| Series | Date | Type | To/From | First Lines | Pub | Full Text | Notes |
| | 1966/09/28 | TLS | to Merton | I am one of your countless devotees: your books have meant more to me than anything I have read | |
| [writing from the Department of Religion at Smith College] Chakravarty tell Merton he is not Catholic, but feels close to many of Merton's writings / <i>Raids on the Unspeakable</i> / sending books for Merton to sign for friends and a brochure on Indian thought he thinks is close to one of Pope John XXIII's Encyclicals |
| | 1966/10/28 | HLS | to Merton | Deep and meditative reading of the printed articles you have sent me daily brings me insights | |
| [Merton had sent articles to Chakravarty, including one on Gandhi] plans to visit Merton in December |
| | 1966/11/04 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Many thanks for your letter. I sent the book off in the special delivery envelope; unfortunately | Yes |
| |
| | 1966/11/30 | HLS | to Merton | For deep personal and spiritual reasons I need to be with you for an hour or two;-- if this could be | |
| sending book recently printed in Japan [<i>A Flower Does Not Talk</i> by Zenkei Shibayama with an introduction by Daisetz T. Suzuki] / "tragic and yet transcendingly serene and great death of Dr. Suzuki" / Bodhisattva moon / Merton's poems - introduction by Mark Van Doren / asks to visit Gethsemani on December 18 |
| | 1966/12/08 | HLS | to Merton | Your most gracious letter has just reached me. I am planning on arriving at Louisville at 8.20 PM | |
| travel plans for December 17 and 18 |
| | 1967/01/01 | HLS | to Merton | It's difficult for me to express the benediction I had - and which I needed in the depths of my soul | |
| on his meeting with Merton at Gethsemani / sending books on Hindu thought, Chakravarty's Tagore Reader, and book by the scientist Loren Eiseley / discussing a short symposium with James Laughlin on <u>"Design"</u> seen through art, literature and religion / Vietnam - southeast Asian crisis |
| | 1967/01/10 | TL[c] | from Merton | I am very grateful for your kind letter and for the other package of books. I am especially glad to | Yes |
| books on Hindu thought / Loren Eiseley - scientist possessing wisdom |
| | 1967/01/12 | TALS | to Merton | Your letter was a great blessing for me. Its message will be with me. Sometimes a spark of divine | |
| Sally Donnelly's paper on Marcel and Buddhism - Chakravarty's paper in the <u>Journal of Religion</u> of Howard University / Buddhism, modern science and introspective Western religion are "rediscovering the meaning of pain and moving toward light" / sending another Shibayama book and <i>The Edicts of Asoka</i> |
| | 1967/01/16 | HLS | to Merton | Just a word to tell you that we have decided to have a Fr. Thomas Merton evening at Smith | |
| Thomas Merton evening at Smith College - philosophy and religion students to discuss Merton's recent books |
| | 1967/01/21 | TL[c] | from Merton | I think I now owe you two letters. But first of all thanks for the books, particularly the edicts | Yes |
| Merton's preface to Sally Donnelly's [Sally Conley] paper on Marcel and Buddha - could become a book - contact info. for Justus Lawler at Herder and Herder / "Thomas Merton evening" - mixed feelings - does not want a "personality cult" but glad others may be looking for more in life than "food, comfort, amusement, and money" |
| | 1967/01/27 | TALS | to Merton | Just a line now to tell tell [sic] you at once that your Introduction has reached me here: | |
| [United Nations letterhead] Merton's definition of Nirvana and "spirit of Buddha's teachings is new, luminous and challenging" / wrote to Justus Lawler about a booklet made of Merton's preface and Donnelly's essay / enclosing a lecture to New York State University about two religions in a political context (similar debate at the UN) |
| | 1967/02/10 | TLS | to Merton | In sending you this rather subtle-- though not so fully substantiated-- book on Indian philosophy | |
| rejection by Herder of Merton/Donnelly book, but articles will appear in the <u>Journal of Religion</u> / idea for collaborative book on "INNER DESIGN" - Merton articles, Chakravarty's address on "interior unitive design in Pope John's Encyclical... Pacem in Terris... aspects of Buddhism" / shares an ancient Chinese poem |
| | 1967/02/15 | TL[c] | from Merton | Many thanks for your letter of the 10th and for the book of W. Norman Brown which I will read. | Yes |
| problem of Chakravarty's proposed book - editors will reject if not coherent and unified - new article "The New Christian Consciousness" / Buddhism and the Vietnam War - unfortunate situation of Cardinal Spellman "blind to these obvious facts" about the war |
| | 1967/02/20 | TLS[x] | to Laughlin, James | Perhaps Fr. Thomas Merton has already written to you about the discussion that he and I had | |
| idea for a book about dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity to include work from Merton and Chakravarty - papal encyclical <i>Pacem in Terris</i> and the Buddha's affirmations |
| | 1967/02/27 | TL[x] | from Laughlin, James | Thank you so much for your very interesting letter of February 20, and the enclosure of materials | |
| suggests other publishing houses that might be better for a work on interreligious dialogue between Christians and Buddhists |
| | 1967/03/09 | TL | to Merton | How good to know that you are well and back from hospital. Your Lent letter is a great joy to us | |
| Vietnam / discussion of Merton's writings at Smith College in March - participation by students and faculty - Professor Stenson who knew Merton at Columbia / still hopes for book on "Inner Design" |
| | 1967/03/27 | TL[c] | from Merton | Thanks for your letter of the 9th and the enclosure from J. Laughlin. About your proposed book: | Yes |
| Naomi Burton [Stone] will not let Merton get involved in too many projects as collaborator or co-author - proposed book will have to be published under Chakravarty with a contribution by Merton |
| | 1967/03/29 | TLS | to Merton | We had the great evening. We began late in the afternoon but the students and faculty members | |
| the events of the Smith College evening of Merton - poetry discussion, Prof. Stenson and Merton's writings on Dietrich Bonhoeffer / on meeting Merton at Gethsemani / more on the symposium on Spiritual Design |
| | 1967/04/13 (#01) | HLS | to Merton | Lindsay Jones is one of the most brilliant girls we have at Smith -- a fine scholar, writer | |
| sending a letter from Chakravarty's student Lindsay Jones (see "Jones, Lindsay" correspondent file for copy of letter) - Jones' reaction to Merton's work / asks the favor of Merton writing at least one letter to the students at Smith College |
| | 1967/04/13 (#02) | TL[c] | from Merton | I have put off answering until a moment of quiet, an afternoon that is almost as hot as summer. | Yes |
| letters sent to Merton from Diana Eck and Janice Wilson [Chakravarty's students - see letters in correspondence file under their names] / "reality that is present to us and in us: call it Being, call it Atman, call it Pneuma... or Silence" / Thomas Traherne / Ecclesiastes "almost Taoist" |
| | 1967/04/13 (#03) | TALS[x] | from Merton | I have put off answering until a moment of quiet, an afternoon that is almost as hot as summer. | Yes |
| [handwritten in pen - "for Mrs Hyatt"] letters sent to Merton from Diana Eck and Janice Wilson [Chakravarty's students - see letters in correspondence file under their names] / "reality that is present to us and in us: call it Being, call it Atman, call it Pneuma... or Silence" / Thomas Traherne / Ecclesiastes "almost Taoist" |
| | 1967/04/20 | HLS | to Merton | Your profound message of love was shared by us all: in silence and in prayer we were with you | |
| [Merton sent a letter and poem to the students of Smith College] asks Merton to sign some cards for the students / students want to send Merton some gifts |
| | 1967/04/23 | TALS | to Merton | First: I made a mistake, the Smith student who spoke of gifts of food etc came and said she meant | |
| sending proofs for book for Merton's corrections / Vietnam War |
| | 1967/04/25 | TL[c] | from Merton | First of all, the proofs are going back to Dr Giltner with all speed. I am perfectly in accord with | Yes |
| correspondence with students at Smith College / sending photo and asking students to send their pictures / does not want gifts - donations can go to Dorothy Day at the Catholic Worker Farm / Vietnam War |
| | 1967/05/21 | TALS | to Merton | What a rare and wondrous gift- A PRAYER OF CASSIODORUS-- I got it now on my return from a long tour | |
| Diana Eck, Janice Wilson and Lindsay Jones [students of Chakravarty] / experience at the UN - abuse of power by large nations (U.S. and China collision course) - trouble in the middle-east - "Hitlerian type[s]" in high places trying to start pre-emptive wars / plans of visiting Japan and India / Vietnam War |
| | 1967/05/25 | TL[c] | from Merton | After I had mailed my note to you the other day, your letter arrived with the photos and | Yes |
| Janice Wilson - the Wilsons interested in Zen and always welcome at Gethsemani / Arab - Israeli Crisis |
| | 1967/08/14 | HPCS | to Merton | Deep regards and my greetings from this beautiful city of stone and wood towers, fenced in gardens, | |
| [verso: "Daisen'in Retreat" - monk meditating in a garden for Zen contemplation near Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan] |
| | 1967/08/21 | TL[c] | from Merton | I just got your card of the Zen monk and the sand garden. Very tranquil and pleasing. You mention | Yes |
| Miss Okamura - Dr. D.T. Suzuki's old place |
| | 1967/09/no? | HLS | to Merton | Some of the cards that I showered from abroad must have reached you; particularly I hope | |
| [writing from new address at the State University College, New Palz, New York] sent message to Merton from Gabriel Marcel - trip to Paris - existentialism "rooted in mystical and Christian reality" / asking for article in which Merton mentions Marcel / Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan a fan of Merton |
| | 1967/10/11 | TL[c] | from Merton | Thanks for your letter: I am glad to know you are settled in America again, and now I will know | Yes |
| [mentions postcards that are not extant] Merton has not written anything exclusively on Gabriel Marcel - will send him <i>Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander</i> - mentions him in passing / Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan / Janice Wilson wrote from the Zen center in the Sierras of California |
| | 1967/11/04? | TLS | to Merton | I cannot tell you how much your writings have meant to me--and I am sharing them with colleagues | |
| |
| | 1967/11/07 (#01) | HLS | to Merton | I thought these papers from Van der Post might interest you;-- this is a good African-- and human-- | |
| response to "Day of a Stranger" [published in Hudson Review, no. 20 (1967)] |
| | 1967/11/07 (#02) | other | to Merton | from <u>Patterns of Renewal</u> by Lowans Van der Post [-] the things that prowl by night. People | |
| [sent with Chakravarty's 1967/11/07 letter] partial article by Lowans Van der Post |
| | 1968/03/06 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | Yesterday I was reading in the <u>Forum</u> of the ICIS both your note on Iqbal and Diana Eck's | Yes |
| commenting on his note and Eck's article on Krishnamarti |
| | 1968/03/06 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Yesterday I was reading in the <u>Forum</u> of the ICIS both your note on Iqbal and Diana Eck's | Yes |
| commenting on his note and Eck's article on Krishnamarti |
| | 1968/03/12 | HLS | to Merton | Your letter was on its way to me when I sent you Shibayama's new book from Yale University. | |
| |
| | 1968/03/28 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | Thanks for you very good letter. It took some time for your own Shibayama book from Yale | Yes |
| hoped to meet Shibayama some time / discussing the possibility of traveling to Thailand for meeting of catholic abbots / not encouraged |
| | 1968/03/28 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks for you very good letter. It took some time for your own Shibayama book from Yale | Yes |
| hoped to meet Shibayama some time / discussing the possibility of traveling to Thailand for meeting of catholic abbots / not encouraged |
| | 1968/04/11 | HLS | to Merton | It is wonderful to get your letter -- the book you mentioned has not yet arrived. With a slight | |
| conference in Bangkok / <i>Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander</i> / Dawn Vigil in New York [protesting war?] with many Catholic religious orders present, Jews, and other religions |
| | 1968/04/16 | HLS | to Merton | What an altogether delightful - (and quite original in technique) your <u>Cables to the Ace</u> is! | |
| [sends newspaper clipping with quote from Pope Paul VI] |
| | 1968/04/23 | TL[c] | from Merton | I am enclosing the signed slips of paper as you requested. Thanks for your kind remarks | |
| |
| | 1968/05/04 | TALS | to Merton | MONK'S POND and the reprints have come: the great treasure is in front of me. | |
| <u>Monks Pond</u> - Merton's poem "North" - <i>The Geography of Lograire</i> / pieces by Lorine Niedecker and Keith Wilson / John C.H. Wu and going deeper into Pai-Chang / Chakravarty's brief visit with Boris Pasternak and Merton's article on him / article by Homer Jack / Thich Tri Quang in U.S.-Vietnamese prison |
| | 1968/05/25 | HLS | to Merton | I forgot to add my tiny check for your Journal. We shall wait for the next issue with great | |
| |
| | 1968/06/14 | TL[c] | from Merton | It was nice of you to send a check for the magazine. The second number is on its way to you. | Yes |
| offer to dedicate <i>Zen and the Birds of Appetite</i> to Chakravarty - contains introduction to Sally Donnelly's "Marcel and Buddha" / plans for Merton's Asian trip - asks suggestions of good places to visit - Zen monasteries and Roshis / "I find myself almost inarticulate in the presence of the <u>usualness</u> of assassination" |
| | 1968/06/24 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Many thanks for your letter and card. This is just a brief note to give the tentative plans | Yes |
| [copy from published letters] travel plans for Asia - Indonesia, Burma (depending on war), and possibly India; then Thailand and Japan - wants to avoid groups and "unofficially visit traditional communities as a monastic brother of another faith, and just quietly discuss things behind closed doors, and join in some meditation" |
| | 1968/07/23 | TL[c] | from Merton | I am not quite sure where you are now but doubtless this letter will reach you if I send it to New | |
| |
| | 1968/08/31 | TLS[x] | from Merton | I am most grateful for all your help in providing addresses. I am getting in contact with the | Yes |
| [copy from published letters] plans to visit Japan in spring - meet with Dr. Hisamatsu, Roshi Ogawa / trip to India - visit to Darjeeling and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries - cross into Nepal to visit Dalai Lama at Mussoorie / Ceylon |
| | 1968/10/24 | HACS | to Merton | With warm words - Amiya [-] Calcutta, Oct. 24, 1968 | |
| [verso: "Lamp from Medallion 'Dream of Maya' [-] Bharut, 2nd Century B. C." and a quote about a lamp attributed to Gautama Buddha] |
| | 1982/09/06 | TL[c] | from Shannon, William | I have recently been appointed by the the[sic] Merton Legacy Trust to be the general editor | |
| asking for permission to include his exchange of letters in the published letters |
| | 1983/02/02 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William | You will recall that I called you on the telephone two days ago. At that time I told you that I | |
| second request for permission to include his exchange of letters in the published letters / includes a list of Merton letters in the Bellarmine collection |
| | 1983/02/02 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Academic Dean | I am writing to you with the hopes of getting some information about several of your graduates | |
| seeking correspondence with three Smith College, North Hampton, MA graduates - Janice Wilson, Diana Eck, Lindsay Jones |
| | 1983/02/14 | TLS | from Overstreet, Jeanne / to William Shannon | This letter is in reply to yours of February 2nd regarding "Merton Study Day" here at Smith | |
| reply from the Alumnae Association of Smith College concerning Janice Wilson, Lindsay Jones and Diana Eck / recommends contact with Professor Sten Stenson - Dept. of Religion |
| | 1983/02/27 | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Sten Stenson | I am a professor at Nazareth College of Rochester and have been appointed by the Thomas | |
| seeking assistance in locating letters that may be missing from the files of Merton - Stenson was a colleague of Chakravarty who organized the Merton Day at Smith College in 1967 - three girls including Diana Eck were involved at that time |
| | 1983/02/28 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Jeanne Overstreet | Thank you for your kind reply to my letter inquiring about the Merton Study Day at Smith College | |
| letting Ms. Overstreet know he has written - Diana Eck, and Professor Stenson |
| | 1983/02/28 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Deba P. Patnaik | It was good to see you if only for a short time at Waterloo University. I was sorry that I could | |
| seeking addresses for Marco Pallis, Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy and inquiring as to whether Chakravarty has a secretary / Professor Patnaik is from Oberlin College, Ohio |
| | 1983/06/30 | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Haimanti Chakravarty | I spoke with you on the phone yesterday and I am delighted that you are willing to search | |
| seeking correspondence with the help of Mrs. Amiya Chakravarty (Haimanti Chakravarty) |
| | 1983/10/24 | HLS | from Chakravarty, Haimanti / to William Shannon | Please, excuse the delay in sending you whatever I found in my husband's files with regard | |
| cover letter for copies of Merton letters |
| | 1983/10/31 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Shannon, William / to Mary Trott | I spoke with you on the telephone the other day, inquiring about the correspondence of Prof | |
| follow up letter to phone call requesting a search of the Smith College archives for missing Chakravarty letters / also seeking program for "Merton Day" - March 14, 1967 / suggested she contact Sten Stenson / suggested researching student publication for letter and poem |
| | 1983/10/31 (#02) | HNS[x] | from Stenson, Sten / to William Shannon | I recently ran across an old issue of the Columbia Jester. Merton has some cartoons in it. | |
| note written on the Shannon/Trott letter of October 31, 1983 / mentions cartoon by Merton but not included in this file / includes article about Chakravarty and biographical information |
| | 1983/11/22 | TLS | from Trott, Mary / to William Shannon | Thank you for your letter of October 31st inquiring about Amiya Chakravarty's correspondence with | |
| no correspondence found / includes copies of SOPHIAN reprint of letter and poem from Merton to students / also article about Ada Howe Kent Fund Lecturer and program note in college bulletin / re: Chakravarty lecture and discussion - Smith College |
| | 1984/02/06 | HLS | from Eck, Diana / to William Shannon | I am sending you a copy of a letter to Amiya Chakravarty from Thomas Merton. I hope this | |
| enclosed copy of letter to Chakravarty dated 1967/04/13 and poem - "A Round and a Hope for Smithgirls" |
| | undated/no/no | other | | Correspondence - Merton - Amiya Chakravarty | |
| Shannon's working notes on correspondence |
| | | | | | | | |