Review of “Small Boat, Vast Ocean: My Years in Solitary Buddhist Retreat” by Diane Rigdzin Berger
Since completing a three-year retreat, Diane Rigdzin Berger has been teaching in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the Seattle area for the last five years. Her memoir about the retreat, Small Boat, Vast Ocean, was published in March 2023.
Book Review:
This is a wonderful book. Since the beginning of my own Buddhist path in the 1960s, I have looked for writings by Western women about their own story, initially finding only a few. Though there are more writings by and about women now, this volume is unique in its presentation of a full three-years-plus Tibetan Buddhist retreat accomplished by a Western woman on her own, without the support of a traditional retreat center container.
Though not entirely on her own (she had ongoing guidance from her teacher as well as a few encounters with supportive friends and occasional co-retreatants), Diane offers us a gently-written accounting of the world of solitary retreat as it reveals itself to her; and she shares with us many of its trials and tribulations, and much of its glory and magical display.
Diane weaves a rich tale of both outer and inner journeying, complete with a deep dream life infused with Jungian archetypes and spiritual inspiration, as well as many rich and astonishing encounters with local animals and plants – the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest.
Small Boat, Vast Ocean takes us on a beautiful adventure, and is highly recommended for anyone seeking a personal glimpse into the mysterious journey of spiritual life and practice, as well as anyone in love with pilgrimage through the world of nature. Book review by Jude Rozhon, MA East-West Psychology, Buddhist meditation teacher with training in Zen, Theravada, and Tibetan Buddhism.
Praise for the book
“Small Boat, Vast Ocean provides a rare and fascinating glimpse into the heart of solitary spiritual practice. Berger is an eloquent writer whose book reveals the challenges, illuminating insights, and beauty of her plunge into the inner ocean of psyche and spirit.”
– Brian Hodel, co-author of Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality
“In this lyrical exposition, Diane takes the reader through the details of life in long-term retreat, the big and little ups and downs, the challenges of balancing the practical and the ideal, the periods of peace and the unexpected interruptions, the triumphs and tribulations, the intimate conversations with nature in all its different guises, the discovery of the peace of silence, and the unfolding of understanding, elusive, unanticipated, and stunning in its clarity and simplicity.”
– Ken McLeod, author of Wake Up To Your Life and The Magic of Vajrayana