A moving and wide-ranging meditation on being alone with others in this world When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into
A moving and wide-ranging meditation on being alone with others in this world
When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth.
This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. Spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca, and training himself to keep an open, questioning mind have all contributed to Batchelor’s ability to be simultaneously alone and at ease. Mixed in with his personal narrative are inspiring stories from solitude’s devoted practitioners, from the Buddha to Montaigne, and from Vermeer to Agnes Martin.
In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.
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Amazing Book Amazing book, was truly inspiredHonest and straigth to the point, made me in my own way actualize and remember all my personal journey with Mediation
Multiple Perspectives on Solitude Stephen Batchelor has written yet another inspiring and instantly controversial book — so controversial that as soon as the book was published the Zen teacher Brad Warner condemned it without reading it.The book is an investigation of solitude from many perspectives. The controversial perspectives in the book involve the author’s participation in traditional Native American shamanic ceremonies involving peyote and ayahuasca. Anyone with basic knowledge of Buddhism knows that there…