Thomas Merton e o Zen Budismo

Abstract

This study proposes one sharp “looking” at Thomas Merton’s “seeing” considering how he let himself to be touched by the Zen Buddhist spirituality on his Christian journey. The axis of this thesis will be, therefore, to promote a focus on his mystic life lived in a great communion with the nature. The strict Zen monastic tradition and the trapist monasticism of the Cisters are really alike on their rigid disciplines taken seriously for the everyday living by the monks. The Creation in accordance with Merton’s thoughts is extremely associated with the vision of sacrality, furthermore the divine love is shared through a Zen perspective where nature/ to awake are inseparable. Thirsty of God and learning he has done a pilgrimage around the eastern continent and on his search for the great compassion he finally found the “other side of the mountain”, or in another words: he has lived many remarkable mystic experiences indeed while visiting some Asian sacred places.