For the Benefit of All Beings

“How is this possible?  A 1000 day retreat alone in a small hermitage with only the silence of the forest. Some ask, why? Others say, of course! Some are moved to tears with yearning to do something similar. Others are just plain shocked that someone would take this on, again. So here I am trying to explain what I have planned and why.

As you may know, I have done solitary retreats for the past twelve years (Thailand, Wales, Mexico, Java, and Bali), often two weeks to one month long. These are not silent retreats with 20 or 30 others, but solitary retreats, alone!  Four years ago I returned from a full year in silence. It was profound. My research into such retreats showed me that this was not unusual, that historically solitary retreats are found in many religions and practiced by both religious leaders and secular thinkers — from Buddha to Christ to Henry David Thoreau of Walden Pond, Concord MA. I learned that many have been drawn to the hills, at some time in their lives, to live away from society, to listen, to meditate, to reflect.

Who could guess that such seclusion would be one of my paths, however, since I was a teenager, the idea of such a retreat has captured me. While I live alone in a small cottage in the New Hampshire woods, I am still involved daily in teaching art and meditation, organizing workshops, helping friends and my community, assisting at the Center and keeping that old house in repair. It was almost five years ago that I took stock and wondered what would happen if all this stopped and I was alone for a year with my meditation cushion? Would there be benefits? Would it be hard?

That year away was immensely beneficial. I learned much. It has always been my desire to be of service to others in some way. With that intent, I shared. Upon return in 2015, I spoke of my experience at libraries, universities, bookstores, prisons, churches and Buddhist and art centers in CA, WA, MI, TN, NH, AZ, Australia, Mexico and in the UK. I labored hard, with much help, to get a book, A Year of Silence: Solitary Retreat in the New Zealand Wilderness published so others could share what I learned. And with the gift and support of dear Bunny Bowen, I am doing this website, to share the past and a bit of the coming journey with you. May you be well.

Please join me on Facebook to hear more about this ongoing journey.

Kiranada: A Year of Silence (with Q & A)
A Talk by Kiranada (2019)

Kiranada is an ordained Buddhist, a traveler, a renowned artist in (cruelty-free) silk, a teacher, an author and a Mom. Here she is at the Portsmouth Public Library in June 2019, reading from her book 'A Year Of Silence', an account of her year-long silent, solitary retreat in the New Zealand bush.

As one of her last engagements before heading off to Kentucky and Missouri to begin a further 3-year solitary, silent retreat, this is a wonderful opportunity to hear what it takes to disconnect from physical contact with family and society and take in the great silence of true solitude.

In the tradition of Thoreau and Milarepa, Kiranada's reflective wit is apparent as she shares excerpts from her retreat journals, and subsequent writing about the experience of meditation and Buddhist practice lived out more fully, free from obligation and all distraction. An essential perspective on space, love, and the opening out of time in an increasingly over-stimulated world!

In this extended edition, Kiranada also answers questions about her past retreat and the one she is about to enter, reflecting further on why she considers this kind of experience as potentially an essential part of anyone's life.

—Recorded at the Portsmouth Public Library, New Hampshire, USA.