Mystics and Zen Masters

This book is not for the faint of heart, but has deep insights. The vocabulary of the author alone will lead to the looking up of words.

Thomas Merton is a favorite writer and thinker since I read his bestselling memoir Seven Story Mountain years ago. This book is well-written with clear exposition of the eastern mysticism he examines. I found the chapters on Confucian teachings and traditions particularly illuminating, although the entire book is written in a thoughtful way, with reflective insights about how East and West meet up when it comes to mystical pursuits. There are many provocative and evocative elements in this book for practitioners of contemplative disciplines. I wouldn't have expected anything less from a Cistercian monk with a gift for writing. For those less spiritually inclined there's plenty here to gain a better understanding of the culture and religious traditions that gave rise to contemporary Asia. Will read this book again and again.

Another perspective of a subject that bas been beaten to within an inch of its spiritual life as most other writers have likewise butchered when exploring truth. It was enjoyable but not as in-depth as I prefer.

Thomas Merton engages your mind to the point where one reading is not enough. The book requires reading over and over to penetrate the depth of Merton's understanding of his subject matter. His fluid writing is captivating!

If you are interested in traveling back in time to the 1960's, and tuning into the American intelligentsia discussing spiritual experience on the cocktail party circuit, this is the book for you. I know that sounds snarky, but the fact is that if you are not already well-versed in the particulars of Zen Buddhism or the English mystics, you may well learn quite a bit by reading these articles. The problem is that Merton, while he speaks in a tone of confident authority, is nothing more than a dilletant. When he is not grazing on the scholarship of others he is pronouncing definitively on the nature of someone else's lifetime of commitment and spiritual experience. You have to appreciate the man's commitment to open-minded ecumenicalism, especially given the times and the place in which he lived and his position in society. But even on this score his mind is just too lashed to the decks to transcend his chauvinism, which is in this case Catholic and western, and yes (it's 2020 after all) White and male. Not surprisingly, this makes for an obstacle to a true encounter with the human experience Merton supposedly describes here. Is this book worth reading? If you stumble on it on a bookshelf somewhere, and open it up because you're interested in the topics, by all means proceed. If you're searching Amazon or the library catalogue because you're interested in Zen or Christian existentialism, keep looking.

Anything by Thomas Merton us worth reading.After reading his books, Gethsemane Abbey in New Haven KY is on my list of places I need to see.

Transaction was as scheduled and the book is amazing and I might add anything dealing with Thomas Merton is a must read.

It wasn't long enough.

Detailed treatment of Zen in a very considered way treading very gently on all the seemingly insurmounted problems surrounding any description of Zen Buddhism. Rest of the text is historical discourse on the classical mystic tradition, includes a good discussion on the crusades.

Thomas Merton is a well read and scholarly author. In this book he assimilates some very difficult ideas and presents them in a form which is easily readable. If you want a good introduction to this subject then you won't do better than this book.