Institute on Thomas Merton, Zen Buddhism, and Spirituality

Institute on Thomas Merton, Zen Buddhism, and Spirituality
September 29 - October 3, 2008

Faculty Tutor: Dr. Ekman P. C. Tam, Professor of Spirituality and Psychotherapy; Director of Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre, Hong Kong

Course Fees: $1,200 for two Units of Study

Registration deadline: August 18, 2008 - $300 deposit with final payment of $900 due September 19, 2008. Registration Form

Description: This Institute will explore Thomas Merton's writings in, and understanding of, Zen Buddhism and what Merton, as a Christian contemplative, had learned from Zen Buddhism. Dialogue between Zen and Christian spirituality will also be addressed. Mindfulness meditation and centering prayer will be introduced and practiced in the Institute.

A.M. Seminar: Seeing Zen Through the Eyes of Thomas Merton
P.M. Seminar: Dialogue and Experience Between Zen and Christian Spirituality

Reading List: (by Ekman Tam)

Christian Contemplation and Zen-Taoism: A Study of Thomas Merton's Writings, 2002 (Write to Ms. Yuen Ping Chan adachan@tfscc.org for ordering.)
"The Silence of Ch'an and the Experience of God: A Christian Reflection," Cistercian Quarterly, vol 32.4, 1997, pp. 499-514.
"The Sacred and the Ordinary: Spiritual Maturity According to the Teaching of Teresa of Avila and the Ox-Herding Pictures," Ching Feng: A Journal on Christianity and Chinese Religion and Culture, vol 5.1, 2004, pp. 1-32.
"The Trinity and World Religions Reconsidered," Studies in Interreligious Dialogue, vol 9, 1999, pp. 52-56.

Recommended Readings: (by Ekman Tam)

A Psycho-spiritual Approach to Christian Spiritual Direction Based on the Satir Model of Therapy, 2007 (Write to Ms. Yuen Ping Chan adachan@tfscc.org for ordering.)

Institute on Thomas Merton, Zen Buddhism, and Spirituality September 29 - October 3, 2008

Institute on Thomas Merton, Zen Buddhism, and Spirituality
September 29 - October 3, 2008