Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
New York, Pantheon Books [c1966]
Description
In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the "outside" world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human--and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence.
User reviews
LibraryThing member haig51
Alan Watts has convinced me that spirituality is a choice, an optional way of viewing the cosmos that is paradoxically at once unnecessary and unavoidable. In "The Book" he continues in the tradition of Eastern thinkers who prefer to view the self as an indivisible part of the whole universe
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instead of the common Western perspective of the self being separate and apart from its environment. Like a Necker cube, no one perspective is the truly definitive way of viewing things, the Eastern view is not 'right' and the Western view is not 'wrong', what is wrong is denying the existence of one or the other. The taboo in question is the dominant Western denial of the alternative Eastern perspective of what a self, and thus what the cosmos, really is. Show Less
LibraryThing member gbill
This book has a 60’s hippie feel to it (someone once told my brother that it was a book to “blow a joint through”), and yet the teachings springs from Eastern philosophy thousands of years old. Watts is of course was one of a wave of thinkers who turned to the East during the 60’s; it’s a
The central premise is that while we feel ourselves to be separate beings with separate egos, we are in reality all a part of a larger whole, and ignoring this fact is what leads to suffering in both ourselves and everything around us. It’s taken a little bit to an extreme and I’m not in agreement with everything Watts says, but he is profound and reading The Book led me to read several of his other books.
This book also contains one of my favorite quotes, a description of ‘yugen’, the sense of the mysterious depth in everything that makes up nature, the sense of mystic calm in all things, and/or the sense of a strong communion with nature:
“To watch the sun sink behind a flower-clad hill, to wander on and on in a huge forest without thought of return, to stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands, to contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. All these are yugen, but have they in common?”
Other quotes, all of which relate to oneness:
On death:
“Death is, after all, a great event. So long as it is not imminent, we cling to ourselves and our lives in chronic anxiety, however pushed into the back of the mind. But when the time comes where clinging is no longer of the least avail, the circumstances are ideal for letting go of oneself completely. When this happens, the individual is released from his ego-prison. In the normal course of events this is the golden opportunity for awakening into the knowledge that one’s actual self is the Self which plays the universe – an occasion for great rejoicing.”
On the ego:
“In the same way, the more resolutely you plumb the question ‘Who or what am I?’ – the more unavoidable is the realization that you are nothing at all apart from everything else. Yet again, the more you strive for some kind of perfection or mastery – in morals, in art, or in spirituality – the more you see that you are playing a rarified and lofty form of the old eog-game, and that your attainment of any height is apparent to yourself and to others only by contrast with someone else’s depth or failure.”
On parts and the whole:
“For what we mean by ‘understanding’ or ‘comprehension’ is seeing how parts fit into a whole, and then realizing that they don’t compose the whole, as one assembles a jigsaw puzzle, but that the whole is a pattern, a complex wiggliness, which has no separate parts. Parts are fictions of language, of the calculus of looking at the world through a net which seems to chop it up into bits. Parts exist only for purposes of figuring and describing, and as we figure the world out we become confused if we do not remember this all the time.”
On the self:
“But I define myself in terms of you; I know myself on in terms of what is ‘other’, no matter whether I see the ‘other’ as below me or above me in any ladder of values. If above, I enjoy the kick of self-pity; if below, I enjoy the kick of pride. I being I goeswith you being you. Thus, as a great Hassidic rabbi put it, ‘If I am I because you are you, and if you are you because I am I, then I am not I, and you are not you.’”
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little impressive to me that he was older, having been born in 1915. Perhaps that maturity made him more of the “real deal” in expressing himself, whereas others sometimes fell into the trap of pretentiousness. The central premise is that while we feel ourselves to be separate beings with separate egos, we are in reality all a part of a larger whole, and ignoring this fact is what leads to suffering in both ourselves and everything around us. It’s taken a little bit to an extreme and I’m not in agreement with everything Watts says, but he is profound and reading The Book led me to read several of his other books.
This book also contains one of my favorite quotes, a description of ‘yugen’, the sense of the mysterious depth in everything that makes up nature, the sense of mystic calm in all things, and/or the sense of a strong communion with nature:
“To watch the sun sink behind a flower-clad hill, to wander on and on in a huge forest without thought of return, to stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands, to contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. All these are yugen, but have they in common?”
Other quotes, all of which relate to oneness:
On death:
“Death is, after all, a great event. So long as it is not imminent, we cling to ourselves and our lives in chronic anxiety, however pushed into the back of the mind. But when the time comes where clinging is no longer of the least avail, the circumstances are ideal for letting go of oneself completely. When this happens, the individual is released from his ego-prison. In the normal course of events this is the golden opportunity for awakening into the knowledge that one’s actual self is the Self which plays the universe – an occasion for great rejoicing.”
On the ego:
“In the same way, the more resolutely you plumb the question ‘Who or what am I?’ – the more unavoidable is the realization that you are nothing at all apart from everything else. Yet again, the more you strive for some kind of perfection or mastery – in morals, in art, or in spirituality – the more you see that you are playing a rarified and lofty form of the old eog-game, and that your attainment of any height is apparent to yourself and to others only by contrast with someone else’s depth or failure.”
On parts and the whole:
“For what we mean by ‘understanding’ or ‘comprehension’ is seeing how parts fit into a whole, and then realizing that they don’t compose the whole, as one assembles a jigsaw puzzle, but that the whole is a pattern, a complex wiggliness, which has no separate parts. Parts are fictions of language, of the calculus of looking at the world through a net which seems to chop it up into bits. Parts exist only for purposes of figuring and describing, and as we figure the world out we become confused if we do not remember this all the time.”
On the self:
“But I define myself in terms of you; I know myself on in terms of what is ‘other’, no matter whether I see the ‘other’ as below me or above me in any ladder of values. If above, I enjoy the kick of self-pity; if below, I enjoy the kick of pride. I being I goeswith you being you. Thus, as a great Hassidic rabbi put it, ‘If I am I because you are you, and if you are you because I am I, then I am not I, and you are not you.’”
Show Less
LibraryThing member JGL53
I've read about 45 Alan Watts books. This one is a good one. But they all are good ones.
LibraryThing member DarkWater
Watts' dissemination of Vedantic philosophy to the West, the book puts into question the pervasive and problematic notion of the separate, independent ego. If the greatness of a book is measured by its ability to inspire further curiosity into the subject, then this is superb -- a gateway read.
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However, if you are expecting satisfying answers, you may wish to continue on to more seminal Eastern readings. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ogmin
He who has ears, let him hear. If you only read one book by Alan Watts, this is the one. I have passed this along to my children among others. Clearly presented with good humor, Watts openly shares the most important, esoteric spiritual memes long-incubated in the mystical east, with ordinary
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paperback-buying westerners. Again, whether the arrow penetrates the target depends upon the answer to Hendrix's question, "Are you experienced?" Even just a little? This makes all the difference between seeing this as simply another book of clever intellectual ideas or an opening into new dimensions. If you have not glimpsed the 'elephant', the core of this message remains indecipherable. Show Less
LibraryThing member JNagarya
A provocative title which immediately capture the attention, and opens the wallet of, the "alienated" -- oops!
This was fun when I was a young adult. It was "heavy" with "meaning," especially where Watts argues that there is no "meaning," only "is-ness". (Actually "It," but "It" is a noun, and the
Take his advice: Don't worry, be happy. Wear a genuine "smiley" mask.
Move on.
This was fun when I was a young adult. It was "heavy" with "meaning," especially where Watts argues that there is no "meaning," only "is-ness". (Actually "It," but "It" is a noun, and the
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universe is a verb.) Take his advice: Don't worry, be happy. Wear a genuine "smiley" mask.
Move on.
Show Less
LibraryThing member senafernando
Watts asks a very fundamental philosophical question, "Who am I?," and the answer he comes up with is mind-boggling. To my knowledge, no academic philosopher has refuted his main argument.
LibraryThing member sfisk
Maybe it was the psy's but this book changed the way I thought at the time! A must read for those on the quest.
LibraryThing member MCADTEST
DIANA GREEN: This is the book that first made me aware of the spiritual possibilities of being human, and how those possibilites open new doors. It let me re-examine who and what human beings are and can be. If it can do the same for another young mind, that strikes me as good.
LibraryThing member nog
This is a book that everyone should read in their teenage years. It could head off some regrettable life decisions or lead to some fulfilling ones.
LibraryThing member latefordinner
Good beginners guide to Eastern thought. A series of essays concerning the nature of self and reality by a great teacher.
LibraryThing member BakuDreamer
The ultimate ' either you get it or you don't ' ~
LibraryThing member SweetbriarPoet
In theory, I think this book makes some great points, and also has some very visual and well-articulated lines. For example, my favorite line in the book talks about how a person is innately connected to their environment; the line is trying to illustrate that the context of an object can
I think my problem with The Book is, in essence, not The Book's fault. It is inherently connected to the 70s, and so 70s biases come out unconsciously. Some of the examples are sexist, though, of course, Watts himself is not sexist at all. But because he is a product of his time, the sexist examples somehow ruin parts of the book I might be able to take more seriously if they were left out. I also think some of the later part of The Book loses focus, and becomes the very abstract thing Watts is speaking out against.
All in all, it's a short, good read for the philosopher, and has some great theoretical ideas.
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completely change the object's use and purpose: "Blood in a vial is not the same as blood in the veins…" I think that spiritually The Book hits on something vital we can all cling to. I think my problem with The Book is, in essence, not The Book's fault. It is inherently connected to the 70s, and so 70s biases come out unconsciously. Some of the examples are sexist, though, of course, Watts himself is not sexist at all. But because he is a product of his time, the sexist examples somehow ruin parts of the book I might be able to take more seriously if they were left out. I also think some of the later part of The Book loses focus, and becomes the very abstract thing Watts is speaking out against.
All in all, it's a short, good read for the philosopher, and has some great theoretical ideas.
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
The main tenet of this book is that we are not stand alone entities but all part of one super psyche. Watts argues his case very well, particularly when he says that science has tried, and failed, to find the soul within a human being but has never considered the possibility that the body is within
The book is a little sixties free philosophy but, what is wrong with that? A Tory government is squeezing the dregs of joy from the country and we need some positivity. This is the only Watts book I have read, to date, so I do not want to jump to too many conclusions but, this was definitely worth reading and I shall look for more of his work.
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the soul.The book is a little sixties free philosophy but, what is wrong with that? A Tory government is squeezing the dregs of joy from the country and we need some positivity. This is the only Watts book I have read, to date, so I do not want to jump to too many conclusions but, this was definitely worth reading and I shall look for more of his work.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
This was my introduction to Watts, and I wish I'd read one of his other books first. Nevertheless, it stands as a good book about "breaking through."
LibraryThing member zen-potato
The book under review is the Collier paperback, c. 1966, 150 pages.
The hippie generation of the 1960's represented change and experimentation in contrast to the older generations that obediently accepted traditional values. Some hippie practices have been absorbed into everyday life such as openly
Watts believes in a form of pantheism and it is twice stated in one paragraph. He writes, "The Ultimate Ground of Being is Paul Tillich's decontaminated term for God...the ultimate ground of being is you....that inmost Self which escapes inspection because it's always the inspector. This, then, is the taboo of taboos: your're IT!" (p. 15) The meaning of "IT" is God. The problem then is, "We suffer from a hallucination, from a false and distorted sensation of our own existence as living organisms....Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe. This fact is rarely, if ever, experienced by most individuals" (p. 6). The author never tells the reader how to get to that state or assess the evidence that a person has reached that state. And he did not have to because he was a public speaker, not a guru who took on disciples. Alan Watts was enthusiastically received by the hippie generation that now fondly remembers him, and was perhaps their first exciting introduction to eastern spirituality albeit superficial. In the over 50 years since this book was written many Buddhist and Hindu gurus have landed in a western world receptive to eastern thought. And Alan Watts was an earlier messenger who played with ideas and put his own spin on it.
The hippie generation of the 1960's represented change and experimentation in contrast to the older generations that obediently accepted traditional values. Some hippie practices have been absorbed into everyday life such as openly
Show More
discussing sexual matters, using recreational drugs, peaceful mass protest and couples living together outside marriage. Change also extended to religion in many young people accepting Buddhism and Hinduism and studying yoga and meditation. Alan Watts (1915- 1973) in some ways represented the hippie spirit of change and experimentation. He was an Anglican priest but left the ministry in 1950 and never again became a member of an organized religion. He could borrow ideas where he pleased and could draw his own conclusions. In "The Book on the Taboo against knowing Who you Are" his spiritual views are immediately stated, "that the prevalent sensation of oneself as a separate ego enclosed in a bag of skin is a hallucination" (p. ix). And he acknowledges his reliance on the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism (pp. ix, 16-20, 119, 138 and 140) and at the same time declares the book is not an introduction to Vedanta. In keeping with the hippie movement as social protest Watts blames "hallucination" for man's misuse of technology and attacks the United States as schizophrenic alternating between "idealism" and "gangersterism" (p.123). Watts mixes sublime truths with social protest, typical of the hippie movement.Watts believes in a form of pantheism and it is twice stated in one paragraph. He writes, "The Ultimate Ground of Being is Paul Tillich's decontaminated term for God...the ultimate ground of being is you....that inmost Self which escapes inspection because it's always the inspector. This, then, is the taboo of taboos: your're IT!" (p. 15) The meaning of "IT" is God. The problem then is, "We suffer from a hallucination, from a false and distorted sensation of our own existence as living organisms....Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe. This fact is rarely, if ever, experienced by most individuals" (p. 6). The author never tells the reader how to get to that state or assess the evidence that a person has reached that state. And he did not have to because he was a public speaker, not a guru who took on disciples. Alan Watts was enthusiastically received by the hippie generation that now fondly remembers him, and was perhaps their first exciting introduction to eastern spirituality albeit superficial. In the over 50 years since this book was written many Buddhist and Hindu gurus have landed in a western world receptive to eastern thought. And Alan Watts was an earlier messenger who played with ideas and put his own spin on it.
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LibraryThing member kbs25
Watts was always brillant in his teachings of the philosophies of the East to Western minds. The Book may very well be his finest achievement in terms of relaying Vedantic philosophy, the universal, and the Divine in an accessible, "modern" way. His wit comes through in every section as well as his
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love of the "wiggly-ness" of human nature. The Book deserves to be read again and again. Show Less
LibraryThing member AAPremlall
I can't express how much I love this book: “How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself anything less than a god.”
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1966
Physical description
x, 146 p.; 22 cm
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