Merton; one of the rare Western thinkers able to feel at home in the philosophies of the East; made the wisdom of Asia available to Westerners."Zen enriches no one;" Thomas Merton provocatively writes in his opening statement to Zen and the Birds of Appetite--one of the last books to be published before his death in 1968. "There is no body to be found. The birds may come and circle for a while... but they soon go elsewhere. When they are gone; the nothing; the no-body that was there; suddenly appears. That is Zen. It was there all the time but the scavengers missed it; because it was not their kind of prey." This gets at the humor; paradox; and joy that one feels in Mertons discoveries of Zen during the last years of his life; a joy very much present in this collection of essays. Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Zen; especially through his dialogue with the great Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki; the book makes an excellent introduction to a comparative study of these two traditions; as well as giving the reader a strong taste of the mature Merton. Never does one feel him losing his own faith in these pages; rather one feels that faith getting deeply clarified and affirmed. Just as the body of "Zen" cannot be found by the scavengers; so too; Merton suggests; with the eternal truth of Christ.
#2083402 in eBooks 2012-10-30 2012-10-30File Name: B007ONG622
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I called him BenjiBy PamelaThis book tells a story of a poor boy his difficult life including the challenge of growing up in a neighborhood where drugs were readily available. Follow Bobby through his life to see that addicts can find recovery. The best part is that I am on page 51. I called him Benji.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Here we find the backstory of Brooklyn GangBy Guy O. Whelchel IIIBruce Davidsons photographs appear in the Time Life Book Series "This Fabulous Century." I knew that there were more photographs than Life published and so when the International Center of Photography put on its exhibition of Brooklyn Gang I drove down from Connecticut and saw it. The reviews of the exhibitiion suggested that there was more information than any source published--a good deal of it is here. I never-before understood how bad living conditions were in the post-war; and I did not fully understand how much the drug epidemic changed New York culture. This book tells an interesting story--it would have been illuminating to see what happened to more of the "Jokers" from the photographs--perhaps that is the next book.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Greg AndersonGreat story of redemption. very moving. Wish they had reprinted more of the pictures. though.
