Finished reading (2009): The Winter Sun: Notes on a Vocation by Fanny Howe 📚

A thoughtfull work of journalistic essays. Stunning at times; always mystifying.

Reflecting on a retreat with the Dalai Lama:

“The buzz of the helicopter reminded us all of the war outside the walls of the monastery. And as usual, I was distressed by the assumption that the only way to come face to face with the truth is by fasting, meditating, practicing compassion and altruism, and entering a cell. Isn’t it possible that those are conscious disciplines for a few people that most others suffer in the course of an ordinary day: being hungry, getting high, crying out to God, being lonely, fair, generous, and full of pity for others?”