"Although his famous voice and happy laughter are missing now, his penetrating vision remains, and his lectures become brilliant prose in book form." This volume in the "Love of Wisdom" library focuses on the more playful and artistic aspects of Taoism. Essays include "Being in the Way", "The Philosophy of Tao", and "Landscape, Soundscape" Alan Watts' lectures always drew a large audience of diverse interests, and these Taoist explorations of the "nature of nature" should introduce a new generation to Watt's thought.
Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer and speaker, who held both a Master's in Theology and a Doctorate of Divinity. Famous for his research on comparative religion, he was best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Asian philosophies for a Western audience. He wrote over 25 books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher consciousness, the meaning of life, concepts and images of God and the non-material pursuit of happiness. In his books he relates his experience to scientific knowledge and to the teachings of Eastern and Western religion and philosophy.
"The beggar has heaven and earth for his summer clothes."
"In Zen practice, you have to regard yourself as a cloud, because, of course, clouds never make mistakes. Have you ever seen a cloud that was misshapen? Have you ever seen a badly designed wave? No. They are always right. They always do the right thing, and as a matter of fact, so do we."
Me parece un excelente libro para adentrarse en el taoísmo, mucha claridad práctica del autor. Creo que adentrarse en esta corriente hace más livianas las cosas.
I love u alan watts forevssssssss gifted this book to a good friend i met in a yoga ashram in nepal, so i cannot remember all the quotes i most loved but my main takeaways: Wu Wei: do not force anything, what is meant to be will be; 'don't force a lock, you'll bend the key or break the lock' -a spiritual life is a way of being, not a 'practice' or a chore, meditation is simply a way of being, not a task
-Tao & cosmic consciousness: Stanislas Julien, when translating Tao The King, described the way of 'Tao' as synonymous with cosmic consciousness: it is devoid of action, thought, judgement and intelligence =it is the way of complete unforced stillness, so that everything happens the way it authentically by nature was meant to happen; the concept of Tao is allowing the flow of being, not forcing anything "Your ordinary consciousness is the Tao".
-yin & yang: forcing wholly positive is artificial, you must embody everything- do not label it as good or bad as it all makes up into a whole, ties into jungian's 'shadow' theory- importance of integrating your shadow to become your whole embodied self =Self-awareness alone is not sufficient; it must be accompanied by an acceptance of your own boundaries. Certain parts of our nature are fixed, and that is part of being human. Instead of resisting these emotions and limitations that cannot change, notice them, feel them, and then let them move through you.
-in meditation, allowing emotions to pass and treating them objectively with non-judgement- your emotions are temporary and not your identity: "Simply be aware of what actually is without giving it names and without judging it, for you are now feeling our reality itself instead of ideas and opinions about it."
Tao & the flow of water =just as water, in naturally flows where space allows it to, it can be the softest element, but also the hardest element in quantity 'It is the way of the Tao to act without acting, to conduct affairs without the trouble of them, to taste without discerning any flavour, to consider the small as great, and the few as many, and to recompense injury with kindness'
I will say, I misunderstood taoism for being to always take the path of least resistance-which i felt misalligned with the necessary sacrifice needed for relationship and career success, but it is not about that, taoism encourages hard work so long as it is not driven by ego, anxiety, or social pressure: it must come naturally from within, and allign with your internal energy balance
Reading this book is a confirmation of the feelings and thoughts that everyone in loneliness, silence and concentration probably reaches. The genuine and disposition that comes from the heart of nature, the general consciousness and knowledge of which we are all a part, but we as human beings try to get away from it with the obstacles of our own world.
“Wu Wei : not forcing”
آيين تائو ؛ خوندن اين كتاب مهر تاييديه روى احساسات و افكارى كه هر كس تو تنهايى و سكوت و تمركز احتمالا نسبى بهشون ميرسه . اصليت و سرشتى كه از دل طبيعت بيرون مياد ، شعور و داناى كلى كه هممون جزئى ازش هستيم اما ما آدمها با موانع ساختگى دنياى خودمون سعى در دور شدن ازش داريم. "وو وِى : عدم اعمال زور "
Todo es aprendizaje. Me llevo varios conceptos interesantes sobre los que seguir reflexionando a largo plazo y la certeza de que quiero indagar más en lecturas de esta índole. En palabras del autor, “el universo es mucho más amplio que la red que utilizamos para atraparlo”.