Watts Alan W. Knihy

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

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.

Autor tvrdí, že má-li být člověk sám sebou, nestačí spoléhat se na tzv. zdravý rozum nebo naopak na pudovou zkušenost. Na základě spojení východních a západních esoterických systémů vyvozuje princip klidného činu. Vztah mezi mužem a ženou rýsuje na pozadí kulturních návyků jako vystoupení z individuálního já a naplnění principu dynamické jednoty.

Part of a series introducing the wisdom of the East to Western readers, this work offers an exposition of Zen, which although historically an aspect of Buddhism, is itself so vital and elusive (aiming to leave the mind like an open window) that it escapes definition.

"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.