Dancing in the Dharma: The Life and Teachings of Ruth Denison

This book is terrific. It is inspiring and heartening to read about such an unusual Buddhist teacher as Ruth Denison. She seems very accessible and courageous, both in her life and in her teachings. Sandy Boucher's writing is excellent (as in all her books) and between her writing technique and the story of Ruth Denison, I have fallen in love with Buddhism all over again.

Ruth Denison is a wonderfully inspiring person. Her life story ranges from terrible hardship as a young woman, in the aftermath of the war in Germany, through wide-ranging explorations of spiritual paths, to meeting her extraordinary teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and then her subsequent teaching of Vipassana meditation, development of her own meditation centre and ongoing development of her teaching practice. Her deep devotion to dharma and her full-on character make for a fascinating read. This is very well written by Sandy Boucher, who is frank and interesting about her own responses to Ruth, which gives added depth to the book. So glad that I stumbled across it. Its been really inspiring and heartwarming.

Sandy Boucher's book about the life and teachings of Ruth Dennison is a wonderful tale that is incredibly engrossing, moving through Ruth's childhood in Nazi Germany, all the way to Southern California where she emabarks on a spiritual quest that takes her and us, the reader, on amazing adventures. Boucher's writing is both accessible and rich and she allows us to know her, the author and her relationship to Ruth while not getting in the way of this remarkable and inspiring story.

Sandy Boucher's DANCING IN THE DHARMA, is a profoundly moving portrait of one of American's most compelling Buddhist teachers. Ruth Dennison's formidable story about growing up in Nazi Germany, surviving the horrors of prison camp and multiple rapes under the Russians, moving to America where she was thrust into the center of the sixties counter-culture and finally emerging into one of the great pioneers of Buddhism in the west is beautifully told in this remarkable biography. I urge all seekers along the spiritual path to read this book. It is the story of a survivor and her student, her adventures and her teachings, which you will linger in your heart, long after you have put the book down.

How do storm chasers capture a tornado? They don't. They get as close to it as they think is safe, they pause, they make observations, then they turn and run. Being a storm chaser implies intent. It implies conviction, purpose, and desire. When confronted by such a force of nature the depth of one's convictions becomes apparent and what appears can range from a vision of hell to transcendent bliss. Buddhist practitioners are storm chasers. The natural force they pursue is inside them. It is the very intent, conviction, purpose and desire, which cause them to chase in the first place. As they get close to this internal force it may or may not feel safe, they may pause or they may not, they may make observations, they will turn and run. The intrepid come back and begin again. Dancing in the Dharma, by Sandy Boucher is the story of one Buddhist teacher, Ruth Denison. She is a force of nature. You know this, you don't sense it, you know it, when you meet her. Somewhere between the first ten seconds and ten minutes of being with Ruth you are pushed outside your comfort zone. You are pushed outside your envelope. You are pushed outside the box the envelope came in. You want to turn and run. The intrepid stay. Learning meditation from Ruth is not sitting quietly cross-legged on the floor, although there is time for that. It is experiencing the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching. It is experiencing the force, the force as manifest in a small wiry German woman born in 1922. Sandy Boucher is intrepid, she stayed for more than two decades. She is also a wonderful chronicler of this very dynamic and enigmatic woman, Ruth Denison. To practice with Ruth is not only experiencing the Dharma, but also learning, in bits and pieces, Ruth's life story. Ms. Boucher paused and observed. It is good for us she did. This is a biography of a contemporary Buddhist teacher, not an historical figure or a pop star. This is the story of a survivor who went beyond mere survival. This is the story of a woman with an incredibly strong personality and a stronger faith and experience in spirituality. Sandy Boucher has beautifully contained this force of nature (the good, the bad, and the neutral) between the covers of a book. For those who have not met Ruth in person, this is a safe distance. It will tell you a marvelous, awe-inspiring story of one woman who found her spiritual calling. Those who have been with Ruth will find threads dangled before them tied together, but they will also know the feeling of being with this force, pausing, observing, then turning to face the force within. I recommend this book to all. And to spiritual storm chasers I suggest a pilgrimage to sage tussled Copper Mountain Mesa, in the Mojave Desert. You may turn and run, but you'll have gained for the effort.