Retreats in darkness have been used by all the great spiritual traditions for thousands of years as a method for tapping deep clarity, accessing sacred wisdom, connecting with the Divine, and training to transform the mind/body system into a manifestation of wisdom. In dark retreat, the practitioner lives in complete darkness - eating, sleeping, meditating, and simply existing in a world without external light.
Traditionally, in Tibet, dark retreats were performed by monks as part of their training with the support of their monastery and their fellow monks. But dark retreats are of value to people from all walks of life, from the monastic to the busy householder - those with jobs, families, and all-too-many responsibilities. Martin Lowenthal has taken a practice little-known in the West and made it accessible by incorporating methods based in western psychology with traditional Tibetan Buddhism.


Dawning of Clear Light, Martin Lowenthal, Hampton Roads Publishing, Paperback, 197 pp, $14.95

Martin Lowenthal, Ph.D., is Senior Meditation Teacher and Mentor with The Dedicated Life Institute. He has taught at Boston College and Harvard University Extension School and leads workshops and retreats all over the world. He is also a pastoral counselor, consultant and co-author of Opening the Heart of Compassion. Rev. Lowenthal lives in Newton, Massachusetts.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a master of the Dzogchen tradition of Tibet. He holds the doctorate degree of Geshe, the highest academic degree in the Tibetan spiritual traditions. He has lived and taught in the West since 1989.

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
Radiant Heart of Darkness	1
What Is a Dark Retreat?	3
Attitudes Toward Dark and Light	6
The Goddess of the Dark	9
Retreats in Darkness in Other Traditions	11
A Western Practitioner in Dark Retreat	19
Setting Up My Retreat	21
Taking the Plunge: Opening the Retreat	36
Gradual Awakening	47
In the Flow	64
The Burden of Wisdom and the Wisdom of Responsibility	81
Making Love with the Goddess	89
A Change of Heart, Surrender, and Being Worked	94
A Framework for Understanding the Teachings	105
Purpose of Spiritual Work	107
Dimensions of Being	109
Three Aspects of Being: Awareness, Energy, and Relationship	111
Reactive Habit Body/Samsaric Mind of Confusion	117
Wisdom Nature	120
Coming Home	122
Meditation	124
Training Attention and Mindfulness	125
Recognition and Dzogchen	129
Training to Embody Wisdom--The Inner Alchemy of Tantra	131
Bon Teachings on Dark Retreat	135
Dzogchen	137
The Five Elements and Dark Retreat	139
Teachings of Lopon Tenzin Namdak	142
Clarity and Clear Light	147
Practices of Introduction to Dark Retreat	148
Blessings of Grace	151
Grief and Praise: Selections from Journals of Retreats in 1999 and 2000	153
Practices for Dark Retreat	165
A Dark Retreat of Your Own	177
Endnotes	183
Index	187
About the Author	195