Learning from Silence

「美麗動人……艾耶以其精湛且富詩意的筆觸，向我們展示，也許我們需要找到一個新的家——一個比現在的家更加莊嚴、共同且寧靜的地方——以便真正回歸自我。」
——阿蘭·德波頓（Alain de Botton）

「我相信閱讀這本書能幫助許多人過上更加充滿慈悲與內心平和的生活。」
——達賴喇嘛

「他是我們這個時代最深具靈魂與洞察力的作家之一。」
——瑪莉亞·波波娃（Maria Popova）

「一本絕美的靜默之呼喚，以及它所激發的無數聯結。」
——凱瑟琳·梅伊（Katherine May）

來自《靜止的藝術》暢銷作家，一次揭示靜默中恆久清晰與平和的深刻探索

過去三十年來，皮可·艾耶（Pico Iyer）曾經超過一百次造訪位於美國加州大蘇爾（Big Sur）海邊高地的一處隱修院。他並非基督徒，也不屬於任何宗教團體，但這些靜默的時光深刻地改變了他的生命。

在《Learning from Silence》（暫譯：《從寂靜中學習》）中，艾耶深潛至內在的寧靜與喜悅，在隱修院度過的無數四季中，縱然他的生活正經歷持續不斷的變化：房子焚毀、父母離世、女兒罹患癌症。他分享了這些啟示，並引用其他非修道人士從逆境與內省中獲得的智慧。最重要的是，他展示了孤獨如何成為訓練群體意識與建立陪伴關係的契機。

透過這些經歷，他提供了一個獨特的外部視角，來看待隱修生活，以及一群無私奉獻者如何將自己的歲月獻給靜默與反思的空間，為所有人敞開大門。

光芒四射、親密動人且引人入勝的《Learning from Silence》，提供了超越時代的智慧，告訴我們靜默的力量，以及它教會我們如何生活、如何去愛，最終，如何面對死亡。

'Beautiful . . . Iyer masterfully and lyrically shows us how we may need to find a new home - one far more solemn, communal and silent than our present one - in order to return properly to ourselves' Alain de Botton

'I trust that reading this book may help many to lead lives of greater compassion and deeper peace of mind' His Holiness the Dalai Lama

'One of the most soulful and perceptive writers of our time' Maria Popova

'An exquisite call to silence and the myriad connections it kindles' Katherine May

From the bestselling author of The Art of Stillness, a revelatory exploration of the abiding clarity and calm to be found in quiet retreat

Over the past three decades, Pico Iyer has made more than a hundred journeys to a small hermitage high above the sea in Big Sur, California. He's not a Christian, nor a member of any religious group, and yet his life has been transformed by these periods of time spent in silence.

In Learning from Silence, Iyer travels deep into inner stillness and joy in his many seasons at the monastery, even as his life is going through constant change: houses burn, a parent dies, a daughter is diagnosed with cancer. He shares the revelations he experiences, alongside wisdom from other non-monastics who have learned from adversity and inwardness. Most profoundly, he shows how solitude can be a training in community and companionship.

In so doing, he offers a unique outsider's view of monastic life - and of a group of selfless souls who have dedicated their days to ensuring there's a space for quiet and recollection that's open to us all.

Radiant, intimate and gripping, Learning from Silence offers ageless counsel about the power of silence and what it can teach us about how to live, how to love and, ultimately, how to die.