A Story That's Been Going Around

I feel myself hitting a little dry patch after last week's fertile bunch of stories and posts, so I'll tell you a story that's one of my favorites in the world. It's especially for you meditation freaks out there. It's not new, it's not timely, the MSM are not buzzing with it, the blogs aren't linking to it, and it's shorter than this introduction, so there's hope it might be worth thinking about. It doesn't have a title: in the book where I read it, it's called "LXXII."

Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation, and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire?

--from Thomas Merton, THE WISDOM OF THE DESERT: SAYINGS FROM THE DESERT FATHERS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY, Shambhala Editions, 2004.