THE WAY OF CHUANG TZU

New York: New Directions, 1965. Stated First Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine / Very Good. Quarto, 8.25 in. x 5.5 in., pp. 159. White textured cloth boards with black bamboo stem to front, and black title to spine. Light rubbing to edges of dustjacket, with a two small closed tears to top edge. Light sunning to spine of dustjacket. Price clipped. Protected in mylar. Lovely, lovely first printing copy of a seldom seen Merton hardcover title. Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and given the name "Father Louis". He was a member of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death. Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews.... Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice.... In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity related to them. (from Wikipedia)

Chuang Tzu was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period, a period of great development in Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which is one of the foundational texts of Taoism.