Mystics and Zen Masters

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a difficult read though I must admit, very academic. Pulled out my thesarus, dictionary, and googled a lot. But as a christ follower who thinks we could learn from the east, this book is a doozy. Enjoy.

This book consists of a number of essays written at different times, and though the range of topics seem quite varied at first (which isn't necessarily a bad thing--we call it the "spice of life" after all), a little thought will show the unifying theme to be the contemplative traditions within the world religions, principally Buddhism and Christianity. It is also apparent that several of the essays were originally book reviews, but Merton's incredible writing style and deep spirituality transform this usually cut-and-dried format into an art in itself. It was also salutary to see a Catholic actually take Vatican II's directions on other religious traditions seriously, instead of rationalizing this away in favor of one's own arrogant sense of religious superiority (which bears a family resemblance to the pride of Satan). Even more salutary to see a Catholic able to do so with a firm, solid, secure sense of his own religious identity and spiritual tradition (there is no mishmash of "all religions are the same" here). Since the essays were originaly written in the 1960's, some of the characterizations of Zen Buddhism are a bit dated, which isn't Merton's fault but the reader should still be alert to this fact. His discussions on this subject also owe much to D.T. Suzuki's eccentric, unorthodox formulations of Zen and so end up a bit skewed in spots, and Suzuki may also be a baneful influence in Merton's uncharacteristic use of cliched stereotypes of "the Eastern Mind" and "the Western Mind"--as seen especially in the essay "The Zen Koan". Still, overall Merton's presentation of Zen is reliable and "sympathetically objective" (as he puts it) and his own monastic experience doubtlessly gives him a realistic grounding when approaching the subject.

Although this book is a collection of essays over a range of subjects, and therefore not a continuous work, it is a very valuable work for understanding Chinese religion, Zen, and European mysticism (the main topics it addresses). The essays are classicaly Merton, although they are written in a more academic style -- and perhaps this is why the book has drawn criticism from the other reviewers. In other words, this book is less for learning about prayer and contemplation for one's own daily practice, and more for delving a bit deeper into some of the technical and historical aspects of Zen and Christian mysticism. For those interested in the latter, however, Merton does a very good job. His understanding of Zen is remarkable for someone who did not engage in it firsthand and who (I assume) learned about it primarily from reading while he was in the monastery. The first essay (with the same title as the book) gives a very interesting and understandable account of the break between the Northern and Southern schools, and the Zen of Hui-neng vs. the Zen of Hsen-hsiu.So, although this book may not be for everyone, it is still a very fine work and will be very beneficial for many readers.