and interesting book - looking forward to reading more.

[The Comedian]

I've started reading it today, I'm about 50 or so pages into it and I'm enjoying too. I certainly love the romantic imagery of rural France - (France along with Italy are two of the places I long to visit) which is where I am at present. It seems an well written and interesting book - looking forward to reading more.

I has similar feelings towards that first section. I know very little of Europe, but I looked up a map of France to see exactly where was during that time.

I'm about 250 pages into the book now and I'm still enjoying it just as much as I did before. Merton is now starting to arrive at Catholicism. And his documented narrative toward this past is really a history of the influential books that he's read (in addition to a range of other life experiences). Myself, as someone who greatly admires the power of words to give shape and meaning to our lives, I feel not a little bid kindred to how Merton is moved by by books.

[ennison]

If we live differently from others how does that mean we're running away? May be Merton was running towards. Religion as a crutch mmh. Useful thing a crutch.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I know very little of Europe

Ho, ho, shame on you...tut, tut.

I'm about halfway through this now and quite enjoying it, it is certainly interesting and well written. I can't help notice though how every so often he seems to get a little rage towards non-Christians, or even Christians who half-heartedly approach the religion - it is sort of funny to see these little outbursts. I am looking forward to getting on to the part where he becomes a monk, the blissful silence must be so rewarding!

Anyway, having read a few other things I can now turn my attention back on to this more fully. Then I must return to dear old Oscar.

[The Comedian]

Yeah, I noticed his jabs as other forms of Christianity, but, honestly, they don't really bother me. It's partly a product of his time, and I think it's also a product of coming to a strict adherence to a set faith. When we do this, we must exclude elements of competing faiths. That, and, of course he's young, a bit arrogant, and is making his way in the world of the early 20th century and the world of religion and faith.

My update: he's debating what type of Catholic monastery he would like to enter. I had no idea there were so many types nor that they had so many differences: Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines. . . .

Oh yeah, and regarding my lack of knowledge about Europe. I know a little bit about that old world (kidding. ..). I've even traveled there once. I just get a little particular with geography and I like to know exactly where something is, so when Merton described his childhood travels to small towns in Bermuda, France, England. . . . I had to get out my maps and see just where he was living.

Okay, enough rambling. Thanks for keeping this thread going Neely and others. It's so much better chat about a book than to enjoy it in silence alone. . . .

[LitNetIsGreat]

:lol: Oh, sorry, when you said you needed a map regarding France, I sort of took it to mean, oh never mind...:blush:

Yes the jabs at others don't bother me either, it’s quite cute in a way. I want to get to the part when he is choosing what type of monastery he is going into as I'm quite interested in that sort of thing, in a roundabout way.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I've finished this today and was quite pleased with it all-in-all. I have to say that I was a little frustrated with his "dithering" at times, but on the whole I found it interesting and it didn't matter that his call was religious (as I am not a Christian at all). I think that most people could relate to his self-searching regardless of the subject.

Having read it all, I certainly don't think that he was escaping anything that's for sure, but doing what he felt was the real "him".

[The Comedian]

I've finished this today and was quite pleased with it all-in-all.

I'm nearly finished myself. And, in all, I am pleased with the book as well. I might not return to its page, however, but yes, I am pleased with it.


I have to say that I was a little frustrated with his "dithering" at times,

Yeah -- some of the intensely dogmatic sections, I, um read more quickly. . .


but on the whole I found it interesting and it didn't matter that his call was religious (as I am not a Christian at all). I think that most people could relate to his self-searching regardless of the subject.

I agree. As I'm nearing the end of this work (he's entering the Trappist monastery in Kentucky), I've thought how interesting it would be to compare this work to his contemporary ex-patriots. . . . Hemingway. . . . and European writers at this time (Merton is in many ways both American and European at once; in this especially I've found him to be an interesting character study) who chose aesthetic or secular means of dealing with a world in crisis and a soul in turmoil.

Anyway, I think I'll write up a book review of this work in the coming weeks and post it there.

But anyway, thanks Neely for reading this book and posting comments about it. And for all others who posted here: PeterL especially, as you comments about Merton's use of religion as escapism gave me a bit of framework by which to interpret the text.

[The Comedian]

I'm going to start "No Man Is an Island" pretty soon if anyone is interested in a mini read/discussion of another Merton text.

[The Comedian]

I'm about 50 pages into No Man is an Island right now and have greatly enjoyed it. The text is a sequence of prayers, essays, and "meditations" on a variety of spiritual topics both big (freedom, charity) and small. Thus far, Merton's thoughts pertaining to the role of art in human spiritual consciousness is captivating and enlightening.

He argues that art's role is to move us beyond simple aesthetic pleasure into a contemplative, inner connection with G-d. And while I am not a dogmatic person in anyway, I greatly appreciate what I think to be a highly under valued element of great art: that it moves the spirit toward a connection with something greater than the self. For Merton, of course, this is the Catholic G-d. And while this spiritual idea may sound a bit hokey to some (to me too, at times), I cannot deny that I do indeed feel a spiritual presence in my own perception of the best art.