| Author Quoted | Karlfried Dürckheim, von |
| Title Quoted | Japanese Cult of Tranquility |
| Date (Year/Month/Day) | 1964/12/29 |
| Imprint | London : Rider and Company. 1960 |
| Quotation | I finished Von Durkheim, The Japanese Cult of Tranquillity. The best and most revealing part is the appendix from a Japanese master of swordsmanship speaking of the "sword that kills and gives lif" in the tradition of Takuan. Actually the pinnacle of swordsmanship is not violence and killing but simply a "truth" against which the opponent can ruin himself or by which he can be enlightened. A fascinating concept. Only "the animal man" seeks to "win" ("prevail"). But the spiritual man is simply true and the law of truth has to "win" in him. |
| Quotation Source | Dancing in the Water of Life: Seeking Peace in the Hermitage. The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 5, 1963-1965.; Edited by Robert E. Daggy. / San Francisco : Harper Collins. 1997, p. 184 |
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| Notes | |
| Link to Merton's Copy |
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