The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Arasteh, A. Reza, 1927-1992

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1965-1984

Volume: 28 item(s); 37 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Merton and Arasteh trade books and essays. They discuss psychology, Sufism, Zen, Chuang Tzu, mysticism, Rumi, psychedelic drugs, etc. There are also letters by William H. Shannon who was approaching Arasteh about using his letters in The Hidden Ground of Love, and other letters dealing with permissions to use articles or chapters for a Merton memorial publication.

Biography

Abdol Reza Arasteh was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1927. He had studied both Eastern and Western psychology and seemed to bridge Merton's earlier interest in psychology with his later interest in Sufism, Zen and other eastern traditions. He lived a number of years in the United States and became a citizen in 1976. (Source: The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 40-41.)

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Related Information and Links

See also published letters from Merton to Arasteh in The Hidden Ground of Love; and contributions to Monks Pond, p. 69.

Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
 1965/11/13 TALSto MertonI appreciate your interest in my work, and under separate cover I am sending you a copy of my book,  <i>Rumi the Persian</i>
 1965/12/18 TL[c]from MertonIt is a great pleasure for me to have your book on Rumi, I am reading it with great interest as IYes Sufism and Merton's lectures / suggests comparison of Rumi with other mystics / sends book on Chuang Tzu and uncorrected essay on Zen
 1965/12/27 TALS[x]from MertonI am interested in your book, which I am sure will fill a great need in this country. The subjectYes [annotated by Merton and Arasteh] writing a preface for Arasteh / question of psychedelics in valid mystical experiences / article on Zen Koans
 1967/12/30 TL[c]from MertonThanks for your very charming card: certainly the most beautiful and most "spiritual" I have seenYes Shaker Tree of Life (see Edward Andrews) / requests not yet translated Sufi literature for <u>Monks Pond</u> or pieces by Arasteh
 1968/01/26 (#01)TLSfrom MertonYour book is very fine and I am giving it a slow and fruitful reading. I find it very interestingYes permissions to use article on psycho-cultural analysis and Arasteh's poem in <u>Monks Pond</u> / Sufi texts / <i>Mystics and Zen Masters</i>
 1968/01/26 (#02)TL[c]from MertonYour book is very fine and I am giving it a slow and fruitful reading. I find it very interestingYes permissions to use article on psychocultural analysis and Arasteh's poem in <u>Monks Pond</u> / Sufi texts / <i>Mystics and Zen Masters</i>
 1968/02/07 TLSto MertonThank you for your letter and your kind appreciation of my book. I also enjoyed reading your  statement in the "CENTER LETTER" / enclosed article on Sufism / visiting Merton / manuscript of 16th century prayer book of Shi'a saints
 1968/02/17 TALSto MertonThank you for your kind letter and the newsletter too. If weather does not prevent us, we will  visiting Gethsemani on Feb. 23 / article on Sufism / "Psychocultural analysis and three concepts of mental health" <u>Confinia Psychiatrica</u>
 1968/03/22 (#01)TLSfrom MertonI am sorry I have not written for so long. It wasa [sic] disappointment not to see you, but I hopeYes review of Arasteh's article for monastic magazine
 1968/03/22 (#02)TL[c]from MertonI am sorry I have not written for so long. It wasa [sic] disappointment not to see you, but I hopeYes review of Arasteh's article for monastic magazine
 1968/04/02 TALS[x]from MertonMany thanks for your letter. April 12 is a difficult day in some respects as it is Good Friday, andYes [annotated by Merton and Arasteh] times and dates to reschedule visit / <i>Final Integration</i>
 1968/05/22 (#01)TL[c]from MertonHere is the reworked piece on "Rebirth in Christianity". I have been somewhat delayed in sending itYes City Lights Books and Lawrence Ferlinghetti / <i>Final Integration</i>
 1968/05/22 (#02)TLS[x]from MertonHere is the reworked piece on "Rebirth in Christianity". I have been somewhat delayed in sending itYes City Lights Books and Lawrence Ferlinghetti / <i>Final Integration</i>
 1969/01/21 TLS[x]from Saijo, HisayoAlan Watts has asked me to thank you very much for your letter of January 13th. Dr. Watts would be  inclusion of "The Ways of Liberation" chapter from <i>Psychotherapy East and West</i> in memorial book to Thomas Merton / Saijo was secretary to Alan Watts of the Society for Comparative Philosophy, Inc. (Sausalito, CA)
 1971/02/23 HLS[x]from Abdelnour, Mary MadelineFor several weeks now I have been reading your most challenging book <u>Final Integration in the</u>  <i>Final Integration in the Adult Personality</i>
 1974/01/08 HLS[x]from Tremblay, YvonneDuring my studies at the University of Ottawa in view of obtaining a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, I   
 1974/03/18 HLS[x]from Tremblay, YvonnePlease excuse me for not answering sooner to acknowledge reception of your precious information.   
 1976/10/19 TLS[x]from McCorkell, EdwardYou may be surprised to hear from a Cistercian monk out here in the lovely Shenandoah Valley.   
 1978/02/17 TALS[x]from Smith, Anne AbelI am glad to say we received this morning three complimentary copies of the Spanish edition of RUMI,   
 1980/03/22 TLS[x]from McCorkell, EdwardLast week I was delighted when the mail brought a copy of your book, GROWTH TO SELFHOOD. I have   
 1984/01/13 TLS[x]from Shannon, WilliamIt was a great pleasure to speak with you on the phone today. I have been wanting to get in touch   
 1984/01/19 HLSto Shannon, WilliamThank you for your letter. I have located some information which will help you to learn my relation   
 1984/02/03 HLSto Shannon, WilliamThank you for "the book"; I enjoyed most parts of it especially the section on "Inner-Experience"   
 1984/02/26 TLS[x]from Shannon, WilliamI hope you do not mind my calling you by your first name. I feel that we are going to continue to   
 undated/no/no (#01)other Arasteh, A(bdol) Reza 1927- / <i>Personal:</i> Born September 27, 1927, in Shiraz, Iran; came to  biography and list of writings from <i>Contemporary Authors</i>, Volume 105
 undated/no/no (#02)other I. Western scholars have generally interpreted Sufism in terms of religious values, a frame of  some notes by Arasteh / enclosure to a letter to Merton from 1968
 undated/no/no (#03)other Arasteh, A. Reza. <i>Final integration in the adult personality, a mesure [sic] for health,</i>  photocopied article from the <u>SUPPLEMENT</u> DE LA VIE SPIRITUELLE, No. 83, November 1967
 undated/no/no (#04)other The R. M. Bucke / Arasteh, A. Reza. "Final Integration in the Adult Personality". <u>The</u>  from <u>The American Journal of Psychoanalysis</u>, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 61-73. / long annotation by Arasteh
        

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