Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Vintage (1972), Edition: Revised, 288 pages
Description
Just as groundbreaking today as it was when it first appeared, Behold the Spirit is philosopher Alan Watts's timeless argument for the place of mystical religion in today's world. Drawing on his experiences as a former priest, Watts skillfully explains how the intuition of Eastern religion--Zen Buddhism, in particular--can be incorporated into the doctrines of Western Christianity, allowing people of all creeds to enjoy a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the spiritual in our present troubled times.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Ogmin
One of the first titles I every bought by Alan Watts. My older brother had ' Psychotherapy: East & West' on the shelf and I had browsed through it after reading Watt's contribution to Solomon's LSD anthology. I purchased a paperback copy of BEHOLD THE SPIRIT in a small bookstore on Queens Boulevard
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near Lefrak City in the early 1970's and read it while still a teenager, magnetized by psychedelics. This book was my introduction to the approach of Zen Buddhism and was very important in helping me make the transition from being raised Lutheran to more non-dual, mystical, and eastern spiritual perspectives. Of course, it all depends on what you are ready to hear. doesn't it? I passed the book around to my young friends who could sense that it represented a real watershed in my life, but it never seemed to move them in the same way. Show Less
LibraryThing member JNagarya
Though Alan Watts was a "must read" during the 1960s-70s, exactly as it was expected that one must read and enjoy Henry David Thoreau, it appears old today. Most of his other works don't fare any better.
Instead of Watts for an understanding of Zen, that which is claimed to be such so often being
One wonders why Watts in the 1950s when there was the alternative of D. T. Suzuki. Later, of course, his rationalizations in behalf of psychedelics were useful to many who didn't have their own.
Instead of Watts for an understanding of Zen, that which is claimed to be such so often being
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instead Americanist consumer voracity, an excellent translator and writer who presents Buddhism without the irrelevant "beat" -- a deliberately alienated elite -- trappings, from the clueless about actual Buddhism, is Thanissaro Bhikkhu. One wonders why Watts in the 1950s when there was the alternative of D. T. Suzuki. Later, of course, his rationalizations in behalf of psychedelics were useful to many who didn't have their own.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1947
Physical description
288 p.; 4.3 inches
ISBN
0394717619 / 9780394717616
Local notes
NWC
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