Alan Watts Zen and philosophy

[Twilight Hue]

Alan has been known to state that he is not actually a practitioner of Zen, but rather as one who has been heavily influenced by the philosophical aspects that Zen produces, albeit that philosophy and Zen are mutually contradictory in practice. I found however, that a lot of his philosophy mirror's my own musings and views and resonates well with my personal outlook on things in a unique way.

Zen in the same manner resonates well in practice without any philosophical engagements. I actually didn't like him at first due to the fact that Zen has nothing at all to do with philosophy being the practice is actually direct experience, but it is undeniable that such "philosophy" has formed from the practice of Zen.

It's unfortunate that Alan has since been long passed, but I find his perspective on a slew of topics to be most interesting to say the least. Just curious if he has a following of sorts among RF'ers.

 

[Troublemane]

idk, I found Alan Watts' writing to be uninteresting, watered down versions of eastern ideas and not particularly informative. Of course, my first encounter with them was during the 80's 'new age' media blitz, and he was being pushed posthumously by the publishers just jumping on the bandwagon, so my opinion of his writing is maybe influenced by that, perhaps unfairly.

one thing i am sure of, though, is I much prefer Joseph Campbell. even today, i feel he was alot more substance than hype, unlike most of his peers. I think he was really going for the underlying concepts.

the feeling i get from mr watts' writing isnt so inspiring, and i came away from it thinking he was trying to convince the reader to adopt his ideas about things, rather than inspire them to think about them on their own. :angel2:

 

[wmjbyatt]

Alan Watts did a fantastic job of putting Eastern ideas into words that Westerners could comprehend, and he spoke very well on a number of subjects. I disagree with his framing of many things, but on the whole the fellow has my respect. He gave a talk called The Images of God which was really fantastic.

 

[Tathagata]

Yes, I approve of Alan Watts. In fact, he is one of my biggest influences. And through my extensive Buddhist studies, I have found Alan Watts to be on point as far as the accuracy of his teachings, however, he has a unique approach to it at the same time.


.

 

[Twilight Hue]

[youtube]mXmz605GAnc[/youtube]
YouTube - Alan Watts - The Real You

A wonderful and beautifully made vid-music mix of the extraordinary Alan Watts filmed in 1971 titled, "A conversation with myself." With heartfelt compassion this summarizes so much the essence of what and who we really and truly are.

@~}~~~

-/\-

 

[The Rev]

I've recently discovered Alan Watts and I really love what he has had to say so far.
:namaste

 

[Road Warrior]

Yes, I approve of Alan Watts. In fact, he is one of my biggest influences. And through my extensive Buddhist studies, I have found Alan Watts to be on point as far as the accuracy of his teachings, however, he has a unique approach to it at the same time.

He had a great influence on my own thinking too. I think it is important to understand the times a person existed when considering their influence. Like respecting the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Even though many were slave owners, "The Committee of Five" wrote these famous words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Alan Watts was an extremely influential "interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience" at a time when many Americans still had bad memories of the Japanese from WWII. In the early 1960s, Pearl Harbor and the terrible losses incurred over the course of WWII were as much in the memory of most Americans as the fall of the Berlin Wall is in present day Americans. The time span is the same, a couple of decades.

Despite these dark memories, Alan Watts was able to find an audience among the young, and later older Americans, at a time of great change in our culture. His words still have impact even though some may be a bit dated or even wrong.

Two short favorites by the South Park guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone:
[youtube]LFwxD6B_flQ[/youtube]
Music and Life - Alan Watts - YouTube

[youtube]UE4zGSqMsqU[/youtube]
Appling -- Alan Watts - YouTube

 

[DreadFish]

Two short favorites by the South Park guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone:
[youtube]LFwxD6B_flQ[/youtube]
Music and Life - Alan Watts - YouTube

I really love the music and life analogy he made, and the animation really does help to explain it I think.

 

[DreadFish]

This thread got me to listening to some other ones and I remember and old one I listened to a long time ago called "fear of enlightenment," back when I was terrified of the idea of enlightenment

Not just zen, but I figured I would share it in this thread:

[youtube]nLHbVEFW15c[/youtube]

 

[Road Warrior]

An excellent piece. Thanks for sharing, DF.

 

[bodisat]

The minute zen is metaphysics it ceases being zen, zen is directly being the buddha-nature and sitting in emptiness. This isn't metaphysics, this is practice, zazen is joy.

 

[Straw Dog]

Yes, it seems that Alan Watts was pretty good at contemplating Taoist and Buddhist philosophies as well as the associated philosophy that arises from the practice of Zen. He did an excellent job of introducing them to many people as well.

The act of contemplation, or deep thinking, has been unappreciated in the zen tradition it seems. It's really another form of meditation. The only issue arises when thoughts become like shackles around the free, empty mind. The need to return to the state of no-mind is crucial for any practitioner of zen, but not at the risk of creating a new duality between thinking and meditating. I don't know. I suppose I may be considered a heretic on this topic.

I find that heavy contemplation of a single thought, or concept, followed by an immediate period of release and traditional zazen seems to produce interesting results. Following meditation, the subconscious produces new ways of approaching or addressing the previous concepts in question. They are able to be bounced around and put together in new formations within a state of free play. This becomes an invaluable tool when acting in the world of maya as long as the lingering conceptual frameworks can be let go of.

All concepts must eventually be destroyed when their time comes or else they risk becoming unquestionable dogma. In fact, I believe this is what constitutes a free thinker in the truest sense of the word. I don't find thinking to be wrong as long as the awareness is maintained that all thoughts eventually return to their original source. They are just temporary emanations arising from that which is, but they have just as much of a right to be properly expressed as everything else in existence. I say let them have their moment in the sun.

 

[DreadFish]

Yes, it seems that Alan Watts was pretty good at contemplating Taoist and Buddhist philosophies as well as the associated philosophy that arises from the practice of Zen. He did an excellent job of introducing them to many people as well.

The act of contemplation, or deep thinking, has been unappreciated in the zen tradition it seems. It's really another form of meditation. The only issue arises when thoughts become like shackles around the free, empty mind. The need to return to the state of no-mind is crucial for any practitioner of zen, but not at the risk of creating a new duality between thinking and meditating. I don't know. I suppose I may be considered a heretic on this topic.

I find that heavy contemplation of a single thought, or concept, followed by an immediate period of release and traditional zazen seems to produce interesting results. Following meditation, the subconscious produces new ways of approaching or addressing the previous concepts in question. They are able to be bounced around and put together in new formations within a state of free play. This becomes an invaluable tool when acting in the world of maya as long as the lingering conceptual frameworks can be let go of.

All concepts must eventually be destroyed when their time comes or else they risk becoming unquestionable dogma. In fact, I believe this is what constitutes a free thinker in the truest sense of the word. I don't find thinking to be wrong as long as the awareness is maintained that all thoughts eventually return to their original source. They are just temporary emanations arising from that which is, but they have just as much of a right to be properly expressed as everything else in existence. I say let them have their moment in the sun.

Yeah, I dont think there is anything wrong with deep thinking. The thing to be avoided, I believe, is rational evaluation and discursive thinking. Observational contemplation, I think does good. That is the point of anapansati, in basic Buddhist teachings. It is the recollection of something using breathing. So, when breathing in, be aware of this thing, when breathing out, be aware of this thing. It's intense observation of something to find out it's nature.

I think the main point is to avoid rational conceptual thought process in evaluation.

Actually, I bet this is near the same thing you were talking about too