The Wisdom of Solitude : A Zen Retreat in the Woods

Rating:
Summary: Taming the Tigers Stalking in Your Mind
Review: The sounds of the woods are varied and natural. The buzz in my head gives way over time to the cold creaking of branches, the soft slumping of snow melting off the roof, the chickadee's song. A silver pail as it hits the water in the well with a metallic splash. The rope on its rusty pulley as I pull it back up. The crunching of snow under my boots as I haul it back to the cabin. ~Jane Dobisz

The thought of escaping to a cabin in the woods has a great deal of appeal, especially if there is a well-stocked refrigerator, plenty of chocolate cupcakes, hot chocolate and of course a hot lover and a hot tub. Let us not even mention the bliss of skiing.

Now, when Jane Dobisz decides to escape to a Zen retreat, chocolate, love and skiing are the last things on her mind. In fact, the only eye contact she makes during this trip is with a mouse, which is quite humorous. Not only does Jane Dobisz decide to leave society for 100 Days, she also decides to follow a traditional monastic schedule of sitting, walking, chanting, bowing and cutting wood. She decides to practice Zen for 18 hours a day.

In the first few pages I laughed more times than I can count. Jane Dobisz alternates between a conversational style, vibrant descriptions, lyrical prose and splashes of humor that catch you unawares. The first few lines of the first chapter captured my interest. Why would a woman want to strand herself in a cabin in New England? Here she has no electricity, phone or car. She must learn to tame the tigers in her mind and deal with her fears (there is no lock on the door), and learn basic survival skills. She throws herself into her own experiment like a true mystery seeker.

Through isolation, the author learns to not only deal with her loneliness, she finds her inner Henry David Thoreau. The part of herself that longs for simplicity and a clarity obtained from wandering in nature. She shows courage in trying again when things don't work out the first time, she finds beauty in the smallest of pleasures and indulges in rituals like bathing and meditation. This is really a book about experience and is not so much a book of "how-to instructions for a retreat" as it is an explanation and poetic description of Jane Dobisz's experiences.

At times the author struggles with the dicipline of mantras as her mind drifts off to visions of pumpkin pie. She at times desires nothing else than to escape back to her home and familiar environment.

Questions not answered by this book include:

How did her family cope with her 100 Day retreat?
How did she find time to cook on such a rigorous schedule?
The exact way to "bow" and "sit." Details are not given for the monastic schedule and
I think a class in meditation and yoga is probably in order if you are considering your own retreat.

Jane Dobisz is the guiding teacher of the Cambridge Zen Center in Massachusetts and is also the editor of The Whole World is a Single Flower by Seung Sahn.

For some reason, I thought this while reading this book: One of the greatest ways to love a person may be to encourage their highest good. Jane Dobisz's friends and family seem to encourage her higher good by encouraging her to develop her spiritual side and they give her the gift of an adventure by dropping her off in the woods and then returning to find out if she is still alive. She does not communicate with anyone during this time, although she could have walked to a nearby phone.

I read this book early in the morning and felt a deep connection with the author when suddenly, my husband opened the front door when I was reading: "As I open the door to the porch, my heart stops." A fresh burst of cold morning air rushed down the hallways and I suddenly understood why she said: "Why not let that kind of joy into all the little things, like smelling the air...washing the dishes....Isn't that what our whole life is? Joy comes from appreciation."

You may find yourself writing poems while reading this book, planning for a winter vacation or simply have the desire to read a number of the books mentioned throughout this heart-warming read. Perfect for reading in the morning, especially in the Fall with a window open.

~TheRebeccaReview.com


Rating:
Summary: A Real Gem
Review: This is the real thing. The book gives you an authentic taste of the life of meditation and the quest for "the one pure and clear thing"--our true self, as the Zen Masters put it. The writer's indomitable spirit shines out, the writing is full of pithy, unexpected insights. Something new is always around the corner. The book doesn't go down easily like chocolate--but it's just like life, really, when we open our eyes. Thank you, Jane, for a great experience.

Rating:
Summary: Great intro to Zen; richly personal yet understandable.
Review: Very easy to understand how this kind of focus and activity can produce happiness and peace, as Jane whittles life down to its barest essentials and puts her obviously keen intellect to work understanding and explaining this experience to her audience. Hard to put down, I could not wait to see what experience or observation she would next describe, beautifully and clearly. I was almost there in that cabin, in the woods, in the cold, in the darkness and also in the light, in the deprivation as well as in the luxury of her weekly bath. Most of all, in the solitude, something many of us wish for more of in today's busy life. The book's format, the spareness of its words, the brevity of its episodes, match well the type of time she spent there. It's a great introduction to Zen as well, understandable to one who is a complete novice. Earthy self-deprecation, mixed with poignant scenes of magnificent nature, all extremely well-written, make reading this book a great occupation for anyone, anytime.

Rating:
Summary: Spritual growth by proxy
Review: While I cannot practically take long stretches of time off for spiritual growth (yet) nor study with a Zen master, I can carefully contemplate Jane's experience and vicariously enjoy and learn from Jane's discipline, insight, and perceived weaknesses. Her voice, always authentic and clear, is a welcome change from the emphasis on appearance and persuasion that is common in ordinary life. Her story motivated me to someday attemt a similar journey of spiritual discovery.