The Inner Experience

Thomas Merton's final book explores the meaning and daily practice of contemplation - the heart of monastic and religious experience. This is his most comprehensive work on the subject. And now, the Merton Legacy Trust has decided to produce this expertly edited treatment, which Merton was finishing at the time of his death. The Inner Experience is a major addition to the Merton canon. Faithfully edited by Merton scholar William H. Shannon, The Inner Experience bridges Merton's early, thoroughly Catholic works on contemplation with his later, wide-ranging writings This book signals his growing interest in Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality, which would significantly influence his thinking and writing in the last decade of his life.