Contemplative Prayer - Softcover

Thomas Merton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0232526044 ISBN 13: 9780232526042

Publisher: Darton Longman and Todd, 2005

Synopsis

Thomas Merton's classic study of monastic prayer and contemplation brings a tradition of spirituality alive for the present day. But, as A M Allchin points out in his Introduction to this new edition, Contemplative Prayer also shows us the present day in a new perspective, because we see it in the light of a long and living tradition.

About this title

Review:

This little gem of a book, newly issued with a foreword from the great Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (who knew Merton in the 1960s) beautifully distills Merton's own reading and long experience with contemplation. Written close to the end of Merton's life, this book is not so much a "how to" guide as it is a kind of contemplation of contemplation. Immersed in the "negative theology" of St. John of the Cross and others--and influenced by his deep reading in Zen--Merton here stresses that in meditation "we should not look for a 'method' or 'system,' but cultivate an 'attitude,' an 'outlook': faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, supplication, trust, joy." God is found in the desert of surrender: this means giving up any expectation for a particular message and "waiting on the Word of God in silence," knowing that any answer will be "his silence itself suddenly, inexplicably revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God." --Doug Thorpe

From the Publisher:

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 this edition

• Publisher: Darton Longman and Todd
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0232526044
• ISBN 13: 9780232526042
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144