Watts Alan W. Ordine dei libri (cronologico)

Six essays dealing with the relationship of mystical experience to ordinary life.

A provocative, enduring work that reexamines humanity's place in the natural world--& the spirit's relation to the flesh--in the light of Chinese Taoism. That human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled, that the mind is somehow superior to the body & that all sexuality entails a seduction--a danger & a problem--are all assumptions upon which much of Western thought & culture is based. All of them in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, distrust of emotion, loneliness & reluctance to love. Few books have challenged those assumptions as directly as this erudite & engaging work by the author of The Way of Zen. Drawing on the precepts of Taoism, Watts offers an alternative vision of humans & the universe--one in which the distinctions between self & other, spirit & matter give way to a more holistic way of seeing. Nature, Man & Woman is a book of elegance & far-reaching implication--one of those rare texts that can change the way we think, feel & love.

"Become What You Are" is a selection of writings by Alan Watts dealing with the dilemma of man seeking to discover himself. This becomes possible only if we manage to see our life "as it is", freed from illusions and expectations. To immerse yourself in the harmony of life and its eternal now is to become what you are. It has been said that the highest wisdom consists in detachment—not regretting the past nor fearing the future, letting life take its course without attempting to interfere with its movements and changes, without seeking to prolong pleasant things or hasten the end of unpleasant ones. To do this is to enter time with life and be in complete harmony with its changing melody, which is called enlightenment. In short, it means detaching yourself from both the past and the future and living in the eternal now. Life exists only in this single moment, and it is precisely in this moment that it is infinite and eternal. Alan Watts is one of the foremost authorities on Eastern wisdom. It was he who, in the middle of the last century, built a bridge between the West and the East, introducing the Western reader to Eastern philosophy and culture. Alan Watts is a scholar of both Zen Buddhism and Indian and Chinese spiritual traditions.

Ein Meisterwerk über den Buddhismus, das Religion als Mittel zur Erfahrung und nicht als Ziel betrachtet. Ideal für Einsteiger und Fortgeschrittene, leicht verständlich und inspirierend.

In this fascinating book, Alan Watts explores man's quest for psychological security, examining our efforts to find spiritual and intellectual certainty in the realms of religion and philosophy. The Wisdom of Insecurity underlines the importance of our search for stability in an age where human life seems particularly vulnerable and uncertain. Watts argues our insecurity is the consequence of trying to be secure and that, ironically, salvation and sanity lie in the recognition that we have no way of saving ourselves.