| Author Quoted | Hanshan |
| Title Quoted | Surangama Sutra (Leng Yen Ching) / Chinese rendering by Master Paramiti of Central North India at Chih Chih Monastery, Canton, China, A. D. 705 ; commentary (abridged) by Ch'an Master Han Shan (1546-1623) ; transl. by Upasaka Lu K'uan Yü (Charles Luk) |
| Date (Year/Month/Day) | 1967/08/07 |
| Imprint | London : Rider. 1966 |
| Quotation | Have I yet thanked you for the Surangama Sutra? If not, I do now. It is a book of essential importance. Of course a great deal of it is the product of a certain cultural milieu, but the main idea is of crucial significance: namely, liberation of/from consciousness "¦ Of all religions, Christianity is the one that least needs techniques, or least needs to depend on them. Nor is the overemphasis on sacraments necessary either: the great thing is faith. With a pure faith, our use of techniques, our understanding of the psyche and our use of the sacraments all become really meaningful. Without it, they are just routines. |
| Quotation Source | The Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Experience and Social Concerns.; Selected and edited by William H. Shannon. / New York : Farrar Straus Giroux. 1985, p. 532 |
| Letter to | Linda (Parsons) Sabbath |
| Notes | |
| Link to Merton's Copy |
(If there is a link above showing up as a number, click it to open another window with a full text version.) |