[thomasmerton] Merton/OnHermits/1

[Guest guest]

dear brothers and sisters

 

.....how interesting it is that those of us who share a 'mystic' bent to

their perceptions of reality are always cast as either social pariahs or

demi-gods....Merton in his lifetime found himself at odds within the

institution (authority) in which he served the divine (freedom) and now that

same institution is beginning the process of making him more than he was

(hence, this discussion group and ones like it dedicated to other

teachers)....like you and like me he was a sincere pilgrim following the way

of the sacred warrior with a noble heart....and yet, i am always reminded by

St. Benedict that there is something extremely selfish about the search for

salvation....in the end, the mystic/the ascetic is forced by the love it

seeks and finds to return to those it has abandoned in the name of higher

love.....love is at our center and love is arising.....Jesus returned from

the desert to begin his ministry....on a more contemporary front i am

reminded of Nisaragadatta who returned to his wife and family and abandoned

the ascetic life....i am moved by Bede Griffeths who reached out beyond the

walls of Christianity to find in Christ in the Purusha of an Interfaith

Advaitist Ashram in India....i am lead by Thich Nhat Hahn who was a

spiritual brother of TM and continues his noble work in his teachings, his

writings and his life celebrating the LIVING BUDDHA, LIVING CHRIST.....i am

guided by Arjuna in realizing that love is discovered not in seeking love

for one self but in devotion service to all creation....love is at our

center and love lies just beyond the transparent edge.....i celebrate my

love for my beloved who burns in my heart and in whose eyes i see myself as

i am.....^^~~~~~

 

further up and further in,

 

white wolfe

 

Re: [thomasmerton] Merton/OnHermits/1

 

> > Merton was told by the doctor at

> that time that his desire to become a hermit was a

> kind of neurotic, narcissistic grandstanding act on his part.

>

> It's amazing how quick people are to criticize others whose individual

desires, needs, or ideas are outside of the mainstream and would neither

offend nor disturb the well-being of anyone else. I wonder what the good

doctor would have said about St. John the Baptist.

>

> Dolores

>

> "Christ came on earth to form contemplatives" Thomas Merton

>

> Your use of is subject to

>

>