The Merton 'Mystery'

 James Finley

The stance of limiting myself to specifically Christian language within a broader context of respect for the contemplative wisdom of non-Christian traditions is something I learned from the contemporary Christian monk Thomas Merton. Near the end of his life Merton became very committed to Buddhist-Christian dialogue; and in this commitment he went to Asia to have first-hand exposure to Buddhists and the Buddhist tradition. On December 10th, 1968, while on that trip, he died. 

Shortly before his death he wrote a letter back to his own monastic community at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. One of the things he said was that in going to Asia he discovered he never had to go there -- that everything he was searching for was present in the monastery, was present in his own hermitage, was present in his own Christian tradition. And so it is in this spirit of sensitivity to and respect for the non-Christian contemplative traditions that we will be focusing here on meditation as practiced and understood within the context of the ancient and ongoing contemplative traditions of Christian faith.

Christian Meditation, Introduction.

[Many times I've heard and even read this story with the conclusion that Merton was ready to leave the Church and become a Buddhist. Some even say he was somehow murdered so he would not do this and thereby shame the Church. James Finley heard the truth from the 'horse's mouth' as it were. My friend Bernadette Roberts indicated much the same thing, respect for all contemplative traditions, with no need or intention to leave one's original path.]