More about Tenzin Palmo. Specifically she became a hermit because she wanted to gain ‘Enlightenment as a woman.’ When a friend asked her what she had gained from the experience living in a cave for those thirteen years, she responded, “I wasn’t’ bored.” Was she avoiding putting into words what she had felt and discovered? Was that the best she could come up with about something so profound? Did that answer sum it all up?
Of course people were curious, and we don’t really know what her answer means. However, I resonate with her response. When I am asked what I learned from my month traveling alone in Italy or my three weeks in Scotland last fall, or from my time at the cottage by the sea, my reply is vague. Like Tenzin Palmo, I answer in the negative: “Well, I was never lonely.” Clearly that is a public response, and it is really all I want to offer. Putting it all into words is impossible, and trying only places a ceiling, a limit, on what the experience was all about. By it’s very nature, solitude is private. You have to find out for and by yourself what it means to you. The best anyone else can do is to inspire you to start your own exploration. Reading about the experiences of others is a start. The result is beyond words.
Of course people were curious, and we don’t really know what her answer means. However, I resonate with her response. When I am asked what I learned from my month traveling alone in Italy or my three weeks in Scotland last fall, or from my time at the cottage by the sea, my reply is vague. Like Tenzin Palmo, I answer in the negative: “Well, I was never lonely.” Clearly that is a public response, and it is really all I want to offer. Putting it all into words is impossible, and trying only places a ceiling, a limit, on what the experience was all about. By it’s very nature, solitude is private. You have to find out for and by yourself what it means to you. The best anyone else can do is to inspire you to start your own exploration. Reading about the experiences of others is a start. The result is beyond words.
