Alan Watts
Alan Watts was a British-American philosopher and writer who popularized Eastern philosophy for Western audiences in the mid-twentieth century.
His lectures and books on Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and mysticism introduced millions to ideas about consciousness, ego, and the interconnectedness of existence.
His conversational style made complex spiritual concepts accessible: I discovered Alan Watts in college and it changed how I think about everything.
Buddhist mind-puzzle
- satoriSudden spiritual awakening
- zazenZen seated meditation
- Buddha-natureIntrinsic potential for awakening
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
bodhisattva · zendo · beginner's mind · emptiness · dharma
Profound spiritual awakening
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- awakeningReturn to consciousness
- ego deathTotal loss of identity
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
consciousness · sacred · divine · cosmic consciousness · pantheism · interconnectedness · oneness · self-realization
Group discussion for learning
- talkVerbal exchange between people
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- speakerOne who talks
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
radio broadcast · recordings · Pacifica · podcast · eloquence · orator · audio archives · public speaking
Sixties counterculture member
- psychedelicInducing altered perception
- beatnikFifties counterculture member
- Haight-AshburyCounterculture crossroads in San Francisco
- KerouacBeat Generation novelist
Timothy Leary · Ginsberg · Summer of Love · bohemian · commune · anti-establishment · flower power · free love
State of perceiving reality
- presenceState of being somewhere
- attentionFocused mental awareness
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- observationAttentive watching or remark
acceptance · letting go · here and now · spontaneity · playfulness · flow · being · non-attachment
koan
Buddhist mind-puzzle
- satoriSudden spiritual awakening
- zazenZen seated meditation
- Buddha-natureIntrinsic potential for awakening
nirvana · bodhisattva · zendo · beginner's mind · emptiness · dharma
enlightenment
Profound spiritual awakening
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
- awakeningReturn to consciousness
- ego deathTotal loss of identity
mysticism · consciousness · sacred · divine · cosmic consciousness · pantheism · interconnectedness · oneness · self-realization · meditation
seminar
Group discussion for learning
audience · radio broadcast · recordings · Pacifica · podcast · eloquence · orator · audio archives · public speaking · education
hippie
Sixties counterculture member
- psychedelicInducing altered perception
- beatnikFifties counterculture member
- Haight-AshburyCounterculture crossroads in San Francisco
Timothy Leary · Kerouac · Ginsberg · Summer of Love · bohemian · commune · anti-establishment · flower power · free love · Big Sur
awareness
State of perceiving reality
observation · acceptance · letting go · here and now · spontaneity · playfulness · flow · being · non-attachment · present moment
Taoism
Philosophy of the Way
- BuddhismEnlightenment-seeking Eastern religion
- HinduismAncient Indian spiritual tradition
- VedantaHindu philosophy of ultimate reality
yin yang · Lao Tzu · Upanishads · Bhagavad Gita · maya · karma · dharma · atman · Brahman · nonduality
Alan WattsAyn Rand
Objectivist movement founder
B.F. Skinner · Bertrand Russell · A.J. Ayer · Thomas Hobbes · René Descartes
Alan WattsJ. Edgar Hoover
Richard Nixon · Barry Goldwater · square · conformism · corporate culture