"I had not met or interacted with a human being for weeks. I had just spent the night alone on a cloud-shrouded mountain. And now a fox and I looked intently at each other." What is it like to be completely alone, attempting to face your experience with only nature for company? Buddhist teacher and author, Vajragupta, has been doing just that every year for twenty-five years. Here he recounts how these "solitary retreats" have changed him, how he fell in love with the places he stayed in and the creatures there.
Acknowledgements xi
Publisher’s acknowledgements xiii
Introduction 1
1 The gaze of the sea 3
2 The secret valley 19
3 Mind is more fleet than the feet 33
4 Through the green gate 49
5 A murder of crows 65
6 A night on Hawk Hill 81
7 Solitary together 93
8 ‘World is crazier and more of it than we think’ 105
9 Green fire 127
10 The return journey 139
Appendix 1
An A-to-Z guide to solitary retreats 151
Appendix 2
Two ritual texts for being alone and aware in nature 183
Notes 187