The Art of Solitude
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Batchelor
About this listen
When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned 60, 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.
©2020 Stephen Batchelor (P)2020 Yale Press AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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With silence increasingly becoming a stranger to us, one man set out to become its intimate: Pablo d'Ors, a Catholic priest whose life was changed by Zen meditation. With disarming honesty and directness, as well as a striking clarity of language, d'Ors shares his struggles as a beginning meditator: the tedium, restlessness, and distraction. But, persevering, the author discovers not only a deep peace and understanding of his true nature, but also that silence, rather than being a retreat from life, offers us an intense engagement with life just as it is.
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Un gran libro
- By Omar Polo on 04-22-22
By: Pablo d'Ors
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Into the Silent Land
- A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation
- By: Martin Laird
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Sitting in stillness, the practice of meditation, and the cultivation of awareness are commonly thought to be the preserves of Hindus and Buddhists. Martin Laird shows that the Christian tradition of contemplation has its own refined teachings on using a prayer word to focus the mind, working with the breath to cultivate stillness, and the practice of inner vigilance or awareness.
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A top-five selection
- By M. James on 04-25-15
By: Martin Laird
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Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path
- By: Urgyen Sangharaskhita
- Narrated by: Kulananda
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The Eightfold Path is the most widely known formulation of the Buddha's teaching. It is ancient, reaching back to the Buddha's very first discourse, and it is highly venerated as a unique treasury of wisdom and practical guidance. The teaching of the Eightfold Path challenges us to grasp the implications of that vision, and asks us to transform ourselves in its light. Like the teaching itself, this work covers every aspect of life.
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Excellent
- By Anthony on 06-22-07
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Paths to God
- Living the Bhagavad Gita
- By: Ram Dass
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Now, in a fascinating series of reflections, anecdotes, stories, and exercises, Ram Dass gives us a unique and accessible road map for experiencing divinity in everyday life. In the engaging, conversational style that has made his teachings so popular for decades, Ram Dass traces our journey of consciousness as it is reflected in one of Hinduism's most sacred texts. The Gita teaches a system of yogas, or "paths for coming to union with God."
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Well, I guess that's this books work taken care of
- By Jeremy Teeter on 11-30-17
By: Ram Dass
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Cave in the Snow
- Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment
- By: Vicki Mackenzie
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton, Vicki Mackenzie, Tenzin Palmo
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of Tenzin Palmo, the daughter of a fishmonger from London's East End who became a Tibetan nun. After meditating for 12 years in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas, she became a world-renowned spiritual leader and champion of the right of women to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
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Audio version is best format for this book
- By Mark on 06-11-17
By: Vicki Mackenzie
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The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton
- By: Nicholas Buxton, Wise Studies
- Narrated by: Nicholas Buxton
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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The course begins by looking at the origins of Christian monasticism during the third century CE, when thousands of men and women renounced the world and withdrew to the deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine to seek God in a life of solitude and prayer. What inspired them to do this? What were they trying to achieve? In seeking answers to these questions, we will examine the lives and sayings of the so-called "desert fathers", with a particular emphasis on the theological writings of Evagrius of Pontus (c. 345-399).
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When the Student is Ready
- By Douglas Scott Miller on 12-10-21
By: Nicholas Buxton, and others
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Verses from the Center
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides listeners with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.
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Sublime
- By Krush on 06-19-22
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Meditations from the Mat
- Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga
- By: Rolf Gates, Katrina Kenison
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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As more and more people in the West pursue yoga in its various forms, whether at traditional centers, in the high-powered atmosphere of sports clubs, or on their own, they begin to realize that far from being just another exercise routine, yoga is a discipline of the body and the mind. The 365 meditations included in this book offer a way to integrate the mindfulness that yoga teaches into everyday life.
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Very insightful
- By MikeSm on 01-11-16
By: Rolf Gates, and others
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The Most Important Thing, Volume 1
- Discovering Truth at the Heart of Life
- By: Adyashanti
- Narrated by: Adyashanti
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
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“Question your assumptions; lean far into the unknown. Question it all.” So says Adyashanti in The Most Important Thing, Volume 1 - an invitation to look past the surface of our personal stories to discover the timeless truths within. Across eight hours of intimate talks, Adyashanti encourages you to open to the possibility of grace, embrace those aspects of life that call you to serve, and discover the innate vitality in every single moment.
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Inspires direction and clarity for deep progress
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-19
By: Adyashanti
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Buddha Standard Time
- Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now
- By: Lama Surya Das
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Buddha Standard Time shares one of the great realizations of Buddhism, one that anyone can learn to apply. Buddhist wisdom teaches that the minutes and hours of our days do not simply march from future to present to past---looming, engulfing us, passing us by forever. Rather, each moment is intersected by a fourth dimension, a dimension of timelessness.
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Great mix of science and spirituality
- By Patrick K. Porter, Ph.D. on 03-22-13
By: Lama Surya Das
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Buddhism Without Beliefs
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Before it was a religion, a culture, or even a system of meditation, what was Buddhism? On Buddhism Without Beliefs, celebrated teacher, translator, and former Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor takes us back to the first years after the Buddha's awakening to reveal the root insights of Buddhism hidden beneath centuries of history and interpretation.
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Disingenuous.
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After Buddhism
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Some 25 centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha's teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent, ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age.
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Eye opening
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Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
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In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western audiences. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author's unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker.
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I got the audio book, I listened to it on my 900mi
- By fred on 07-29-23
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Secular Buddhism
- Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World
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As the practice of mindfulness permeates mainstream western culture, more and more people are engaging in a traditional form of Buddhist meditation. However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition?
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Good, but repetition of old material
- By Ludwig on 02-25-18
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Living with the Devil
- A Meditation on Good and Evil
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In the national best seller Living with the Devil, Batchelor traces the trajectory from the words of the Buddha and Christ, through the writings of Shantideva, Milton, and Pascal, to the poetry of Baudelaire, the fiction of Kafka, and the findings of modern physics and evolutionary biology to examine who we really are and to rest in the uncertainty that we may never know. Like his previous best seller, Living with the Devil is an introduction to Buddhism that encourages listeners to nourish their "buddha nature" and make peace with the devils that haunt human life.
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Good ..but really dense
- By Brian on 01-17-21
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Verses from the Center
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
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The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides listeners with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.
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Sublime
- By Krush on 06-19-22
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Buddhism Without Beliefs
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Before it was a religion, a culture, or even a system of meditation, what was Buddhism? On Buddhism Without Beliefs, celebrated teacher, translator, and former Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor takes us back to the first years after the Buddha's awakening to reveal the root insights of Buddhism hidden beneath centuries of history and interpretation.
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Disingenuous.
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Some 25 centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha's teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent, ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age.
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Eye opening
- By Christopher F. Wilson on 12-20-15
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Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
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In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western audiences. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author's unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker.
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I got the audio book, I listened to it on my 900mi
- By fred on 07-29-23
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Good, but repetition of old material
- By Ludwig on 02-25-18
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In the national best seller Living with the Devil, Batchelor traces the trajectory from the words of the Buddha and Christ, through the writings of Shantideva, Milton, and Pascal, to the poetry of Baudelaire, the fiction of Kafka, and the findings of modern physics and evolutionary biology to examine who we really are and to rest in the uncertainty that we may never know. Like his previous best seller, Living with the Devil is an introduction to Buddhism that encourages listeners to nourish their "buddha nature" and make peace with the devils that haunt human life.
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Good ..but really dense
- By Brian on 01-17-21
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Verses from the Center
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
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The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides listeners with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.
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Sublime
- By Krush on 06-19-22
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Solitude
- In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World
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Today, society embraces sharing like never before. Fueled by our dependence on mobile devices and social media, we have created an ecosystem of obsessive connection. Many of us now lead lives of strangely crowded isolation: We are always linked, but only shallowly so. The capacity to be alone, properly alone, is one of life's subtlest skills. Real solitude is a powerful resource we can call upon - a crucial ingredient for a rich interior life.
By: Michael Harris
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Solitude
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The science of solitude shows that alone time can be a powerful space used to tap into countless benefits. Translating key research findings into actionable facts and advice, this book shows that alone time can boost well-being. From relaxation and recharging to problem solving and emotional regulation, solitude can benefit personal growth, contentment, creativity, and our relationships with ourselves and others. By learning what makes us better at spending time alone, you can use these principles to move toward your best possible self.
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The repetition, OMG!
- By Mike P on 07-07-24
By: Netta Weinstein, and others
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Secular Buddhism
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In this simple yet important book, Noah Rasheta takes profound Buddhist concepts and makes them easy to understand for anyone trying to become a better whatever-they-already-are.
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Dont buy this book!
- By J. Moore on 01-11-20
By: Noah Rasheta
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How to Be Alone
- If You Want to, and Even If You Don't
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Lane Moore is a rare performer who is as impressive onstage - whether hosting her iconic show Tinder Live or being the enigmatic front woman of It Was Romance - as she is on the page, as both a former writer for The Onion and an award-winning sex and relationships editor for Cosmopolitan. But her story has had its obstacles, including being her own parent, living in her car as a teenager, and moving to New York City to pursue her dreams. Through it all, she looked to movies, TV, and music as the family and support systems she never had.
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Not a good book
- By Brooke on 08-15-19
By: Lane Moore
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Becoming Nobody
- The Essential Ram Dass Collection
- By: Ram Dass
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- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
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This audio collection brings us five essential sessions, featured in the Ram Dass documentary film Becoming Nobody, presented here in their entirety. Each beautifully illuminates a core dimension of Ram Dass’s wisdom. Through teaching stories, true accounts, eye-opening revelations, and his one-of-a-kind sense of humor, this legendary teacher helps show us the way out of the prison of our self-identity - and into the joy of being at once “nobody” and the universal divine at play in the world.
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Can get for free on YouTube
- By wayne on 12-26-19
By: Ram Dass
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The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
- A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikaya
- By: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Narrated by: Taradasa
- Length: 57 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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This volume offers a complete translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, the third of the four great collections in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pāli Canon. The Saṃyutta Nikāya consists of 56 chapters, each governed by a unifying theme that binds together the Buddha's suttas or discourses.
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Easy to understand...
- By Munair on 04-09-21
By: Bhikkhu Bodhi
What listeners say about The Art of Solitude
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- daveygravy
- 04-29-20
90% cool
could have done without the "eating the psychedelics" stuff.
don't get me wrong,"I went to college", but it could have been excluded losing nothing probably.
note about app, I didn't like how couldn't reread, etc... was first time I used the app
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1 person found this helpful
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- smsteven
- 07-01-23
Art of Solitude
A good listen with a lot of diverse points of view on the subject of solitude.
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- A close reader
- 06-07-20
thoughtful and enlightening
The introduction made this book sound like a random pastiche, but in fact it is the deft idiosyncratic yet relatable —almost playful—exploration of solitude and its many forms and practitioners Read calmly and clearly by the author.
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- Douglas C. Bates
- 03-03-20
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 is a Buddhist precept against the use of intoxicants. Anyone who has actually gotten to know a bunch of Buddhist teachers knows that a lot of them drink and many of them tried psychedelics in their youth. Also, anyone with basic knowledge of Buddhism knows that the Buddha tried a wide variety of spiritual techniques available to him, including ascetic practices that nearly starved him to death. Had the Buddha had access to Native American spiritual practices, wouldn't one expect that he might have tried them?
These controversial aspects of the book will stimulate debate for a long time. Batchelor does a fine job in his book at deftly poking at this Buddhist dogma and gently pointing to some of the hypocrisy associated with it.
While the controversial parts will likely be the most talked about, for me the best part of the book was its exploration of Montaigne's approach to solitude and its resulting positive effect, as recorded by Montaigne in his "Essays." For those familiar with both Batchelor and Montaigne, they have a great deal in common, as both have long-standing commitments to religion and both had mid-life awakenings that caused them to become philosophical skeptics. Batchelor famously described this in "Buddhism Without Beliefs" and "Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist." Similarly, Montaigne described his adoption of Pyrrhonian skepticism and how he applied it to his Catholicism in the most famous of all of his essays, "An Apology for Raymond Sebond."
Those who enjoyed Batchelor's prior explorations of "religious" skepticism will likely enjoy "The Art of Solitude." Yet, this is perhaps the least "Buddhist" of all of Batchelor's books. While solitude is heavily used in Buddhism, Buddhism has nothing close to a monopoly on it. This book goes far beyond Buddhism in its exploration of solitude.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Richard Daley
- 05-21-20
I enjoyed this book.
Different from Stephen's prior books. I enjoyed it very much. I enjoy Stephen's point of view, and absolutely share the interest in solitude.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Daimamon
- 07-21-22
Enjoyed listening to this book
Nothing I dislike. I’m usually not a book-person, however this book was a joy to listen to. Highly recommend it!
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- D. Raynal
- 06-20-21
Enjoyed it totally
All I can say is that SB has a special way to present complex concepts with ease and grace. Worth listening to several times.
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- Michael R. Whitenton
- 12-27-21
Fantastic book blending Western philosophy, Buddhism, experience from one of the great gifted teachers of our time
Title says it all. I’ll return to this and fill it out more when I have time.
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- Darwin8u
- 05-31-20
Great idea, mediocre execution.
"Solitude is a fluid concept, ranging from the depths of loneliness to the saint's mystic rapture."
- Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
An interesting exploration of solitude. Lots of potential, but I'm not sure Batchelor's experiment (the collaged structure) worked well, so minus one star. Also, a large chunk of this small book is imported directly from Montaigne, so I'm not sure how much of this is more than an extended greatest hits collected by Batchelor on the topic of solitude. Integrated into his sections on Montaigne, Vermeer, and the Buddha, Batchelor inserts his experiences with solitude, peyote, Ayahuasca, and other hallucinogenics. Those sections seem to capture my entire experience with the book: a bit of insight, accompanied by sweats, nausea, and the need for ginger candy to get the bad taste out of my mouth. OK. Maybe it isn't that bad. It just wasn't that great either.
Reading this makes the experience seem entirely too negative. I wasn't unhappy to re-read a lot of Montaigne. The guy is my JAM. Also, the chapters on Vermeer were pretty damn good too.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 09-24-21
Vipassana Meditation Is Key
The Art of Solitude is employed to help one sit so as to reach the cessation of thought/consciousness. At this point one can clearly see what enters the mind and can if necessary remediate it to a wholesome result. So, breathe in, breathe out.
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