The book of Zhuang Zi may be the most important text in Daoism, but like many within this genre, is difficult to understand. And yes, there is a humane inner glow, but not what I hear from Merton, this time around. They speak most eloquently for themselves. Bits may seem pretty odd at first, but a little patience unfolds the writings, straight-up. I recommend (here at audible) Chuang Tsu Inner Chapters, A Companion Volume to Tao Te Ching by: Gia Fu Feng, Jane English. I guess Merton could be allowed a miss once in awhile.

And even Merton's (I think, submerged) attempted goal to smooth over Chuang Tzu seems garbled. It takes guts in the listening and in the telling, to face parts of it. Well, the world is already overflowing with those a (sometimes) truly different angle like Chuang Tzu's is the rarity. It is a palliative, something to make the listener feel nice and good inside.

Merton never really stretched beyond his origins and center all that much: sort of a spiritual locker-room football coach in the 20th century men's club, a back-slapping caring buddy who really couldn't comprehend something (or portend anything) truly outside of that. Really a nice and caring guy underneath, really all about a very warmed-over sociable 'love.' All sugar and iced tea and not to cause too many ripples around the comfy listener's porch, or among acceptable company. Merton winds up, to my ears, making Chuang Tzu resemble nothing so much as a bureaucratized (if witty) Confucian underneath, the ultimate absurdity. Merton seems so anxious to explain away Chuang Tzu's points and make him acceptable (my word) to a mid-20th century Catholic (if monastic) sensibility, he winds up making a hash of it all. I am a casual scholar of Taoism and a drooling fan of Chuang Tzu.

Thomas merton way of chuang tzu