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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
This was my first introduction to Merton and I appreciated both his content and writing style. I was expecting more of a Catholic bent to the writings but did not notice this at all (I am not sure if this says more about Merton or me). This book is a collection of 16 essays by Merton on a variety of topics with regard to the spiritual life. It is best read slowly and pondered over time. This may be the most quotable book I have ever read but I have the distinct sense that this is not what Merton was trying to achieve (which makes it even better). Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
To destroy truth with truth under the pretext of being sincere is a very insincere way of telling a lie.
Until we have reached the bottom of the abyss, there is still something for us to choose between all and nothing.
How tragic it is that they who have nothing to express are continually expressing themselves, like nervous gunners, firing burst after burst of ammunition into the dark, where there is no enemy.
This had a lot of profound insight regarding Life and our relationship with God. However, its not the easiest book to read as you need to read bits at a time, digest it, and then decide for yourself how to interpret what it is he has to say. Overall, its a very interesting book.
If we are lucky, once or twice in our lives a book will come along that will truly, drastically, change us. This was one such book. I first read it a little more than fifteen years ago and I felt that it was unquestionably one of the greatest books I had ever read. It humbled me. It challenged me.
Since that time it has been sitting on my shelf and I kept saying I need to get back to it. Finally, I have done so but I almost wish I hadn't. This is still a really good book. It is actually more of a collection of thoughts and ideas than what we are used to seeing even as a work of philosophical or religious nonfiction. Within those reflections, there are some incredibly profound glimpses and some very quotable (and life aspiration type) moments.
However, there are also some points where it just seems like he is rambling or repeating things he has already said in other ways in other chapters. I still truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who would consider themselves a true reader (knocking out a few dozen YA novels a year does not count as real reading). I just think that I had set the bar so high after my first read that it would have been impossible to meet my expectations.
Since that time it has been sitting on my shelf and I kept saying I need to get back to it. Finally, I have done so but I almost wish I hadn't. This is still a really good book. It is actually more of a collection of thoughts and ideas than what we are used to seeing even as a work of philosophical or religious nonfiction. Within those reflections, there are some incredibly profound glimpses and some very quotable (and life aspiration type) moments.
However, there are also some points where it just seems like he is rambling or repeating things he has already said in other ways in other chapters. I still truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who would consider themselves a true reader (knocking out a few dozen YA novels a year does not count as real reading). I just think that I had set the bar so high after my first read that it would have been impossible to meet my expectations.
"We are always asking, 'What is Truth?' and then crucifying the truth that stands before our eyes."
- Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island
Appropriately, I guess, I read this while flying back to the US from a week with my family in Malta. On the plane I ran out of tabs, so had to ink this sucker up. Something I'm usually reluctant to do if I have enough tabs. The problem is Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk/Zen Scholar/Social Justice warrior, etc., is infinitely quotable. He writes well and, I (an agnostic Zen Mormon) find myself attracted to his approach to God, man, and our relationship with each other. I think my Catholic friends get confused by my attraction and feel I am moving towards Catholicism (I'm not). My Mormon friends may also get confused and think I'm moving away from Mormonism (I'm not). I think what I'm moving towards is a universal approach to God that transcends religions and belief. Merton captures a lot of this, or at least a lot that I'm attracted to.
This book is divided up into chapters on:
Love
Hope
Conscience, Freedom, Prayer
Pure Intention
Asceticism and Sacrifice
Being and Doing
Vocation
Charity
Sincerity
Mercy
Recollection
Solitude
Silence
... and more. The book is lovely. It moves beyond religion and dogma to a universal desire to know ourselves, understand God, and relate to the other. It is, again, lovely.
- Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island
Appropriately, I guess, I read this while flying back to the US from a week with my family in Malta. On the plane I ran out of tabs, so had to ink this sucker up. Something I'm usually reluctant to do if I have enough tabs. The problem is Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk/Zen Scholar/Social Justice warrior, etc., is infinitely quotable. He writes well and, I (an agnostic Zen Mormon) find myself attracted to his approach to God, man, and our relationship with each other. I think my Catholic friends get confused by my attraction and feel I am moving towards Catholicism (I'm not). My Mormon friends may also get confused and think I'm moving away from Mormonism (I'm not). I think what I'm moving towards is a universal approach to God that transcends religions and belief. Merton captures a lot of this, or at least a lot that I'm attracted to.
This book is divided up into chapters on:
Love
Hope
Conscience, Freedom, Prayer
Pure Intention
Asceticism and Sacrifice
Being and Doing
Vocation
Charity
Sincerity
Mercy
Recollection
Solitude
Silence
... and more. The book is lovely. It moves beyond religion and dogma to a universal desire to know ourselves, understand God, and relate to the other. It is, again, lovely.
Fantastic theology/contemplative book. Made me think about a lot of things in regards to faith, my faith, religion, and the contemplative/ascetic life. I really like this Merton guy.
"The loud plane seems for a moment to deny the reality of the clouds and of the sky, by its direction, its noise, and its pretended strength. The silence of the sky remains when the plane has gone. The tranquility of the clouds will remain when the plane has fallen apart. It is the silence of the world that is real. Our noise, our business, our purposes, and all our fatuous statements about our purposes, our business, and our noise: these are the illusion." - pg. 257
"The loud plane seems for a moment to deny the reality of the clouds and of the sky, by its direction, its noise, and its pretended strength. The silence of the sky remains when the plane has gone. The tranquility of the clouds will remain when the plane has fallen apart. It is the silence of the world that is real. Our noise, our business, our purposes, and all our fatuous statements about our purposes, our business, and our noise: these are the illusion." - pg. 257