I read through six websites of Alan Watts quotes, picked the ones that appeared in at least two lists, and here we are... this is what New Age Wattsians like; I took a stab at quoting Zen Masters who reject Wattsian beliefs, and what the disputes are about:
- Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.
- "I am not a Buddha" - Zhaozhou
- Dispute: Zen Masters often clearly define themselves both by affirmation and rejection. "Fire God goes looking for Fire" is a definition of self, whereas Watts' view is that the self knowledge is out of reach.
- “Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”
- "Separating what you like from what you dislike is a disease of the mind, and not Zen" -Sengcan
- Dispute: New Age Wattsians see suffering as a misunderstanding... Zen Masters admit that poop stinks.
- “Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
- "Bodhi originally has no tree. The bright mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing. Where could dust arise? -Huineng
- Dispute: Watts' Humanism was strongly influence by Dogen's cult of mind pacification. Zen Masters entirely reject the belief in karmic sin, self improvement through beliefs and practices, and "clearing up" ignorance and confusion.
- “…tomorrow and plans for tomorrow can have no significance at all unless you are in full contact with the reality of the present, since it is in the present and only in the present that you live.”
- "The past and present are one in me." Zhaozhou
- Dispute: This is more of the Dogen Buddhist "attachment-to-the-present-moment Momentism" influence on Watts' humanism. Whereas many humanists regard past and present as equally important, Wattsians tend to view the present as the only "reality".
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. “Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal, for the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever….”
- If you solve this problem, you will give life to the way that has been dead until this moment and destroy the way that has been alive up to now. -Wumen
- Dispute: This is more Momentism. True Humanists see every human experience as exemplifying the wonder of life. Wattsians tend to be attached to the present moment. Zen Masters say that unless you are really alive, then you are spiritually dead and that's the only death that matters.
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“If you really understand Zen… you can use any book. You could use the Bible. You could use Alice in Wonderland. You could use the dictionary, because… the sound of the rain needs no translation.”
- A insincere man expounding a true doctrine makes it false - Zhaozhou and "A transmission outside words/sentences/teachings" - Nanquan.
- Dispute: The Watts quote is not a quote from Watts, he likely got this from a Japanese Dogen Buddhist. Along with "After all he said the sound of the rain needs no translation." In general, Dogen Buddhists a) aggressively oppose literacy and education, and b) claim their religious practices are in harmony with nature, despite the fact that there is no connection between Dogen's FukanZazenGi and the natural world. It's likely the earlier pagan influences of Japan's religious heritage influencing Dogen Buddhism.
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“We do not “come into” this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean “waves,” the universe “peoples.””
- "What was your face before your parents were born?" Huineng
- Dispute: Humanists see themselves a products of nature. Zen Masters do not.
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“Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.”
- "What is the problem with you?" Yunmen
- Dispute: Wattsians, Humanists, New Agers, Dogen Buddhists, all believe there is a right answer, a truth to life, which is to be understood via revelation. Zen Masters say no, it's those beliefs that are the problem... thought created dharmas are the source of your confusion.
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“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
- Mind is not the Buddha, knowledge is not the Way - Nanquan
- Dispute: Humanism, like any other religion, is about reassuring people. Giving them hope. Wattsians want to live in a simple happy shiny world of trees and warm hugs. Zen Masters are interested in what the world looks like to people who don't lie in bed, sick with hope, reassured into corpses.
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“The menu is not the meal.” aka The map is not the territory.
- There is nothing seen. - https://www.reddit.com/r/zensangha/wiki/ewk/4pillarszen
- Dispute: For Wattsians and Buddhists, there is a territory. There is a "real life" in which faith and truth converge and that wisdom is the "true map". Zen Masters' view is that words are maps, maps exist, so maps are a territory just as the territory is, itself, no more than a conception of reality overlaid on what cannot be labeled.
PS. You know why we don't get this kind of analysis from Wattsians? Or Buddhists? Or Psychonauts? Or Meditation worshippers? Because none of them are at all interested in Zen. They know what is "right" and they will try to impose it on others until someone stops them.
Submitted May 05, 2020 at 02:05AM by ewk https://ift.tt/3deCGIJ
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