December 10, 1968—A Fateful Day

DECEMBER 10, 1968—A FATEFUL DAY

December 10, 1968 was a fateful day for Thomas Merton. It was the day he died.

If we examine the details of Merton’s last day on earth, we will discover it is rich in symbolism. In The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton (1993), for example, Michael Mott relates (page 555):

“On the night of November 19, [Thomas Merton] had another dream of mountains and woke up to the sense that he had missed something vital and obvious:

“‘There is another side of Kanchenjunga and of every mountain—the side that has never been photographed and turned into postcards. That is the only side worth seeing.’ [Asian Notes, October-December 1968, 94]”

The mountain is in this instance a symbol of God. Decades now, Merton has been reflecting on and writing about the mystery of God, the visible side of the mountain. He little expects, he does not know that he is soon about to see “the only side worth seeing,” “the side that has never been photographed and turned into postcards.”

“What seems the most likely reconstruction is that Merton came out of the shower either wearing a pair of drawers or naked. His feet may have been wet still from the shower. The standing fan had been on day and night during that hot week. Merton may have slipped and drawn the fan sharply toward him for support, or he may have simply tried to change its position. The wiring was faulty, giving him a shock which was sufficient in itself to kill as he cried out. It is quite possible the shock also gave him a massive heart attack, though this was a secondary cause of death.” (page 567)

On the slopes of Kanchenjunga,

I fell asleep, sorely tried.

Awakened by an angel,

I found myself on the other side.

Thomas Merton and Chatral Rinpoche. Used with permission
of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.