Alan Watts - Great Zen Talks and Lectures on Eastern Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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Brief bio of Alan Watts:

Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, England, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master's degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest in 1945, then left the ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Asian Studies.

Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not a religion. He also explored human consciousness, in the essay "The New Alchemy" (1958), and in the book The Joyous Cosmology (1962).

Towards the end of his life, he divided his time between a houseboat in Sausalito and a cabin on Mount Tamalpais. His legacy has been kept alive by his son, Mark Watts, and many of his recorded talks and lectures are available on the Internet. According to the critic Erik Davis, his "writings and recorded talks still shimmer with a profound and galvanizing lucidity."
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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Great lectures by Alan Watts, the great Zen Lecturer, about why self-improvement is a myth and illusion. I'm not against self-improvement, but Alan Watts does make a lot of witty funny points and insights about why much of what society teaches you is wrong and an illusion. Thus you shouldn't take anything seriously, either in life or from society.





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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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You can download collections of full audio lectures by Alan Watts at this website dedicated to him. It costs money though.

http://www.alanwatts.com/

If you want it for free, you can go on YouTube or torrent sites to download them too.

Here's a great lecture by him with a moving beach background, perfect for deep contemplation. lol. It's very funny and witty, and exposes the many ironies of the follies of American society, culture and lifestyle.

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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Alan Watts explains in this lecture how societies like America and Taiwan destroy life and its essence by trying to control everything and making everything safe and risk free so as to remove the uncertainty and risk from life, which is not the way the universe intended life to be. That's very true and what I've observed as well, which is why the safest countries tend to be the most lifeless and zombie-like where you cannot grow or develop, so your spiritual and personal growth is stinted. Very true.

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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Taiwan is risk averse but US isn't. Read Hofstede. What the US is is short term oriented.
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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woodwater wrote:
October 28th, 2018, 8:12 am
Taiwan is risk averse but US isn`t.Read Hofstede.What the US is is short term oriented
Not when it comes to safety. Americans are paranoid of being sued by lawyers so they make sure everything is super safe. Just go to the airport and see. Nothing is left to chance. Everything is screened and over screened. Airport security in the US is super uptight and rules are super uptight too. Americans want freedom but they want laws passed to prevent abuse of freedom and to make sure everything is super safe. Their vibe is very paranoid too. Thats why u sense that super paranoid vibe in America. Its stifling. I hate it.
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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Winston wrote:
October 28th, 2018, 9:42 pm
woodwater wrote:
October 28th, 2018, 8:12 am
Taiwan is risk averse but US isn`t.Read Hofstede.What the US is is short term oriented
Not when it comes to safety. Americans are paranoid of being sued by lawyers so they make sure everything is super safe. Just go to the airport and see. Nothing is left to chance. Everything is screened and over screened. Airport security in the US is super uptight and rules are super uptight too. Americans want freedom but they want laws passed to prevent abuse of freedom and to make sure everything is super safe. Their vibe is very paranoid too. Thats why u sense that super paranoid vibe in America. Its stifling. I hate it.
yeh i noticed that abroad too,i was walking in a lonely beach in byron bay,australia and a yankee lass who was ahead of me started to acuse me of stalking her. You dont want to be close to these folks
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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Wow check out this great lecture by alan watts about how society scams you by always telling you since birth, to be preparing for life rather than truly living life. Its so true and very awakening about how the system constantly scams us even in subtle ways below our awareness. So brilliant and true.

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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Alan Watts explains why only suckers put their hope in a brighter better future. I know that sounds cruel and harsh. But its true if you think about it. We spend all our lives looking forward to some brighter better future. But no matter how many years go by, we still remain looking for a brighter future, which never comes. When you think about it, it seems like a scam. Like someone taught us to think the wrong way, probably so we will be willing to suffer and endure economic slavery in the present, in the hopes of some brighter tomorrow which never comes or is not permanent even when it does come. The bestselling book "The Power of Now" talks about this too.

We should be living in the present moment and making the most of it, and loving and living life today as it is. Not seeing the present as a stepping stone to a brighter future. That's all a trick and we should have figured it out ages ago, as Zen Buddhists and philosophers have. Because the present moment is all that is real and all that we have. Yet we are taught by society to squander it for a "better future" which if you think about it and meditate on it, is all a scam and hoax and mind game that society plays on you to manipulate you to be a hard worker and obedient slave to the system. Because without willing slaves, deluded and brainwashed about having a "better future", the system cannot function of course. So we've all been duped and suckered, as alan watts explained below. The man was so brilliant, witty and funny.

As they say, the American Civil War did not end slavery. It made everyone a slave. Especially when America became an official corporation in 1870, and not a nation anymore, an event which was hidden from the mainstream.

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Talks on Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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What is Taoism?



What is Buddhism?



How to be spiritual according to Taoism.

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Re: Alan Watts - Great Talks on Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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If you love the Alan Watts Eastern Wisdom TV series, you will love this series by the legendary religion scholar Huston Smith too called "The Religions of Man with Huston Smith". Here's the playlist for all 17 episodes of "The Religions of Man with Huston Smith". Every major religion is covered in this series.

The Religions of Man with Huston Smith series
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... ZozMa117me

Here is the first episode.



There was also another series with Huston Smith and Bill Moyers on PBS called "The Wisdom of Faith". However it is not available online. I only found one episode on YouTube about Hindusim and Buddhism.



There's an episode on Confucianism too but it's in 6 parts here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... C6AD01D530
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Talks on Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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Great excerpts and profound quotes from Alan Watts, the legendary Eastern philosopher. These will make you feel wise, centered and enlightened.



"Really, the fundamental, ultimate mystery — the only thing you need to know to understand the deepest metaphysical secrets — is this: that for every outside there is an inside and for every inside there is an outside, and although they are different, they go together."
– Alan Watts (1915 – 1973)



“And uh, forget the money. Because, if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life wasting your time. You will be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is, in order to do things you don’t like doing, which is stupid.”
– Alan Watts (1915 – 1973)

Great Krishnamurti quote:

“The plain fact is that if you don't have a problem, you create one. If you don't have a problem you don't feel that you are living.”

U.G. Krishnamurti
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Eastern Wisdom Talks (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism)

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woodwater wrote:
October 28th, 2018, 8:12 am
Taiwan is risk averse but US isn't. Read Hofstede. What the US is is short term oriented.
Yes Taiwanese believe living in fear and paranoia all the time is good for you, because it keeps you safe. It's a sick mindset that creates a negative vibe similar to America, one that feels oppressive and makes you feel on edge, like if you do something wrong you will be seen as a criminal. The US is risk averse too, but for a different reason, in that US businesses are afraid of getting sued, so they try to cover their bases every way possible. That's the only reason the US is obsessed with safety and eliminating risk or danger at any place of business.
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Talks on Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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This three laughing monks story could change your life!



"Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun."

- Alan Watts
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Re: Alan Watts - Great Talks on Eastern Wisdom & Philosophy (Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism)

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My reply to typical American cliched advice about the hope and optimism that things will be getting better tomorrow, posted under an Alan Watts video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LtGMlOlxGw

Africestry
1 month ago
Whoever you are who can't sleep tonight, is tired or sad, believe that there will be tomorrow that will light up your beautiful days.

You just need to endure a little more, a little more, and a little more ...

Thank you for being patient, thank you for being able to survive. And as you read this, promise yourself that you will be able to get through your toughest days in the future.

Promise to keep smiling, no matter how you are ...

You deserve to be happy :)


Happier Abroad - Expat Living and Dating Overseas
4 minutes ago (edited)
You don't seem to understand Eastern Spirituality. It is not about hope, eternal optimism, and waiting for a better tomorrow like American cliches say. Even when things get better they get worse again. Just like Summer and Winter always follow each other. If you pursue happiness and pleasure, you will also attract sadness and pain, because they are part of the same package. Just like if you become Christian, you will attract demons, because that's part of the package. The key is to detach from both. See the Samadhi movie series on YouTube by Daniel Schmidt. There are 3 parts. It explains all this.
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