Thomas merton brief biography of williams
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Thomas Merton
American Trappist monk (–)
For the English physicist, see Thomas Ralph Merton.
Not to be confused with Thomas Manton or Thomas Morten.
Thomas MertonOCSO (January 31, &#;&#; December 10, ), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years,[1] mostly on spirituality, social justice, and pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most widely-read works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain ().
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through study and practice. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures including the Dalai Lama, Japanese writer D.&#;T. Suzuki, Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.
Early life
[edit]Thomas Merton was born in Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, France, on January 31, , to parents of Welsh origin: Owen Merton, a New Zealand painter active in Europe and the United States, and Ruth Jenkins Merton, an American Q
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Thomas Merton
Born on January 31, in France to artist parents, Thomas Merton moved to New York before he was one year old. His mother, Ruth, died from cancer when he was six years old. After her death, Merton lived with his grandparents on Long Island while his father, Owen, traveled.
By March of , after he had recovered from a serious illness, Owen took Merton with him back to France and enrolled him in a boys' boarding school in Montauban. There, he befriended several scholars and writers and began work on his own writing. Because Owen was showing work often at galleries in London, he relocated Merton to a boarding school in Surrey in In , Merton's father again fell ill and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Merton took up residency at The Oakham School, a boarding school in Rutland, England. Owen Merton died on January 16,
At Oakham, Merton became more accomplished in his studies. However, upon graduation, he decided to travel, spending time in France and Italy. He spent freely, funded by his guardian, his father's former physician Tom Bennett. In , he stayed in Rome where he felt compelled to attend and explore various churches and religious institutions including Tre Fontane, a Trappist monastery. In the fall of that year, he enrolled in Clare College at Cambridge,
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