FT88 Posted February 11, 2011 Hey TB's. I recently discovered some of Alan Watts audio series and i must say he has some very good insight and was before his time as most of his stuff was recorded in the 50's/60's. I was just wondering if any of you guys are familar with him and what your thoughts were. Heres some torrents of his u can download http://thepiratebay.org/search/alan%20watts/0/99/0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8PLp_RX7Ow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UAv9tJ-fVA&feature=related Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surfingbudda Posted February 11, 2011 Very nice, thank you for sharing these Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aaron Posted February 11, 2011 I've heard traditional members of the Taoist religion refer to Alan Watts as "that man from California." Ironically he's English, but he did live in California and was profoundly influential in the counter culture movement. I also believe that he was one of the first Westerners to truly understand how much the Western world needed Eastern philosophy. In a time when many people in the west were losing faith in nearly every institution, Watts came along and showed them another way, one that had been there all along, but was ignored and dismissed as Eastern Barbarism at best and rubbish at worst. What ended up happening was that he exposed millions of Westerners to a way of thought that profoundly changed their lives and Western history forever. Buddhism and Taoism are two of the fastest growing religions in the Western world. There are millions of Western Taoists and Buddhists today that may never have been if it were not for Watts and others, like Eugen Herrigal. I also credit Watts "The Book" as being the turning point for me, where I ceased to wonder and finally understood. He was an amazing man, a womanizer, a philanderer, and yes a liar, but none the less, amazing. He understood better than most the true weakness inherent in morality and the reason why so many people needed something that made sense of the paradoxical world we live in. Aaron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KCHooligan Posted February 11, 2011 I just finished "The Book" today, after catching its title mentioned here 2 days ago under a meditation thread. Very, very neat stuff. I'm a skeptic, so I'm not "won over", but I also realize I like thinking of myself and everything like he describes. Which leads me to the question, why not think this way? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surfingbudda Posted February 11, 2011 thought I might post this library link I found that lets you read many of Allan Watts books for free, enjoy My link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kabalabhati Posted February 11, 2011 His book "The way of Zen" is a great read, I was introduced to it by my father-in-law Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unmike Posted February 12, 2011 (edited) thought I might post this library link I found that lets you read many of Allan Watts books for free, enjoy My link Only allows those of us with UCSC accounts to read, I believe. Alas... Must credit Watts with transitioning me from West to East so seamlessly that it couldn't have gone better any other way. I owe the man a tremendous debt, for his work was the initial impetus for my life toward the bodhicitta. Edited February 12, 2011 by unmike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surfingbudda Posted February 12, 2011 Only allows those of us with UCSC accounts to read, I believe. Alas... Oh thats too bad, I was afraid of that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cat Pillar Posted February 13, 2011 I read "The Book" because of this thread...got some great insights from it! Loved the way he wrote and explained things... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devoid Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) Very nice - thanks for posting. The following really struck a chord with me (from the first of the two talks you posted): It is absolutely absurd to say that we came into this world: We didn't. We came out of it. Edit: Typo Edited February 13, 2011 by devoid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulises Posted February 14, 2011 Blessed Alan Watts... "Man has to discover that everything which he beholds in nature - the clammy foreign-feeling world of the ocean's depths, the wastes of ice, the reptiles of the swamp, the spiders and scorpions, the deserts of lifeless planets - has its counterpart within himself. He is not, then, at one with himself until he realizes that this "under side" of nature and the feelings of horror which it gives him are also "I". Alan Watts The Wisdom of Insecurity, Chapter 7: "The Transformation of Life", p.111. We must see that consciousness is neither an isolated soul nor the mere function of a single nervous system, but of that totality of interrelated stars and galaxies which makes a nervous system possible. Alan Watts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surfingbudda Posted February 14, 2011 A nice little limerick I found in Allan Watts' book, "Buddhism The Religion of No-Religion" There was a young man who said, "Though It seems that I know that I know. What I would like to see Is the I that Knows me When I know that I know that I know." 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulises Posted February 14, 2011 Splendid!! "Using some of the basic principles of Taoism, Alan Watts is able to explain to us the true meaning of life, love, and simple existence in an astonishingly simple way...." http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Man-Woman-Alan-Watts/dp/0679732330 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
