4 ms·
The article isn't as aggressive as the headline, but it also doesn't really give a clear picture of Watts. He had a lot of issues in his personal life, but as t
by superb-owl 4y ago
The article isn't as aggressive as the headline, but it also doesn't really give a clear picture of Watts. He had a lot of issues in his personal life, but as the article parenthetically mentions, he helped a lot of people too. If you want to know more about Watts and what he means to people, I would suggest finding some of his lectures on YouTube (avoid the ones with new agey music).
Watts was a connoisseur of fascinating ideas. It's easy to criticize his syncretism as "watered down Buddhism", and you can't take everything he (or anyone) says as gospel, but there's plenty of insight in his lectures. And he will point you towards a hundred other thinkers with amazing ideas to share.
- augustuspolius 4y agoI used to own a CD collection of his lectures and have very fond memories of listening to him on road trips. Agree that he shares many wonderful ideas in his talks, no need to diminish that by calling ideas “watered down” or “lazy”. He synthesized many religions and philosophies into a cohesive system (even if sometimes pretty esoteric). For those subscribed to the Waking Up app: they recently (well, around a year ago) added a large Alan Watts lecture collection to the Theory section.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y agoWatts is an entertaining speaker, but he won’t teach you how to practice.
- lolptdr 4y agoWhat would you recommend to practice Watts’ ideas?
- radley 4y agoOdd. For me, most of what he says is about how to practice.
- jonathankoren 4y agoNo shit. He literally said this. “I am not a guru, that means also that I’m not trying to help you or improve you. I accept you as you are. I am not out there to save the world. […] And so I’m often asked the question, is it really necessary to have a guru? I can answer that only by saying, yes, it is necessary if you think so.” https://alanwatts.org/searchable/1-3-4-spiritual-authority-pt-1/ https://alanwatts.org/searchable/1-3-4-spiritual-authority-p... If you need to some authority with a how to book and various rules to force you to maintain some esoteric rules, go ahead. But it’s not necessary.
- mping 4y agoIt is not necessary but you won't make much progress without one. Spiritual practice without a teacher is like navigating without a map, you may end up in America thinking it's India. If you are somewhat serious about spiritual practice, of course you should find someone who walked some of the path already, otherwise it's impossible for you to know - by definition, you haven't walked the path yet so you don't really know.
- regpertom 4y agoI’ve listened to a lot of Watts, which isn’t to say I understand it but rather I can recall it. your p1 concerns making progress, p2 on being serious. Watts talks on progress being an illusion, that the deer hunter doesn’t see the mountains. He also talks the same in being serious, rather than sincere, in that it’s like being an oak that cannot away in the wind, constantly concerned with holding yourself together lest you might accidentally fall through the ground. By trying for America while worrying about India, would be like being hung up on trying not to be hung up. Or competing about who has attainted the most enlightenment, who sat for longest or the most uncomfortably. ~it cannot be grasped by thinking, it cannot be perceived by not thinking. ~The goose flying over the lake doesn’t mean to cast a reflection, and the lake has no mind to retain it. But still, it happens.
- RHSman2 4y agoYeah but you miss the point. You think it’s about getting to the destination. That is what a map is for. The journey is the destination. And if you are being led and shown you don’t develop your own compass. Take tips, listen and gather some info BUT the only thing you need is to listen to ‘you’ and the other ‘you’ and decide how it works. In my opinion of course.
- dr_dshiv 4y agoHis lectures are on Spotify, too. Really fun. I recommend “the secret of LSD and how to handle it.” https://open.spotify.com/episode/0S6h5XGNLOCpfgJ2EC6I60?si=_5l0TI3fRlOPbVFfn3wE7w https://open.spotify.com/episode/0S6h5XGNLOCpfgJ2EC6I60?si=_...
- CTDOCodebases 4y agoI would say that Alan Watts translated Buddhism and made it digestible for a western audience. Although it has new agey music I would suggest listening to the link below to get an understanding of what I am talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2rVXBww7Xk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2rVXBww7Xk
- bitexploder 4y agoPrecise philosophy is not a very good tool to help most people explore the human condition. Stoics had a much more approachable life philosophy, IMO.
- bwhaley 4y agoTry the Waking Up app for a complete, organized collection of Watts’s work. I don’t take all of it at face value - some of it certainly hasn’t aged well - but I’ve derived a lot of wisdom from his work. If you’re interested in looking at the world a little differently then the typical western way, it’s worth your time to give his talks a listen.
- ygmelnikova 4y ago