'A Silent Action: Engagements with Thomas Merton'
Book review |- Written by Patrick Hart | Special to The Courier-Journal
In the latter part of March 1998, I had the good fortune of attending a lecture by then-Bishop Rowan Williams of Monmouth, Wales, sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland at Merton’s prep school of Oakham, which attracted participants from around the world. After his excellent presentation in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, I congratulated him. What I recall of our conversation was his insistence on the enormous influence of William Blake on the early Merton. Along with Hopkins, Newman and Blake, Merton was steeped in the Russian Orthodox theologians who had migrated to Paris.
Following a brief Author’s Foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury in which he acknowledges his indebtedness to Merton over the years from the time of “Elected Silence” (the British edition of Merton’s autobiography heavily edited by Evelyn Waugh), to “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” “studying for my doctorate with Merton’s friend, A.M. Allchin, proved a doorway into still more of his mind and spirit. A few years later The Asian Journal gave me my first sense that inter-religious dialogue could be (and had to be) a matter of spiritual encounter, and still more doors opened.
Rowan Williams arranged these “engagements” into five chapters, beginning with a paradoxical tribute to Thomas Merton in “a person that nobody knows.” He concludes this short chapter with words of wisdom: “The great Christian is the man or woman who can make me more interested in God than in him or her. A paradoxical tribute, but the highest that can be paid.”
The second chapter, “Bread in the Wilderness,” concerns the monastic ideal in Thomas Merton and Paul Evdokimov, which first appeared in Theology and Prayer, essays in monastic themes presented at the Oxford Cistercian Conference in 1973, edited by A.M. Allchin.
“New Words for God,” the third chapter, deals with contemplation and religious writing and is based on Williams’ talk at Oakham in 1998. It was published in “Thomas Merton: Poet, Monk, Prophet,” edited by Paul Pearson, director of the Merton Center at Bellarmine University for Three Parks Press.
The fourth chapter, titled “The Only Real City: Monasticism and the Social Vision,” was delivered as an address at the Thomas Merton Conference held at Bose in northern Italy in 2004. It later appeared in the Merton Journal, published by the Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
“Not Being Serious: Thomas Merton and Karl Barth” was originally given as a lecture on Dec. 10, 2008, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Merton’s and Barth’s deaths, which reminds us that they died on this day and shared an obituary in the New York Times.
With an insightful Preface by Orthodox writer Jim Forest and an Afterword by Metropolitan Bishop Kallistus Ware, this ecumenical gem is assured a wide and appreciative readership.
Patrick Hart, O.C.S.O, a monk of Gethsemani, is currently general editor of a new series of books on Monastic Wisdom, a Cistercian Publications Imprint from Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn. He was the last secretary to Thomas Merton, the monk, author and mystic.
Here is news that will be of interest to many of us working on Qur'an and Sufi traditions: the publication of
Tustari's Tafsir.
The series is shaping up to be a legendary one in the field of Tafsir studies
In Memorium:
1935-2010
If you would like to read Dr. Larry Rasmussen's talk from the 2010 Festival of Faiths Prayer Breakfast, you can find it here.
United Nations-created
World Interfaith Harmony Week
to be held each year in the first week of February.
In October, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution deeming the first week of February each year to be ‘World Interfaith Harmony Week.’ The initiative was proposed by King Abdullah of Jordan and co-sponsored by 29 other countries. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad delivered the King’s proposal in September, encouraging all states to “spread the message of interfaith harmony and goodwill in the world’s churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other places of worship…to each according to their own religious traditions or convictions.”
via: www.illumemag.com - Vanessa Gomez Brake
Friend of Fons Vitae, Arjia Rinpoche sharing his life story:
15th Annual Festival of Faiths
November 16‐13, 2010
Louisville, KY
This year’s theme:
Earth
Festival of Faiths is a sustained series of annual events and programs, scheduled each year over the course of several consecutive days. Our mission is to celebrate the diversity of our faiths, be grateful for our unity and strengthen the role of religion in society. We accomplish our mission by exploring how the different participating faith traditions address a common issue, topic or theme.
Of special note:
Nov 7 -
The Henry Clay, 604 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor was a trained and published neuroanatomist at Harvard Medical School when a blood vessel exploded in the left hemisphere of her brain. Over the course of four hours, Dr. Taylor watched her mind completely deteriorate in its ability to process all information. By the end of the morning of this rare form of stroke, she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. She essentially became an infant in a woman's body and it took eight years for her to completely recover all functions and return to teaching at the medical school level. During her presentation, Dr. Taylor will clarify what we are as living beings, how our two hemispheres work together to manifest our perception of reality, what the priorities are of each of the different hemispheres, and what we can learn about how our world functions as a macrocosmic reflection of what our brains are thinking and feeling.
Co-sponsored by Eleanor Bingham Miller and the Pakistani Doctors Association.
Proceeds benefit Fons Vitae.
$19.
Free for teenagers.
Monday September 27th, 2010-
Reception and Launch Held for
Fons Vitae's recent publication:
Hidden in the Same Mystery:
Thomas Merton and Loretto
At the Home of Owsley and Christy Brown,
with editor Sister Mary Swain, along with other Members of the Loretto and Gethsemani communities.
Zaytuna College Convocation 2010
Featuring a reading from Fons Vitae's own Gray Henry.
Watch here.
A Great Urgency
On the White Buffalo Prophecy
To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders
My Relatives,
Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.
Link to text and video.
Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
http://www.Wolakota.org
Common Gound Event at Carmichael's Books
On Tuesday, August 3rd at 7 PM, CArmichael's will host a discussion of the new book Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism: Spiritual and Ethical Affinities.
Fons Vitae publisher Gray Henry and Interfaith Paths to Peace director Terry Taylor will discuss the foundational principles of these two great religions and how finding common ground can provide hope for the future.
Carmichael's Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, Kentucky 40206
May 12, 2010
The Launch of
Common Ground Between Islam & Buddhism
On May 12, 2010, the Dalai Lama, joined by a panel of select scholars, officially launched the Common Ground project, which he and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad of Jordan have initiated. It is hoped, with the publication of this work to which both have contributed, that this spiritual relationship will flower in many ways, including the promotion of a new realm of scholarship and research.
Both the Dalai Lama and Prince Ghazi are currently overseeing translation efforts to make this work as accessible as possible to Islamic and Buddhist peoples, and to the world at large.
A film has been made of this historic occasion, which will shortly be available here soon.
Collage from photos by Richard Pearce. Click image to go to album (Picasa account required)
Among the participants on the panel were Ingrid Mattson, Hamza Yusuf, Eboo Patel, Imam Plemon T. El Amin, & Reza Shah-Kazemi.
LINKS TO MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE EVENT:
- Click here for "His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bloomington, IN", an article from the Dalai Lama's official website detailing his participation in the launch of Common Ground.
- Click here for official photos from the Dalai Lama's website of his visit to Bloomington, including a group photo with Gray Henry and other members of the Fons Vitae staff!
- Click here for "The Long Road to Common Ground", an article from the Louisville-Courier Journal about the publishing process of this new and extraordinary volume; included is a video of the Dalai Lama speaking (patience-- the Courier Journal's website will take a few minutes to load). And photos from Peter Smith here.
- The Dalai Lama in the NY Times.
- A blessing from the Dalai Lama -Eboo Patel, Washington Post
- Dalai Lama-inspired book explores common ground between Islam and Buddhism:TibetanReview.net
|
 |
|
Click for more photos
Courtesy of Peter Schroede
|
|
 |
|
Click for more photos
Courtesy of the Courier-Journal
|
|
|