Alan Watts Lectures | Mahayana Buddhism

Alan Watts Lectures - Mahayana Buddhism

[redseneastmkii]

Alan Watts did a great service to Western audiences in explaining and elucidating Buddhist and Daoist thought in plain, lucid English and in a rational and pragmatic way.

[krs]

HE WAS AND WILL REMAIN A TREMENDOUSLY GLORIOUS MAN

[et]

thank you so much for uploading !! it’s so nice to see his face when he was young

[Michael-qiin]

This man is brilliant. I never in my life expected this much in a video of less than half an hour in length. Alan Watts, to my amazement, explains in one video everything I've come to personally understand about Buddhism (a term I don't even like) which to me is a philosophy. The Buddha was one of the greatest philosophers- and for this he's not credited... not, I think- understood.

Like this video. I'll keep it short enough, everything is my personal opinion and understanding... but I believe Alan Watts, whereas a lot of others, many Buddhists included, may see this video as just another Westerner trying to explain Eastern Philosophy and failing to do so. No. This is wrong. He gets at the heart of Buddhist philosophy, far beyond many long practicing Buddhists, at least as I understand reading the Heart Sutra, the Tripitaka, and the other Mahayana Sutras...

He doesn't mention Bodhisattvas in a video on Mahayana Buddhism until 25 minutes in. Up until then, and to my disappointment, he had explained in an absolutely brilliant way the Buddhist concept of anātman, or non-self... anitya, or impermanence... and he made reference to dukkha, commonly translated as suffering, or unease... these three things are the three marks of existence in Buddhism, called the trilakshana.

Around my neck I wear a cheap Vajra pendant- and my impulse to buy this had less to do with Buddhism, I admit- and more to do with my own personal 'spirituality' and understanding of existence and phenomena at the time. I was fascinated with the sphere at the center, which is said to represent... Mr. Watts said it at the very end- it's commonly translated as "nothingness, voidness, emptiness" or as I've heard from certain speakers & readers, 'zero', that of śūnyatā... which, to my own personal understanding, is a representation of all three marks of existence in Buddhism, that is the trilakshana is represented in śūnyatā.

To say I'm satisfied having discovered this video does what words often do- cause an injustice. But I'm so satisfied and very much wish I found this video a long, long time ago. Brilliant. To quote the Heart Sutra, invoking the concept of śūnyatā and the trilakshana as I understand anything...

*I encourage everyone to go read the whole Heart Sutra. It's less than a five minute read.

[As recited by the Triratna Buddhist Community]

Here then,
Form is no other than emptiness,
Emptiness no other than form.
Form is only emptiness,
Emptiness only form.

[curewish]

Don't worry about worry; you are that - the experience + feedback (of experience & resistance); go with the flow, withought putting up resistance ! Don't make an issue of anything, i.e. creating new concepts or thoughts as these are all barriers (resistance). Jesus, Krishnamurti & all the Zen masters say the same

[triplefvr]

14:14 Think about how blockchain works and then watch this part again.

[NoOne-nsrt]

The diagrams are also a really good way to represent Hegel and his dialectical philosophy- negation transcending the thesis, and so forth

[MarcDufresneosorusrex]

21:50 min is what you came here for, : D

[ThisThing]

I’m labeled a 42 yr old male from the U.S. Many more labels attached and some earned. I am cross-stitching “WHAT THE F***” while watching him talk. I am taking notes while in class. 😂😂

I love to be able to watch him talk so thank you!!

[LeOnIdAs]

He is giving away the show !!!! let's pretend he never said anything and keep going!!!

[steve-ok]

Hey Raving Electron, I love all of your Alan watts vids. My two favorite ones though have gone missing! Man and nature and Buddhism vs Christianity. Do you know why those lectures were removed? Thanks

[graffittistudio]

We missing ur anavailable videos how can we find them? The one where he speaks about children being bored in school, attention and that hieroglyph of the way budas expression is in meditation. This attitude towards life he spoke about and the chinese sulymbol. Which one was it pls help?

[digdeepentertainment]

India wasn’t a country until 1947. Buddha was born in Nepal technically. I assume he says India because Nepal wasn’t widely known at the time.

[Chris-elhd]

We need to make sure this gets more exposure; so much fake content out there generated by AI

[emilbonus]

Western therapy doesn't apply to Eastern mind.
-Beef

[metzli-tecolotl]

intro sounds like nothing else matters by metallica lol

[saimbhat]

So bhuddha was talking about neurology and quantum physics ? You really cannot take western philosophy out of a western man. Alan watts is arguably the most sophisticated charlatan ever.