Alan Watts Random Lectures for the Hardcore Fans

Alan Watts Random Lectures for the Hardcore Fans

Bibliography

• Author: Alan Watts Lectures
• Full_Title: Alan Watts Random Lectures for the Hardcore Fans
• Category: podcasts
• URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/663e2617-cabe-4897-a54a-6f3bb12974af
• Last Highlighted Date: 2024-09-07 10:36:58.239916+00:00

Highlights

• Episode AI notes
  1. Alan Watts emphasizes the illusion of separation between self and the external world, advocating for recognition of our interconnectedness within a single reality.
  2. He argues that understanding this unity prompts introspection to identify the authentic self and challenges the duality of thinker and thought.
  3. One method suggested by Watts to achieve this understanding is through expressive practices like shouting, which can reveal deeper truths about collective existence.
  4. Watts highlights that Zen living encompasses a mindful approach to everyday activities, including walking, standing, and lying down, promoting full engagement in the present moment.
  5. He advocates for mastery in Zen through awareness in all aspects of life, encouraging actions like eating when hungry and sleeping when tired without distraction.
  6. In facing hardship, Watts advises relaxation over resistance, indicating that embracing discomfort leads to greater comfort and serenity.
  7. He explains that Zen discipline fosters calmness in challenging conditions, promoting endurance instead of suffering and emphasizing the importance of maintaining a relaxed mindset.
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• Unity Beyond Perception Summary: The distinction we make between the self and the external world is a fundamental illusion; we are all interconnected within a single reality. While we perceive ourselves as separate observers, we are actually part of a shared experience where individuals come and go within each other’s existence. Understanding this unity requires us to challenge the duality between the thinker and the thought, prompting introspection to identify the authentic self. One method to achieve this understanding is through practices such as shouting, which can help break down barriers and reveal deeper truths about our collective nature. Transcript: Speaker 1 We are convinced that we stand aside from it and observe it because we have been brought up that way. But you know, in your stream of thought and experience, I am an object and a very fleeting and passing one. And concept also in my stream of experience, you also are people who come and go. We are all, you see, living in the same world. We think there is me and there is an external world round me. But I am in your external world and you are in my external world. And if you think about that, you see we are all in one world going along together. There isn’t really the internal and the external. There is simply the process. It’s very important to get rid of that illusion of duality between the thinker and the thought. So find out who is the thinker behind the thoughts? Who is the real genuine you? And so one of the methods that is used is shouting.
  • Time 0:55:58, Open in Readwise ^rw761967515
• Embrace the Dignities of Zen Living Summary: Zen practice encompasses more than just sitting; it includes walking, standing, and lying down, each with its own mindful approach. True Zen is about being fully engaged in the present moment, such as eating when hungry and sleeping when tired, rather than succumbing to distractions or restless thoughts. Mastery in Zen involves cultivating awareness in every aspect of life, ensuring that daily activities are performed with intention and presence. Transcript: Speaker 1 Watch? So he was very disappointed in this answer and he said you know sitting is only one way of doing Zen. Buddhism speaks of the four dignities of man walking standing sitting and lying. And so Zazen is simply the Japanese word for sitting Zen. There must also be walking Zen, standing Zen and lying Zen. You should know for example how to sleep in a Zen way. That means to sleep thoroughly. Zen has been described as when hungry eat, when tired sleep. And when the student got that description he said well doesn’t everybody do that? And the master said they don’t. When hungry they don’t just eat but think of ten thousand things. When tired they don’t just sleep but dream innumerable dreams. So in a sense this sounds like the old Western truism. Whatever
  • Time 1:05:31, Open in Readwise ^rw761970861
• Embrace Hardship with Relaxation Summary: In facing hardships, relaxing instead of resisting leads to greater comfort. Tightening muscles against discomfort, such as cold, exacerbates the struggle, while embracing the situation allows for a more serene experience. Zen discipline teaches individuals to remain calm and composed, even in challenging conditions, fostering an ability to endure rather than suffer. This approach promotes comfort in adverse situations and highlights the importance of a relaxed mindset rather than a masochistic view towards the body. Transcript: Speaker 1 Relax completely under any situation of hardship you see ordinarily when you sit on a you’re out in the cold you start shivering why because you’re resisting the cold you’re tightening Your muscles against the cold and you get the staggers but you were taught if you learn zen discipline not to do that take it easy go with the cold relax and all those monks in those monasteries Here there’s cold or fell in winter and they simply sit there most of the time and there we would be frozen to death and miserable and have our influenza and the great Siberian it but they Simply relax and learn how to take the cold so there’s nothing about zen discipline which is masochistic it isn’t to beach your body because your body is bad and there’s a creation of The devil or something has nothing to do with that it is how to be comfortable under all circumstances but that again is something rather incidental to the main question of zen as i said These end people as you meet them and as you get to know their
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• Embrace the Paradox of Desire Summary: The student learns that attempting to eliminate desire by desiring its absence creates a paradoxical trap, leading to a cycle of futility. This reveals the futility of trying to control desire, illustrating that one can neither act nor refrain from action without falling into a loop of contradictions. The analogy of a mosquito trying to bite an iron bull highlights the inherent impossibility of such pursuits. Transcript: Speaker 1 And then the student sees that if he strikes a stop desiring to get rid of desire but then he’s got to stop desiring to get rid of not desiring to derive and suddenly he finds himself once More with molasses in one hand and feathers in the other absolutely tied up in a vicious circle so he realizes there is nothing I can do about it and there’s nothing I can not do about it And this predicament in zen is called a mosquito trying to bite an iron bull
  • Time 2:36:31, Open in Readwise ^rw782316145