{"id":4657,"date":"2010-11-27T01:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-11-27T07:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holyrover\/?p=4657"},"modified":"2010-11-27T01:00:58","modified_gmt":"2010-11-27T07:00:58","slug":"a-farewell-to-thomas-merton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holyrover\/2010\/11\/27\/a-farewell-to-thomas-merton\/","title":{"rendered":"A Farewell to Thomas Merton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"
Thomas Merton\u2019s grave, the Abbey of Gethsemani (Lori Erickson photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

And so we come to the end of our journey with Thomas Merton.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested in taking a trip to see the Abbey of Gethsemani and the Thomas Merton Center in Louisville, go to A Tour With Thomas Merton<\/a>, where you\u2019ll find a series of interconnected pages that give practical details of a pilgrimage to Kentucky.<\/p>\n

But before we leave Merton behind, let me tell you a little bit about his final resting place.\u00a0 Outside the main church at the Abbey of Gethsemani there is a cemetery where the monks are buried in the order of their death.\u00a0 Merton\u2019s grave is marked \u201cFr. Louis Merton, Died Dec. 10, 1968.\u201d\u00a0 (If you remember, inside the monastic walls Merton was known as Father Louis.)\u00a0 When I paid my respects there, the only thing that distinguished his grave from the others was a white scarf tied around the cross.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say for certain what its significance is, but the white scarf on Merton\u2019s grave reminded me of the katas<\/em> given in the Tibetan Buddhist<\/a> tradition.\u00a0 These white scarves are given as offerings when one comes before an honored teacher, their color signifying one\u2019s purity of heart and intention.\u00a0 The teacher then gives the scarf back to the student, as a token of blessing and an illustration of the ancient karmic principle that giving and receiving are linked.<\/p>\n

I think that scarf is indeed a kata<\/em>, don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Merton and the Dalai Lama had three meetings, each deeply meaningful for both men, and the Dalai Lama continues to refer to Merton often in his public speeches.\u00a0 In 1990 he said this, a description that is perhaps one of the best summations of this remarkable man.\u00a0 The most striking thing about Merton, the Dalai Lama said, was \u201cthe inner life he manifested.\u00a0 I could see he was a truly humble and deeply spiritual man. \u00a0This was the first time I had been struck by such a feeling of spirituality in anyone who professed Christianity\u2026.It was Merton who introduced me to the real meaning of the word \u2018Christian.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And so we come to the end of our journey with Thomas Merton.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested in taking a trip to see the Abbey of Gethsemani and the Thomas Merton Center in Louisville, go to A Tour With Thomas Merton, where you\u2019ll find a series of interconnected pages that give practical details of a pilgrimage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2582,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[170,390,843],"class_list":["post-4657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-writers","tag-abbey-of-gethsemani","tag-grave","tag-thomas-merton"],"yoast_head":"\nA Farewell to Thomas Merton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And so we come to the end of our journey with Thomas Merton.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested in taking a trip to see the Abbey of Gethsemani and the Thomas Merton\" \/>\n<meta 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