Synopses & Reviews
The whole idea of being alone had always intrigued me, yet at the same time scared me half to death. Being alone would mean no human contact, no talking, no going to work, paying bills, running errands, or doing any of the usual things I spent so much energy on. What would that be like? Who would I find there, underneath all the layers of social conditioning, obligations, rules, and cultural filters? Would I even like this person? It seemed the best way to find out would be to follow the traditional monastic schedule of sitting, walking, chanting, bowing, and cutting wood for one hundred days.
-- from the Introduction
Inspired by her Korean Zen master's discipline of long, solitary retreats, Jane Dobisz strikes out to a lone cabin in the countryside of New England, armed with nothing but determination, modest food supplies, and an intensely regimented daily practice schedule. The unfolding story of her experience is threaded through with Zen teachings and striking insights into the miracles and foibles of the human mind when left to its own devices, with little distraction at hand.
Both entertaining and inspiring, The Wisdom of Solitude offers a poignant testament to the benefits that reflection and retreat of any duration bring to our lives.
Synopsis
Inspired by her Zen master's discipline with long solitary retreats, Jane Dobisz strikes out to a lone cabin in the countryside of New England, loaded with determination, modest food supplies for a hundred days, and a regimented daily practice schedule. The unfolding story of her experience is threaded through with Zen teachings and striking insight into the miracles and foibles of the human mind when lift to its own devices with little distraction at hand.
Synopsis
A fine job of capturing an experience that is so extraordinary in our too-busy, too noisy lives.
About the Author
Jane Dobisz (Zen Master Bon Yeon) is the guiding teacher of the Cambridge Zen Center in Massachusetts. She has practiced in various traditions of Buddhism for twenty-five years and has led retreats around the world, including several ninety-day intensive retreats in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Dobisz is the editor of The Whole World Is a Single Flower by Zen Master Seung Sahn. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter.