Thomas
Merton
(bio)
(more
links)
A really good
article
|
Catholic
writer, Trappist monk, he was instrumental in modernizing western monasticism
in the 20th century and in opening dialogue with protestants, Buddhists,
Muslims and others. A prolific theologian, poet and diarist, perhaps the
most important Catholic writer of the century. |
Henry
David Thoreau |
American essayist whose
preference for solitude and rejection of commerical life has inspired generations
of nonconformists |
The 14th Dalai
Lama |
Tenzin Gyatso, a Tibentan
monk who became the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Since 1959, lives
in exile in India. A friend of Thomas Merton, he has been deeply involved
in the interreligious dailogue between Buddhist and Christian monastics.
This movement reached a high point in
a 1996 meeting between Buddhist and Christian monks at Gethsemani Abbey
in the U.S. |
Laurence
Freeman |
John Main's successor, he
leads the World Community for Christian Meditation.
Their annual John Main Seminars have featured speakers such as the Dalai
Lama and Thomas Keating |
John Main |
Benedictine monk who adapted
Buddhist meditation techniques and established "Christian meditation." |
Anthony De Mello |
Indian Christian monk and
priest whose devotional writings have become very popular among Catholics.
In Aug. 1998, the Vatican disavowed some of his later books it said bordered
on the heretical. |
Thich Nhat Hanh |
Buddhist monk best known
for teachings on "mindfulness," he was a friend of Thomas Merton and wrote
the introduction to Merton's Contemplative Prayer. Lives in exile
in a Buddhist community in France called Plum Village. His Living Buddha,
Living Christ compares teachings of Buddhism and Christianity. |
Mohandas K. Gandhi |
Indian politician whose
adaptation of the ideas of Tolstoy and others on non-violence was known
as satyagraha, the force of truth. His non-violent
independence movement inspired the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
others. |
Thomas Keating |
Trappist monk and author,
he has popularized the practice known as Centering Prayer. |
Kathleen Norris |
Protestant writer
and poet, her trilogy of books on spirituality (Dakota, The Cloister
Walk, and Amazing Grace) have done much to popularize contemplative
prayer among protestants. |
Henri Nouwen |
Catholic devotional writer
and speaker, his Genesee Diary is one of the best outsider's perspectives
on monastic life and spirituality. |
Basil Pennington |
Trappist monk and author,
he teaches Centering
Prayer, lectio divina and other contemplative practices. Recently
returned to the U.S. after two decades in Hong Kong. |
Emily Dickenson |
American poet and nonconformist
whose sense of the presence of God in nature has influenced later generations. |
Esther de Waal |
British author and scholar
of Benedictine spirituality and history |