The Wisdom of the Desert

Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century

By: Thomas Merton

Narrated by: Greg Chun

The Wisdom of the Desert was one of Thomas Merton's favorites among his own books, surely because he had hoped to spend his last years as a hermit.

The personal tones of the translations and the blend of reverence and humor so characteristic of him show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth-century Christian fathers who sought solitude and contemplation in the deserts of the Near East.

The hermits of Screte, who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own, had much in common with the Zen masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.

©1960 Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc. (P)2019 New Directions Publishing Corporation

Very pretty

I thought this was a very pretty collection of teachings from desert fathers. And it has a nice intro from Thomas Merton.

Ancient words, relevant today

The introduction gave context for this extraordinary compilation of the sayings of the desert fathers. The more we know, the more we are aware of the vastness that we do not know

Well presented and executed.

The simplicity of the program, the clarity of the translations, and the fact that these sayings are preserved as they were intended.

Great overview of the desert fathers

Great overview of the desert fathers. Some history of them and then some of their sayings.

Better to read it yourself

This seems like it must be very profound—the west’s answer to the Blue Cliff Record—but it is read at warp speed, with each saying numbered and quickly recited like a grocery list. You get no chance to absorb any of it and the effect is the opposite of what Merton intended.