Quote by Thomas Merton
“Action and Non-Action The non-action of the wise man is not inaction. It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything. The sage is quiet because he is not moved, Not because he wills to be quiet . . . From emptiness comes the unconditioned, From this the conditioned, the individual things. So from the sage's emptiness, stillness arises; From stillness, action. From action, attainment. From their stillness comes their non-action, which is also action And is, therefore, their attainment. For stillness is joy. Joy is free from care Fruitful in long years. Joy does all things without concern: For emptiness, stillness, tranquility, tastelessness, Silence, and non-action Are the root of all things.”
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Thomas Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding.
Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the US. Merton's letters and diaries, reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms. He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life.