Epic Guide

Thomas Merton was a trappist monk from the 60’s. He advocated social change. He led anti-war and anti-nuclear development movements. He met with the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh to promote peace with people of other religions. He talked about the irony of the fact that Catholics were more concerned with birth control than the war. Maybe we should think about our priorities as a nation…Maybe the religious right should stop fighting gay marriage and start fighting for more important issues like poverty, war, and social justice. Maybe leftist thinkers should stop trying to attack Bush’s intelligence and integrity and offer some solutions to crisis relief, healthcare and education.

“We have only to open our eyes and look about us to see what our sins are doing to the world, and have done. But we cannot see. We are the ones to whom it is said by the prophets of God: ‘Hearing hear, and understand not; and see the vision, and know it not’”

- Thomas Merton

 Our sins have much to do with preoccupation.

The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living - Dalai Lama

 Peace Is Every Step : The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life - Thich Nhat Hanh