Calugar trapist american, Thomas Merton a fost unul dintre cei mai generosi si mai lucizi cercetatori ai convergentei religiilor: toate religiile, indiferent de drumurile lor particulare, duc spre acelasi pol. De altfel, el si-a gandit volumul de eseuri ca pe o intalnire, ca pe un dialog intre aceste cai, facand mai ales referinta la curente mistice crestine si la discipline contemplative sau etice extrem-orientale.
Thomas Merton vorbeste ca un om al secolului XX, aderent la problematica, la cautarea spirituala comuna a Orientului si Occidentului. Pentru el, intelegerea traditiilor orientale poate arunca o revelatoare lumina asupra semnificatiilor crestinismului.
Pentru el, civilizatia lumii actuale trebuie sa fie o civilizatie a intalnirii intre caile spirituale ale tuturor traditiilor spirituale autentice.
Thomas Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding.
Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the US. Merton's letters and diaries, reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms. He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life.
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