Thomas Merton. 
 
New Directions: 1965. First printing. Hardcover in a jacket. Octavo. Tiny stains and chips along the top and bottom of the jacket. Small stains along the edges of the pretty cloth boards. Besides a former owner's name on the endpaper the text is bright and clean. 159 pages. Very good. 
 
A 20th century genius of Christianity is ignited by the great innovator of Taoist thought. Thomas Merton meditated for five years on Chuang Tzu's third century B.C. writings and rewrote/poeticized his favorite passages of the greatest Chinese philosopher who ever lived. Hard to think of a daily prayer book that covers more of man's spiritual concerns and stretches as far across time and space. Plus, it's illustrated and has an introductory, contextualizing essay.
 
"Is there to be found on earth a fullness of joy, or is there no such thing? Is there some way to make life fully worth living, or is this impossible? If there is such a way, how do you go about finding it? What should you try to do? What should you seek to avoid? What should be the goal in which your activity comes to rest? What should you accept? What should you love? What should you hate?"