I couldn't begin to guess how faithful Merton's "readings" of Chuang Tzu are to Chuang Tzu. (And they are readings, poetic interpretations by Merton, rather than translations.) Merton's suggestion in the introduction that Chuang Tzu wasn't an antinomian left me wondering if Merton might not be reading a bit too much western thought in Chuang Tzu.

Even having acknowledged that, though, there was a lot to appreciate and ponder in this little book, and I'd recommend it. I'm glad I own it; I imagine it's one I'll want to revisit.

The section titled "Cracking the Safe" offers an novel way to explain evangelical support for Donald Trump, with a lot of explanatory power in a very simple metaphor.