Video: “A real spiritual bond” — Dalai Lama recalls Thomas Merton

After a public talk in Kentucky last week, His Holiness the Dalai Lama recounted his 1968 meeting with Thomas Merton, the Catholic writer, mystic, and proponent of interfaith dialogue.

Photo via The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University / merton.org

During their three long conversations, Merton and His Holiness discussed their monastic traditions, including day-to-day routines and the goals of their meditations. Merton wrote that he felt "a real spiritual bond" with His Holiness, and the Dalai Lama said last week he recognized Merton as a "serious practitioner of his faith." Their meeting, and this photo of the two men together, have become significant for many people involved with dialogue between different religions. Read more at the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Last week's interview was filmed by filmmaker Morgan Atkinson for a new documentary about Merton's final days. Merton died in an accident in December 1968, just a few weeks after meeting with the Dalai Lama. For more about Thomas Merton, read "A Very Public Hermit," from the Shambhala Sun archives, and visit the Thomas Merton Center online. You can read a selection of our best articles by and about the Dalai Lama at our Dalai Lama Spotlight Page.

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