Seeds of Contemplation [Hardcover]

Thomas Merton (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 201 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313207569
• ISBN-13: 978-0313207563
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,909,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, has millions of copies and has been translated into over fifteen languages. He wrote over sixty other books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race.

After a rambunctious youth and adolescence, Merton converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of monks belonging to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), the most ascetic Roman Catholic monastic order.

The twenty-seven years he spent in Gethsemani brought about profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena, where he became, according to Daniel Berrigan, the conscience of the peace movement of the 1960's. Referring to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of our time, Merton was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." For his social activism Merton endured severe criticism, from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who assailed his political writings as unbecoming of a monk.

During his last years, he became deeply interested in Asian religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, and in promoting East-West dialogue. After several meetings with Merton during the American monk's trip to the Far East in 1968, the Dali Lama praised him as having a more profound understanding of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known. It was during this trip to a conference on East-West monastic dialogue that Merton died, in Bangkok on December 10, 1968, the victim of an accidental electrocution. The date marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of his entrance to Gethsemani.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic of up-beat spirituality, December 28, 2011

By 

Dr. Richard M. Price (London, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeds of Contemplation (Hardcover)

When this book appeared in its original version in 1949, its up-beat presentation of contemplative prayer -- or rather, of a contemplative perception of the world -- and the freshness of its style won immediate plaudits, and it is still worth reading today. There is nothing dated in its main message -- that we have to burrow beneath the superficial personalities of ourselves and others, defined by specific needs and inclinations, to the real person beneath, created to be flooded and transformed by the love of God.

There are brief, rather perfunctory, sections on dryness in prayer and the need not to be too hungry for what used to be called 'spiritual consolations', but the emphasis remains on joy as the fruit of the spiritual life. A striking final chapter describes life on earth as a continuation of the garden of Eden, without any mention of the Fall.

This vision of the spiritual life is arguably too rosy. A book like Ruth Burrows' Guidelines for Mystical Prayer is much more realistic about the up-hill character of the life of prayer and the distortions that arise from our self-love.

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, inspirational, and powerful!!!!!!!!, May 6, 2010

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Verlie Massey Horton - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seeds of Contemplation (725) (Paperback)

Thomas Merton's book, Seeds of Conteplation' is an inspiring and powerful book. Reading this book is blessing me to experience the presence of God in all creations.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Famous Monk's Most Famous Work, March 1, 2007

By 

Joseph Dispenza (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seeds of Contemplation (Hardcover)

I read this book when I was in monastic life myself, and I will never forget the impact it had on me. It simply is a great book, a testament to solitude and the cloistered life of service. Today, especially, it has tremendous relevance. Joseph Dispenza, author of "God On Your Own: Finding a Spiritual Path Outside Religion."