See What Is

Spending time with my mother who was recently diagnosed with cerebral atrophy is an enlightening experience. It is an honour to be with anyone who is in such a vulnerable state. My father is having a terrible time, as well.  He suffers from debilitating back and leg pain (not to mention emotional trauma over watching his beloved partner of 60 years fade away). I have gained much from their candour and disclosure of present challenges.  Most importantly, my mother’s condition reminds me that we are not our physical bodies, which includes our minds and even our personalities… If we are not who we think we are, who are we? Or rather, what are we? The energy of the mind and the dream of this world have enormous momentum that feels almost impossible to be free of. There is something beyond our confusion though. Imagine if we were always aligned with divine truth. “See what is,” Alan Watts instructs. It’s so simple, right?

This photo of Dad and Mom is bitter-sweet. I wanted to capture them in a flattering light. In truth, however, they smile infrequently now. Many tears of sorrow and frustration have been shed. I think of my mother as being in a type of cocoon. When she emerges at last—glittery and glorious—her smile will be genuine and bright! It is heartbreaking to witness someone you love suffering dreadfully. Yet, all too often, this is exactly what we are expected to do.

I am deeply grateful to both my parents for their love, courage, and hard work. They have given much—not only to support their large family, but to the community through many years of volunteer work. Perhaps the closest thing that conveys what we truly are is touchingly expressed in the children’s book The Giving Tree—to give altruistically until we are physically no more. For now, our gentleness and generosity toward each other, and all living things, is vital.  In fact, it may be all that truly matters.

Duality

You cannot by any means diverge from the Tao. You may love life or you may loathe it, yet your loving and loathing are themselves manifestations of life.

If you seek union with Reality your very seeking is Reality, and how can you say that you have ever lost union?

—Alan Watts

Nothingness

Alan Watts

Alan Watts was a spiritual teacher in the sixties and early seventies (he died in his sleep in 1973). I honestly don’t know how to describe him. I want to say that he was so cool (because he was!), but that sounds trite and childish. I heard about him early last year through some talks that I was transposing for a former Buddhist monk. My local library has a copy of Om: Creative Meditations—a superbly edited compilation of some of his lectures—and I was blown away by this little masterpiece. It was the beginning of my Watts fascination. Audio collections of his lectures are available for purchase on the Alan Watts website, which is managed by his son Mark Watts; however, you can listen to hours upon hours of Watts’ lectures for free on YouTube. His famous book, The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing WhoYou Are is also available to download for free online. I’m looking forward to obtaining and reading The Way of Zen. I’ve heard it’s very good...

There has been a resurgence of interest and popularity in Watts’ work. I would say Watts is similar to spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle; although, I prefer Watts because of his bohemian lifestyle, sense of humour, and organic nature. (Tolle has become too commercial in my opinion.) Listening to Watts’ lectures will transform, entertain, and enlighten you. I’ve always been fairly open-minded, but Watts has helped me to clear away false beliefs that I was holding on to and wasn’t even aware of. It’s amazing how much damage our spiritual upbringing can have. How much needs to be unlearned to even catch a glimpse of what is truth and find the freedom that we are seeking. Watts has done this for me and I am eternally grateful. Whenever I need a shift in thinking, I turn to his lectures. He has become a part of my consciousness in an intimate and crucial way.

Becoming Water

Photo: Toni Frissell

Now then, if one must try to say something about what Zen is, and I want to do this by way of introduction, I must make it emphatic that Zen, in its essence, is not a doctrine. There’s nothing you’re supposed to believe in. It’s not a philosophy in our sense, that is to say a set of ideas, an intellectual net in which one tries to catch the fish of reality. Actually, the fish of reality is more like water—it always slips through the net. And in water you know when you get into it there’s nothing to hang on to. All this universe is like water; it is fluid, it is transient, it is changing. And when you’re thrown into the water after being accustomed to living on the dry land, you’re not used to the idea of swimming. You try to stand on the water, you try to catch hold of it, and as a result you drown. 

The only way to survive in the water, and this refers particularly to the waters of modern philosophical confusion, where God is dead, metaphysical propositions are meaningless, and there’s really nothing to hang on to, because we’re all just falling apart. And the only thing to do under those circumstances is to learn how to swim. And to swim, you relax, you let go, you give yourself to the water, and you have to know how to breathe in the right way. And then you find that the water holds you up; indeed, in a certain way you become the water.

—Alan Watts

Days Go By

♬

The sound of the rain 
needs no translation, 
no explanation.

~ Alan Watts