The Book: On the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts

READ THIS BOOK!!


or don't...


Has anyone else read this? I'm stilling whirling from it kicking me in the face, so to speak. Or just letting 'me' off the hook.




And the word 'book' is sooo peculiar to me now...
bookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbookbook
meaningless!

 

The title is intriguing. Can you give a brief synopsis? Sounds like something I would be interested in.

 

It's basically a book about egolessness. It's about the feeling you get when you forget about the "I" that we all have bound ourselves to to make excuses for our existence and give it meaning, which it may or may not ultimately have.
He also goes (or went[he passed away in 1973 I think]) over the ultimate law of the universe, the yin/yang of it all. Light does not exist without dark, sound not without silence, good guys not without bad guys, virtue not without vice, ad infinitum.
He also points out the fact that you or I or we aren't 'in' this world, we are of it. Not even a part of the world, we are the world, at the risk of quoting the cheesy Michael Jackson song. The idea that I am separate is the bedrock of the notion of ego. Ego is just a big fake performance.
I'm not an expert on Alan Watts, this is the first book of his that I've read, but he seems to be the perfect Western voice for Eastern philosophy this century. I think he basically brought Zen Buddhism to the West. Even a good portion of this book, so he states in it, is based on Vedanta and Hindu philosophy. I was aware of the idea of egolessness beforehand, but I've never gotten such a vivid picture of it than with this unbelievably fascinating book.

[edit]
Well, I just searched around and realized this isn't of course the first posting about it, but whatever. "There's nothing new under the sun" so Shakespeare said. It blew my mind and I was on a natural high when I posted. I highly recommend it though.

 

He didn't bring zen to the west, but his writings offer a very clear and straightforward description of Buddhism, zen, and other eastern philosophical ideas. This one is a description on Vedanta philosophy, but not in a cumbersome way. As I said, very straightforward, easy to read and without all the mythology.


Anyways, yeah, i read this book. It was also the first book of his I read (i've since read several others, and am a big fan of Watts now). I found it in a used bookstore and almost didn't buy it cuz the title sounded cheesy, but damn it in quite a book...quite a book. Very recommended.

EDIT: I wonder if I was the only one who, looking at the title of this thread, thought it would be about the Bible. lol

 

www.alanwatts.com

 

I thought this thread was going to be about the Bible when I opened it.

I think Alan Watts is merely the messenger from the real geniuses. He mostly just repeats stuff he's learned from Taoism and Buddhism and Jiddu Krishnamurti. I like Watts but I have a hard time finishing his books because they're too much "pop" Eastern philosophy. I can definitely see why he's so popular, but it's not for me.

I'm not trying to slam the guy. I just think one's better off actually reading various sutras and the Tao Te Ching. You'll receive the concepts Watts puts forth in a purer, far more beautiful form. Read Krishnamurti, too. His book, The Awakening of Intelligence, is one of the best books I've ever read.

Peace.

msi.

 

OMG... I only just stumbled across his website a few hours ago, and thought "I've got to read this". Synchronicity!

 

i just got code-22 out from the library today. has anyone read this/have any commentary regarding it? it's criticism on the us bureaucracy

 

he covers some of the same ground in his excellent book _nature, man & woman_
(& his psychedelic examination of how the you-ni-verse is put together _the joyous cosmology_ )(which is still available as online text at a few sites, but missing those incredible photographs from the book, alas...)

 

Yes definitely! Alan Watts is excellent! Read some of his stuff, like lecture transcripts, they're valuable reading.

 

I read The Book last semester for philosophy class. A super easy read even for the burnouts like me. At the time I read it, it seemed so deep and perception shifting, yet I go back and read a random paragraph and I usually end up smiling. So I guess it's growing on me, but not in the parasite kinda way.

 

Thanks JohnThursday this is right up my alley, Ill check it out ! The beauty of this type of philosophy is that as we evolve our concepts and perceptions alter enabling us to view old and new information with fresh eyes.

Im reading The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dweyer it concerns the idea that we manifest our own destiny through clear and self directing path choosing that our will has more to do with our future than circumstances. You might enjoy it.

 

I've heard of that book prophet, and wondered if it was good. I'll have to check it out.