Authors: Alan Watts
ISBN-13: 9781577311805, ISBN-10: 1577311809
Format: Paperback
Publisher: New World Library
Date Published: September 2006
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Alan Watts introduced millions of Western readers to Zen and other Eastern philosophies, but he’s also recognized as a brilliant commentator on Judeo-Christian traditions as well as a celebrity philosopher who exemplified the ideas and lifestyle of the 1960s counterculture. In this compilation of controversial lectures, delivered at American universities throughout the decade, Watts challenges readers to reevaluate Western culture’s most hallowed constructs. Watts treads familiar ground, interpreting Eastern traditions, and also covers new territory, exploring the counterculture’s basis in the ancient tribal and shamanic cultures of Asia, Siberia, and the Americas. In the process, he addresses some of the era’s most important questions: What is the nature of reality? And how does an individual’s relationship to society affect this reality? Filled with his playful, provocative style, the talks show the remarkable scope of a philosopher in his prime, exploring and defining the '60s counterculture as only Alan Watts could.
Pt. 1 | 1960 | |
1 | Buddha and Buddhism | 3 |
2 | Mahayana Buddhism | 13 |
3 | The discipline of Zen | 23 |
Pt. 2 | 1963-1965 | |
4 | Mysticism and morality | 35 |
5 | The images of man | 49 |
6 | The relevance of oriental philosophy | 65 |
7 | Religion and sexuality | 81 |
Pt. 3 | 1965-1967 | |
8 | From time to eternity | 99 |
9 | Taoist ways | 115 |
10 | Philosophy of nature | 123 |
11 | Swimming headless | 139 |
12 | Zen bones | 151 |
Pt. 4 | 1968-1969 | |
13 | Divine alchemy | 169 |
14 | Democracy in the Kingdom of Heaven | 191 |
15 | Not what should be, but what is! | 209 |
16 | What is reality? | 227 |