The Art of Solitude

by Stephen Batchelor

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300252279
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Stephen Batchelor is a teacher and scholar of Buddhism. He is the author of numerous works, including Buddhism Without Beliefs, Living with the Devil, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, Secular Buddhism, and After Buddhism.

Table of Contents

Preamble ix

The Art of Solitude 1

Appendix: Four Eights 155

Glossary 163

Bibliography 167

Acknowledgments 175

Index 177

Editorial Reviews

Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it. A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.”—Kirkus Reviews

"A wide-ranging work with many poignant assertions that will appeal to those wishing to learn more about the spiritual aspects of practicing mindfulness."—Brian Renvall, Library Journal

“Elegant and formally ingenious.”—Geoff Wisner, Wall Street Journal

“Batchelor considers solitude not as a state of mind, but ‘as a practice, a way of life — as understood by the Buddha and Montaigne alike.’ It is not isolation or alienation, though these are its shadow side. Rather, it is a way of caring for one’s soul, of sheltering it from noise and agitation, of directing it toward its authentic purpose. Batchelor is less interested in defining an ideal form of solitude than in meditating on the ways it can be practiced and exercised, lost and regained.” —Irina Dumitrescu, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Stephen Batchelor draws on his life from monasticism to marriage, with teachers from Montaigne to the Buddha to Rilke, to remind us why solitude has always been and will always be an element of well-being and even the richness of our relationships with others. And how to turn that into graceful practice. . . . I interviewed him once before about his practice of secular Buddhism and reached out again after he wrote a wonderful new book, The Art of Solitude.”—Krista Tippett, On Being

“Stephen Batchelor’s The Art of Solitude is a timely arrival during these dark times of worldwide pandemic.”—Asqa Ijaz, Dawn

A Los Angeles Review of Books “Best of the Year” selection
 

“The Art of Solitude is a marvel. Carefully constructed and entirely original, it sings with a haunting melody of wistful contemplation. Reading it is a true joy.”—Mark Epstein, author of Thoughts without a Thinker

“Forty years in the making, The Art of Solitude could not have come at a better time or from anyone else. Beautifully written, Batchelor’s wisdom shines through on every page, leading the reader on an engaging and illuminating journey into the very needed solitude about which he writes.”—Judson Brewer, author of The Craving Mind

“With his long experience of Buddhism, meditation, and teaching it is hard to think of anyone better equipped to write about the art of solitude than Stephen Batchelor.”—Tim Parks

“In this exquisite contemplation on solitude that is intimate, brave, and wise, Batchelor brings us to the vast center of his life and realization.”—Roshi Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center

“Batchelor's graceful writing guides us to the innermost recesses of solitude, illuminating it as a practice, way of life, and inescapable dimension of being human.”—Evan Thompson, author of Why I Am Not a Buddhist and Waking, Dreaming, Being
 

From the Publisher

01/10/2020

Prominent Buddhist scholar Batchelor (Buddhism Without Beliefs) looks at examples from Buddhism, Christianity, literature, and art to explore how devoted adherents of those who seek the wisdom of solitude have shared their insights with the world. This book also serves to show how Batchelor has explored Buddhist meditation. All of these endeavors have provided him with a deeper knowledge of himself as well as a more profound appreciation of art. Of particular interest to the author are the writings of French philosopher Michel de Montaigne and the paintings of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. Though these figures are separated by a century and working in different mediums, Batchelor provides an illuminating discourse of the connections in their life and works. The exploration of the self is not at all dissimilar to the Hero's Journey described by mythologist Joseph Campbell. However, rather than going out into the world to conquer some physical adversary, in this case the hero must look within.

VERDICT A wide-ranging work with many poignant assertions that will appeal to those wishing to learn about more about the spiritual aspects of practicing mindfulness.—Brian Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NM

Library Journal

2019-11-25
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.

"As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory." Readers of Batchelor's previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn't argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it's easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal's claim that "all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. "Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it," he writes. "When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul." Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.

A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.

Kirkus Reviews