Sung dynasty Chan master Pai-Yun’s simple verses can be the solitary’s signature statement:
Where others dwell, I do not dwell.Where others go, I do not go.This does not mean to refuse association with others.I only want to make black and white distinct.
We neither affirm nor object to the path of others. We can understand and empathize [...]
Philip Koch, author of Solitude: A Philosophical Encounter, defines solitude simply as “a time in which experience is disengaged from other people.” This is an exact but accommodating definition because one cannot constrict solitude to a method that pertains only to one’s own beliefs or ends. Where for some solitude is a time for spiritual [...]
Ninth-century Chan master Tung-shan once said: “I preach what I cannot meditate and I meditate what I cannot preach.” This is a straight-forward summary of the great dichotomy of inward and outward, extrapolated to active and contemplative.
We cultivate ourselves inwardly, through meditation and introspection, according to our tradition. But the fruits of our effort are [...]
The famous tree-sitting of Julia Butterfly Hill has a parallel in the column-sitting of Simon Stylites. Both were motivated not so much by a cultural or group concern but by a strong personal conviction — a moral imperative to make a statement, not a social or cultural motive. A journalist who ascended to the makeshift [...]