up:: Spirituality, Philosophy, Zen, Buddhism
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker, and self-styled “philosophical entertainer”, known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience.Watts gained a following while working as a volunteer programmer at the KPFA radio station in Berkeley. He wrote more than 25 books and articles on religion and philosophy, introducing the emerging hippie counter culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first best selling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), he argued that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy. He considered Nature, Man and Woman (1958) to be, “from a literary point of view—the best book I have ever written”. He also explored human consciousness and psychedelics in works such as “The New Alchemy” (1958) and The Joyous Cosmology (1962).
His lectures found posthumous popularity through regular broadcasts on public radio, especially in California and New York, and more recently on the internet, on sites and apps such as YouTube and Spotify. The bulk of his recorded audio talks were recorded during the 1960s and early 1970s.
“We need a new experience — a new feeling of what it is to be ‘I.’ The lowdown (which is, of course, the secret and profound view) on life is that our normal sensation of self is a hoax, or, at best, a temporary role that we are playing — with our own tacit consent, just as every hypnotized person is basically willing to be hypnotized. The most strongly enforced of all known taboos is the taboo against knowing who or what you really are behind the mask of your apparently separate, independent, and isolated ego.”
“As is so often the way, what we have suppressed and overlooked is something startlingly obvious. The difficulty is that it is so obvious and basic that one can hardly find the words for it. The Germans call it Hintergedanke, an apprehension lying tacitly in the back of our minds which we cannot easily admit, even to ourselves. The sensation of ‘I’ as a lonely and isolated center of being is so powerful and commonsensical, and so fundamental to our modes of speech and thought, to our laws and social institutions, that we cannot experience selfhood except as something superficial in the scheme of the universe.”
“The difficulty in realizing this to be so is that conceptual thinking cannot grasp it. It is as if the eyes were trying to look at themselves directly, or as if one were trying to describe the color of a mirror in terms of colors reflected in the mirror. Just as sight is something more than all things seen, the foundation or ‘ground’ of our existence and awareness cannot be understood in terms of things that are known.”
“You cannot teach an ego to be anything but egotistic, even though egos have the subtlest ways of pretending to be reformed. The basic thing is therefore to dispel, by experiment and experience, the illusion of oneself as a separate ego.”
“Furthermore, on seeing through the illusion of the ego, it is impossible to think of oneself as better than, or superior to, others for having done so. In every direction there is just one Self playing its myriad games of hide-and-seek. Birds are not better than the eggs from which they have broken.”
— Alan Watts
Don’t Fall For The Trap - Alan Watts On Work And Pleasure - YouTube
The Transformative Power of Play in Work
Alan Watts reflects on the Brazilian soccer team’s joyous and artistic approach to playing in the World Cup, contrasting it sharply with the conventional, efficiency-driven mindset often taught in professional and personal endeavors. Watts emphasizes that work and tasks, when infused with a playful and creative spirit, can become enjoyable and fulfilling. He uses the metaphor of a bus driver navigating city traffic not just to reach a destination but to enjoy the journey itself, transforming a routine commute into an engaging performance. This philosophy challenges the traditional view that work must be a serious, joyless endeavor just because it is compensated, proposing instead that work can and should be a source of pleasure and creativity.
The Cultural Stigma Against Playfulness in Professional Settings
Watts critiques the societal expectation that work should be serious and devoid of pleasure, a notion rooted deeply in cultural and religious beliefs that equate seriousness with responsibility and productivity. He illustrates this with examples from various professions where a playful approach is typically discouraged, highlighting how such attitudes suppress the inherent joy and creativity in work. The narrative extends to the broader implications of viewing work solely as a means to an end, suggesting that this perspective not only diminishes personal fulfillment but also overlooks the intrinsic value of enjoying one’s labor.
The Philosophical Entertainer: Embracing Work as Art
Describing himself as a “philosophical entertainer,” Alan Watts shares his personal approach to work, where he does not see himself as imparting wisdom but rather engaging in discussions he enjoys for their own sake, and making a living from it. This self-perception challenges the traditional dichotomy between work and pleasure, encouraging a reevaluation of what it means to be productive. Watts advocates for a shift in understanding work not just as a necessity but as an art form, where the process is as rewarding as the outcome, thereby enriching both the quality of work and the quality of life.
Overcoming Rigidity: Life as a Dance
Watts draws a powerful analogy between the rigidity in attitudes towards work and life, and physical rigidity that signifies death. He argues that life, like dance, is meant to be fluid and playful, not stiff and serious. This philosophy challenges deeply ingrained cultural norms that value rigidity as a form of discipline and control, proposing instead that embracing flexibility and spontaneity in life can lead to greater adaptability and happiness. By suggesting that “life is a form of dancing,” Watts invites a reconsideration of our approaches to work and life, advocating for a balance between structure and freedom that accommodates growth and change.
Quotes
- It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn. ― Alan Watts
- Our normal sensation of self is a hoax, or, at best, a temporary role that we are playing, or have been conned into playing ― with our own tacit consent, just as every hypnotized person is basically willing to be hypnotized. ― Alan Watts
- “Does it really take any considerable time or effort just to understand that you depend on enemies and outsiders to define yourself, and that without some opposition you would be lost? To see this is to acquire, almost instantly, the virtue of humor, and humor and self-righteousness are mutually exclusive. Humor is the twinkle in the eye of a just judge, who knows that he is also the felon in the dock.” ― Alan W. Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
- “The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” ― Alan Watts
- “Imagine a multidimensional spider’s web in the early morning covered with dew drops. And every dew drop contains the reflection of all the other dew drops. And, in each reflected dew drop, the reflections of all the other dew drops in that reflection. And so ad infinitum. That is the Buddhist conception of the universe in an image.” — wikipedia/en/Alan_Watts
