The following text consists of excerpts from Alan Watts’ book, Psychotherapy East and West, selected by Heron Stone. ** means that part of a paragraph is missing. Editorial comments have been added and appear within brackets.
Contents
1. Psychotherapy and Liberation 2. Society and Sanity 3. The Ways of Liberation 4. Through a Glass Darkly 5. The Counter-Game
1. Psychotherapy and Liberation
If we look deeply into such ways of life as Buddhism and Taoism, Vedanta and Yoga, we do not find either philosophy or religion as these are understood in the West. We find something more nearly resembling psychotherapy. This may seem surprising, for we [many] think of the latter as a form of science, somewhat practical and materialistic in attitude, and the former as extremely esoteric religions concerned with areas of the spirit almost entirely out of this world. This is because the combination of our unfamiliarity with Eastern cultures and their sophistication gives them an aura of mystery into which we project fantasies of our own making. Yet the basic aim of these ways of life is something of quite astonishing simplicity, beside which all the complications of reincarnation and psychic powers, of superhuman mahatmas, and of schools of occult technology, are a smoke screen in which the credulous inquirer can lose himself indefinitely.**
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Gung fu is a special kind of skill, a fine art rather than just a physical exercise or self-defence. To the Chinese, gung fu is the subtle art of matching the essence of the mind to that of the techniques in which it has to work. The principle of gung fu is not a thing that can be learned, like a science, by fact-finding or instruction in facts. It has to grow spontaneously, like a flower, in a mind free from desires and emotions. The core of this principle of gung fu is Tao – the spontaneity of the universe. The word Tao has no exact equivalent in the English Language. To render it into the Way, or the “principle” or the “law” is to give it too narrow an interpretation. Lao-tzu, the founder of Taoism, described Tao in the following words:
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Of the two main Chinese trends of thought, Confucianism and Taoism, the latter is the one which is mystically oriented and thus more relevant for our comparison with modern physics. Like Hinduism and Buddhism, Taoism is interested in intuitive wisdom, rather than in rational knowledge. Acknowledging the limitations and the relativity of the world of rational thinking, Taoism is, basically, a way of liberation from this world and is, in this respect, comparable to the ways of Yoga or Vedanta in Hinduism, or to the Eightfold Path of the Buddha. In the context of Chinese culture, the Taoist liberation meant, more specifically, a liberation from the strict rules of convention.
Mistrust of conventional knowledge and reasoning is stronger in Taoism than in any other school of Eastern philosophy. It is based on the firm belief that the human intellect can never comprehend the Tao. In the words of Chuang Tzu,
The most extensive knowledge does not necessarily know it; reasoning will not make men wise in it. The sages have decided against both these methods.
Chuang Tzu’s book is full of passages reflecting the Taoist’s contempt of reasoning and argumentation. Thus he says, Read more...(1754 words, 1 image, estimated 7:01 mins reading time)
Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were strolling along the dam of the Hao River when Chuang Tzu said, “See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That’s what fish really enjoy!”
Hui Tzu said, “You’re not a fish — how do you know what fish enjoy?”
Chuang Tzu said, “You’re not I, so how do you know I don’t know what fish enjoy?”
Hui Tzu said, “I’m not you, so I certainly don’t know what you know. On the other hand, you’re certainly not a fish — so that still proves you don’t know what fish enjoy!”
Chuang Tzu said, “Let’s go back to your original question, please. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy — so you already knew that I knew it when you asked the question. I know it by standing here beside the Hao.”
Chinese cosmology describes the whole universe in terms of yin and yang, which can be understood as the creative and receptive or male and female principles of existence. Nothing escapes this relationship. The famous symbol of Tai Chi, the ‘Great Ultimate’ or the Tao, portrays yin and yang as constant movement and change. Yin carries within itself potential yang and yang carries within itself potential yin. When yin and yang move and reach the ‘old’ or ‘pure’ state, potential yin and yang are actualized: yin becomes yang, and yang becomes yin. ‘Change’ or i is the process whereby heaven and earth and everything between them are created and re-created. When the sun rises, the moon disappears. When spring comes, winter goes. Yin and yang are the principles of change and the symbols of creation. In the words of Confucius: “Like a running river, the whole universe is flowing ceaselessly day and night.” Existence means harmonious change on the basis of the Tao. If harmony between yin and yang were to be lost, the universe would cease to flow and nothing could exist. Most students of religion are familiar with these basic concepts of Chinese cosmology.
“Master, you must help me,” said the visitor. “I am at my wit’s end.”
“What seems to be the problem?” The sage asked.
“I am having a hard time controlling my anger,” the visitor said. “It’s just the way people are. I see them criticizing others while totally unaware of their own faults. I do not wish to criticize them because I don’t want to be like them, but it really upsets me.”
“I see,” said the sage. “Tell me something first: Aren’t you the villager who narrowly escaped death last year?”
“Yes,” the visitor nodded. “It was a terrible experience. I ventured too far into the forest and ran into a pack of hungry wolves.”
“What did you do?”
“I climbed up a tree just in time before they converged on me. These wolves were big and I had no doubt they could tear me to pieces.”
“So you were trapped?”
“Yes. I knew I wouldn’t last long without water and food, so I waited for them to relax their guard. When I thought it was safe enough, I would jump down, make a mad dash for the next tree, and then climb up before they converged again.” Read more...(519 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)
So-called `reality’, the sensible world which surrounds us and which we are accustomed to regard as ‘reality’, is, for Ibn ‘Arabi, but a dream. We perceive by the senses a large number of things, distinguish them one from another, put them in order by our reason, and thus end up by establishing something solid around us. We call that construct ‘reality’ and do not doubt that it is real.
According to Ibn ‘Arabi, however, that kind of ‘reality’ is not reality in the true sense of the word. In other terms, such a thing is not Being (wujud) as it really is. Living as we do in this phenomenal world, Being in its metaphysical reality is no less imperceptible to us than phenomenal things are in their phenomenal reality to a man who is asleep and dreaming of them. Read the rest of this entry »
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by Bruce Lee
Of the two main Chinese trends of thought, Confucianism and Taoism, the latter is the one which is mystically oriented and thus more relevant for our comparison with modern physics. Like Hinduism and Buddhism, Taoism is interested in intuitive wisdom, rather than in rational knowledge. Acknowledging the limitations and the relativity of the world of rational thinking, Taoism is, basically, a way of liberation from this world and is, in this respect, comparable to the ways of Yoga or Vedanta in Hinduism, or to the Eightfold Path of the Buddha. In the context of Chinese culture, the Taoist liberation meant, more specifically, a liberation from the strict rules of convention.
Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were strolling along the dam of the Hao River when Chuang Tzu said, “See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That’s what fish really enjoy!”
by Sachiko Murata
