Product Description

In this classic text, Thomas Merton offers valuable guidance for prayer. He brings together a wealth of meditative and mystical influences–from John of the Cross to Eastern desert monasticism–to create a spiritual path for today. Most important, he shows how the peace contacted through meditation should not be sought in order to evade the problems of contemporary life, but can instead be directed back out into the world to affect positive change.

Contemplative Prayer is one of the most well-known works of spirituality of the last one hundred years, and it is a must-read for all seeking to live a life of purpose in today’s world.

In a moving and profound introduction, Thich Nhat Hanh offers his personal recollections of Merton and compares the contemplative traditions of East and West.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43021 in Books
• Published on: 1971-02-01
• Released on: 1971-02-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.99" h x .33" w x 5.14" l, .26 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From Amazon.com
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 AudioFile
This book was intended for those leading a monastic life, but Thomas Merton's work is accessible to non-monastics who are seriously interested in contemplative prayer. This approach to prayer is rooted in Catholic theology, but it is easily applied to spiritual disciplines outside Catholicism. The book is more than a ³how-to.² It shows what contemplative prayer is and, more importantly, isn't, and examines its roots in religious thought and action. Jonathan Montaldo's delivery is even but not rigidly so. He varies his tone and pace to stress important points. When some of the theological concepts require concentration, Montaldo slows down to allow the listener to grasp them without sounding the least bit condescending. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
“[Readers] will find Contemplative Prayer valuable. Merton shows that all living theology needs to be rooted in exercises where men somehow happily establish contact with God.” --New York Times Book Review