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One might compare the journey of the soul to mystical union, by way of pure faith, to the journey of a car on a dark highway.

— Thomas Merton The Ascent to Truth (1951)

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Faith

More quotes by Thomas Merton

Chuang Tzu is not concerned with words and formulas about reality, but with the direct existential grasp of reality in itself.

The Way of Chuang-Tzŭ (1965)

This new language of prayer has to come out of something which transcends all our traditions, and comes out of the immediacy of love.

The humor, the sophistication, the literary genius, and philosophical insight of Chuang Tzu are evident to anyone who samples his work.

The Way of Chuang-Tzŭ (1965)

All problems are resolved and everything is clear. The rock, all matter, all life, is charged with dharmakaya… everything is emptiness and everything is compassion.

The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (1975)

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.

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Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.

Thomas Jefferson Letter to Peter Carr (1787)

I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that "the world" would decline to recognize them.

Colin Wilson Postscript to the Outsider (1967)

Love is the active, working principle in all true faith. It is its very soul, without which it is dead. "Faith works by love."

Jonathan Edwards Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Thomas Merton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.