A Vow of Conversation: Journals, 1964-1965

by Thomas Merton

The journal kept by Merton during 1964 and 1965, containing his daily meditations during the crucial and difficult period in which the permission he had awaited so long -- to live alone in his hermitage -- was finally given. These pages reveal his reflections as a hermit on the joys and dangers of a life of solitude in the woods.

Genres: Spirituality

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Thomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. In December 1941 he entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani and in May 1949 he was ordained to priesthood. He was a member of the convent of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice. His interfaith conversation, which preserved both Protestant and Catholic theological positions, helped to build mutual respect via their shared experiences at a period of heightened hostility. He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama XIV; Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them. This was highly unusual at the time in the United States, particularly within the religious orders.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Vow of Conversation is a book that has kept me thinking long after I finished it. I’ve read a fair amount by Thomas Merton recently, but this book has been the one that I return to in my thoughts. For starters, it is a journal, so it has an intimacy not present in the more formal works in my possession. I’m sure it has been cleaned up somewhat for the purposes of publication, but one gets the sense that it is quite authentic to Merton’s thoughts. An interesting note: Out of all of Merton’s books that I have read, Vow is the only one not granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. I wonder if it would have stood a chance of being approved for publication had Merton not died in 1968. In many ways, it challenges the institution of the Church and the rules of monastic life. He was particularly harsh in his statements on liturgical changes instituted in the 60s and the Vatican’s statements (not strong enough) on the Jews and WWII. The internal conflicts between obedience and individuality are apparent throughout. Merton’s entries retain all of the faith, insight and poetic language of his other works, but it provides a window into his “self” that is hidden from readers in his Church-sanctioned works.

[Hunter Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

March 27 Good Friday:

I came up to the hermitage at 4 a.m. The moon poured down silence over the woods and the frosty grass sparkled faintly in the dark. I had more than two hours of prayer by firelight. The sun appeared and rose at 6:44. Sweet pungent smell of hickory smoke and silence, silence. But birds. Again presence, awareness. Sorry, idiot life. Idiot existence. Idiot not because it has to be but because it is not what it could be with a little more courage and prayer. In the end, it all comes down to renunciation. The "infinite binding" without which one cannot begin to talk of freedom. But it must be renunciation, not mere resignation, abdication, or giving up. There is no simple answer. The ordinary answers tend to be confusing. They hide the truth for which one must struggle in loneliness. But why in desperation? This is not necessary.

January 9:
I am full of rice which I found a new good way of cooking.

[Arturo Hernández Ortega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empecé la lectura de este diario póstumo con reserva y al final me alegré de la oportunidad de conocer a un hombre en conflicto constante, rebelde, reflexivo y honesto.

Encontré muchas referencias valiosas a otras lecturas y sobre todos, una perspectiva nueva hacia la espiritualidad, Dios, la Iglesia Católica, el Estado, la soledad y el silencio.