These excerpts from Alan Watts' work provide a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the core principles of Buddhism, particularly focusing on its development and different schools, especially Mahayana and Zen. Watts emphasizes that Buddhism is not a religion based on belief or commandments, but rather a method for transforming consciousness and overcoming the hallucination of a separate ego. Key themes include the impermanence of life (anitya), the nature of suffering or frustration (duhkha), the unreality of the self (anatman), and the clinging or grasping (trishna) that perpetuates suffering. Watts highlights the importance of "skillful means" (upayas) and the "Middle Way" (Madhyamika) to transcend dualistic thinking. The different vehicles (yanas) of Buddhism are explored, with particular attention given to Mahayana concepts like the bodhisattva ideal and the doctrine of mutual interdependence (ji ji muge), symbolized by Indra's net. Zen Buddhism is presented as a practical, non-intellectual approach using dialogue and koans to expose the illusoriness of the ego. Finally, Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana, Mantrayana) is discussed in terms of its symbolism of the unity of opposites and the use of sound (mantras) for realizing the nature of reality. Throughout, Watts advocates for a "religion of no-religion," where true awakening leaves no trace and is found in the everyday world. **Main Themes and Key Ideas:** 1. **Buddhism as a Method, Not a Belief System:** Watts consistently stresses that Buddhism is fundamentally a path or technique for changing one's perception of reality, not a set of dogmas to be believed. - _"The religions of the Far East—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism—do not require a belief in anything specific. They do not require obedience to commandments from above, and they do not require conformity to any specific rituals. Their objective is not ideas or doctrines, but rather a method for the transformation of consciousness, and our sensation of self."_ - Buddhism is described as a "dialogue" and its teachings are seen as "opening phrases or exchanges" in this dialogue. - The concept of _dharma_ is translated not just as "law" or "doctrine," but as "method." 2. **The Hallucination of the Separate Ego:** A central tenet presented is that the ordinary feeling of being an independent, separate individual is an illusion. - _"To feel oneself as a separate ego, a source of action and awareness entirely separate and independent from the rest of the world, locked up inside a bag of skin, is in the view of the East a hallucination."_ - The idea of the ego (_atman_ in Sanskrit) is seen as a "social institution with no physical reality," merely a symbol for the role one plays (_anatman_ - nonself). - Zen techniques are designed to expose the "unreality of the whole problem of life," which arises from the false belief in a separate self. _"The ego does not exist except as a figment of the imagination, or as a player in the game of pretending that everybody is responsible, independent, and separate."_ 3. **The Six Worlds (Bhava Chakra):** While adopted from Hinduism, the concept of the six worlds (devas, asuras, humans, animals, pretas, naraka) is used in Buddhism to represent different "modalities of the human mind" and states of being within the cycle of "becoming" or birth and death. - Going up into the deva world (happiness) or down into the naraka world (torment) are both forms of attachment to the "wheel," tying one with "golden chains" or "iron chains." - Liberation (_Buddhahood_) is not found within any of these worlds, but at the "center," free from attachment to either extreme. 4. **The Four Noble Truths and Three Signs of Being:** These foundational Buddhist teachings are explained as pointing to the nature of suffering and its cessation. - **First Noble Truth (Duhkha):** Suffering or frustration (_duhkha_). Watts emphasizes that this is not moralistic; it's simply the observation of how things are. - **Three Signs of Being (subdivision of the First Truth):**_Duhkha:_ Frustration. - _Anitya:_ Impermanence. Suffering arises from trying to make impermanent things permanent. _"Every manifestation of life is impermanent. Our quest to make things permanent, to straighten everything out and get it fixed, presents us with an impossible and insoluble problem, and therefore we experience duhkha..."_ - _Anatman:_ Nonself. The ego is unreal. - **Second Noble Truth (Trishna):** The cause of suffering is craving, desire, clinging, or grasping (_trishna_). Watts translates this effectively as "a hang-up." _"When you hold on to yourself so tightly that you strangle yourself, that is trishna."_ - **Third Noble Truth:** The cessation of suffering. - **Fourth Noble Truth:** The Eightfold Path to the cessation of suffering. 5. **The Eightfold Path:** Described in phases, focusing on understanding the "right view." - **Right View (Samyak Drishti):** Understanding that the world does not exist independently of the witness. _"Its existence derives from the existence of a relationship between the world and its witnesses."_ This leads to the concept of mutual interdependence. - **Recollection/Mindfulness (Samyak Smriti):** Being fully present in the "here and now," not dwelling on the past or future. _"To be recollected is to be completely alert and available for the present, which is the only place you are ever going to be in."_ - **Integrated Consciousness (Samyak Samadhi):** The state where there is "no separation between knower and the known, subject and object." Meditation is the practice to reach this state. _"When you cease categorizing, verbalizing, talking to yourself, the difference between knower and known, self and other, simply vanishes."_ 6. **Sunyata (Emptiness) and the Middle Way:** The fundamental nature of reality is characterized as emptiness (_sunyata_ in Sanskrit, _ku_ in Japanese). - This doesn't mean nothingness, but rather that no concept or idea can fully grasp or define reality. _"Sunya does not mean that the world itself and the energy of the world are nothing, however. It means that no concept of the world is valid."_ - The _Madhyamika_ school, developed by Nagarjuna, uses a "dialectic technique" to "undermine and cast doubts on any proposition to which his student clings, to destroy all intellectual formulations and conceptions." This is the "middle way" between extremes. 7. **The Doctrine of Mutual Interdependence (Ji Ji Muge) and Indra's Net:** A core Mahayana concept illustrating the interconnectedness of all things. - _"everything in this universe depends on everything else. This is called the Doctrine of Mutual Interdependence."_ - Indra's net is a metaphor where every jewel reflects all other jewels and their reflections, showing the mutual implication of all events and objects. _"No thing, no event, can exist without every other thing or event. Every event implies all events; every event—the total universe, past, present, future—depends on every particular event or thing."_ - This doctrine dissolves the separation between the individual and the cosmos: _"The whole world bears your signature, and it would not be the same world if you weren’t in it."_ Conversely, the individual depends entirely on the existence of everything else. _"The moment I would be egoless and say, “I am nothing without you,” I find that I am the kingpin: they all depend on me. And when I get swell-headed about being the kingpin, I discover I am nothing at all without them."_ 8. **Mahayana vs. Hinayana (Theravada):** Different "vehicles" or approaches to Buddhism. - **Hinayana (Little Vehicle):** Focused on individual liberation through one's own effort (_jiriki_). Found in South Asia. - **Mahayana (Great Vehicle):** Includes _jiriki_ but emphasizes liberation through the power of another or grace (_tariki_), and does not require leaving the world. Found in North Asia. - The Mahayana ideal is the _bodhisattva_: one who has attained enlightenment but chooses to return to the world out of compassion to help others. This involves the vow to liberate all sentient beings. 9. **The Religion of No-Religion:** The highest attainment is not being overtly religious or nonreligious; it's a subtle state that leaves no trace. - True awakening is like the "nothing special" of _buji_. _"They are not just common, ignorant people, though they may appear that way. You have to know what they know to recognize them for who and what they are."_ - This is illustrated by the Ox-herding pictures, where the orthodox sequence ends not with the empty circle, but with "Returning to the Origin" and "Entering the City With Gift-bestowing Hands," symbolizing the integration of emptiness and the everyday world. 10. **Zen Buddhism:** A Mahayana school characterized by its practical, non-intellectual approach and emphasis on direct experience. - Uses dialogue and paradoxes (_koans_) to break down conceptual thinking and reveal the illusoriness of the ego and problems. _"The Zen trick is to put you into this situation in a very obvious way, to make you think about thinking about thinking about thinking. Or else—and this amounts to the same thing—to force you to make a very strong effort not to think."_ - Zen training often involves testing the student's sincerity and confronting their assumption of being a separate self seeking help. _"What the hell are you doing here defining yourself as a student and me as a teacher?”"_ - The goal is spontaneous action without planning or premeditation, arising from understanding the non-existence of a separate doer. _"Zen people just do not do that, of course, and yet they really are perfectly spontaneous."_ 11. **Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana, Mantrayana):** A form of Mahayana that uses symbolism and practices to understand the unity of opposites and the nature of reality. - Utilizes "skillful means" (_upayas_), emphasizing surprise and non-egoic action. - Explores male-female symbolism to represent the "resonant nature of life" and the interdependence of dualities. _"The male knows he exists only if there is a female, an echo. And the female knows of her existence only when there is a male."_ - Employs sound and vibration (_mantras_) as a method (_yana_) to concentrate and realize the oscillatory nature of existence. _"You can learn everything from sound, because it is not a constant. It comes and goes. It is on and off. You only hear it because it is vibrating. The lesson is that life is on and off, black and white, life and death, inside and outside, knowing and not knowing: they’re all vibrations."_ - Tibetan art, with its intricate detail, is seen as a "psychedelic" representation of Indra's net and the interpenetration of all things (_ji ji muge_). - The concept of the subtle body (_suksma sarira_) is explored, representing the felt sense of self, distinct from the physical body (_rupa_). Practices like raising the _kundalini_ symbolize the process of evolving from complete involvement to detachment and back. - Tantric practice aims at the comprehension of the unity of opposites. Saraha's critique highlights the folly of rigid adherence to rituals or doctrines without understanding the underlying truth. _"They do not know that the dharma is the same as the non-dharma."_ 12. **Pure Land Buddhism (Jodo-shin-shu):** A school that emphasizes reliance on the grace (_tariki_) of the Buddha Amitabha (_Amida_) for liberation, especially in the "degenerate" age (_mappo_). - Salvation is achieved not through self-effort (_jiriki_), which is seen as impossible due to inherent selfishness, but by simply invoking Amida's name ("Namu Amida Butsu"). - This practice is believed to lead to rebirth in the Pure Land (_Sukhavati_), where enlightenment is easy. - The story of the _myoko-nin_ illustrates the paradoxical nature of this path: acknowledging complete lack of personal virtue is the way to liberation through grace. _"You must acknowledge that you have no power or capability of being virtuous or unselfish."_ **Key Facts and Concepts:** - **Kalpas:** Vast periods of time in the universe. - **Bhava Chakra:** Wheel of Becoming, depicting the six worlds. - **Devas:** Angels, supreme worldly successes. - **Naraka:** Tormented in hell, supreme worldly failures. - **Pretas:** Hungry ghosts, chronically frustrated spirits. - **Asura:** Wrathful spirits, personifications of anger and violence. - **Jivatman:** Individual soul (Hindu concept sometimes adopted). - **Karma:** "Doing" or "the law of doing," linking actions in a chain; life course worked out through lifetimes (belief varies among Buddhists). - **Buddha:** Title meaning "the one who is awakened" (from _budh_). - **Gautama Siddhartha:** The historical Buddha. - **Idea/Concept vs. Direct Experience:** Buddhism prioritizes direct experience over intellectual formulations. - **Sunyata (Ku):** Emptiness, the fundamental nature of reality, cannot be conceptually grasped. - **Mahayana:** Great Vehicle, focusing on the bodhisattva ideal and the liberation of all beings. - **Hinayana (Theravada):** Little Vehicle (term used by Mahayanists), or "Way of the Elders," focusing on individual liberation. - **Bodhisattva:** One on the way to becoming a buddha, or in Mahayana, one who has become a buddha but returns to help others. - **Dharma:** Doctrine, method, reality. - **Sangha:** The order of followers of the Buddha. - **Four Noble Truths:** Duhkha, Trishna, Cessation of Suffering, Eightfold Path. - **Three Signs of Being:** Duhkha, Anitya (impermanence), Anatman (nonself). - **Trishna:** Clinging, grasping, hang-up. - **Anitya:** Impermanence. - **Anatman:** Nonself. - **Madhyamika:** Middle Way school, developed by Nagarjuna, emphasizing transcending dualistic thought. - **Yana:** Vehicle, conveyance, method (e.g., Mahayana, Hinayana, Vajrayana). - **Upayas:** Skillful means, pedagogical devices, tricks. - **Jiriki:** Self-power (liberation through one's own effort). - **Tariki:** Other power (liberation through grace). - **Mantrayana:** Vehicle of sound, using mantras for concentration and realization. - **Vac:** Hindu concept of the world as creation of sound (vibration). - **Om:** Holiest sound, represents the range of world-creating sound. - **Om Mani Padme Hum:** Common mantra. - **Vajrayana:** Diamond Vehicle, subschool of Mahayana, especially in Tibetan Buddhism. - **Dharma-dhatu:** Realm of dharma or reality, described as Indra's net. - **Ji Ji Muge:** No separation between happening and happening; mutual interpenetration of all things (Kegon/Huayen philosophy). - **Ri (Li):** The universal principle of order underlying particulars (Kegon/Huayen philosophy). - **Ji (Shih):** The world of things and events, particulars (Kegon/Huayen philosophy). - **Ri Ji Muge:** No blockage between the universal and particulars; their non-incompatibility. - **Buji:** "No business, no affectation, nothing special" (Zen term for the state of a master). - **Pathetic Fallacy:** The idea that it is illegitimate to project human feelings onto the world (Watts argues against this in the context of interdependence). - **Ishvara:** Supreme personal god in Hinduism (recognized by some Buddhists but seen as lower than a buddha). - **Zen (Chan, Dhyana):** Mahayana subset focusing on meditation, dialogue, and direct experience to transcend dualities and the illusion of the ego. - **Dhyana:** Sanskrit word for meditation or contemplative absorption, root of Chan and Zen. - **Koan:** Paradoxical question used in Zen training to break down conceptual thinking. - **Zazen:** Sitting meditation. - **Rupa:** Formal body (physical organism as seen by others). - **Subtle Body (Suksma Sarira):** The way one feels oneself to be. - **Ida and Pingala:** Psychic channels in the subtle body (yoga concept). - **Kundalini:** Serpent power at the base of the spine, representing involved energy (yoga concept). - **Maya:** Illusion. - **Sutra Atman:** Thread of self on which incarnations hang (Hindu concept). - **Pure Land (Jodo-shin-shu):** School emphasizing salvation through the grace (_tariki_) of Amitabha Buddha. - **Kali Yuga (Mappo):** The degenerate age. - **Amitabha (Amida):** Great beneficent Buddha figure in Pure Land Buddhism. - **Namu Amida Butsu:** Invocation of Amida Buddha's name. - **Sukhavati (Jodo):** The Pure Land paradise. - **Myoko-nin:** "Wonderful fine persons," saints in Pure Land Buddhism characterized by spontaneous goodness arising from acknowledging their own lack of virtue. - **Samsara and Nirvana:** The cycle of suffering and liberation; in Mahayana, their unity means liberation is found within the world of suffering. **Significant Quotes:** - _"The Buddha is the one who gets rid of the chains altogether."_ (Referring to the wheel of becoming) - _"From the Buddhist standpoint all concepts are wrong, in the same way that nothing is really what you say it is."_ - _"the fundamental nature of reality is sunyata, which means emptiness; in Japanese this is ku, the character used for the sky or the air."_ - _"you do not need to get away from this world to experience nirvana, because nirvana is what there is. It is here; it is now."_ (Mahayana perspective) - _"However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to liberate them all."_ (Bodhisattva vow) - _"A buddha would see you all as being exactly right; just where you are, all of you are buddhas."_ - _"Do you believe in God?” He answered, “If you do, I don’t. If you don’t, I do.”"_ (R.H. Blyth quote illustrating transcending duality) - _"To understand this, you must go through some equivalent of that so as to come to the point where you see you are involved in a vicious circle."_ (Referring to the struggle to eliminate desire) - _"The fundamental game of the world is the game of hide-and-seek. The colossal reality, the unitary energy that is the universe, plays at being many: it manifests itself as all these particulars around us."_ - _"You only know what “to be” is by contrasting it with “not to be.”"_ (Illustrating the unity of opposites) - _"The ego is simply your symbol of yourself. Just as the word water is a noise that symbolizes a certain liquid reality without being it, so too the idea of the ego symbolizes the role you play, who you are, but it is not the same as your living organism."_ - _"trishna... is usually translated “desire,” but it is better translated as “clinging,” “grabbing,” or to use excellent modern American slang, “a hang-up.”"_ - _"Look to this day, for it is life. In its brief course lies all the realities of our existence. Yesterday is but a memory. Tomorrow is only a vision. Look well then to this day.”"_ (Sanskrit invocation related to smriti/recollection) - _"in it there is no separation between knower and the known, subject and object. You are what you know."_ (Describing Samadhi) - _"The secret of the Middle Way: you cannot be saved alone because you are not alone. You are not an isolated point on a circle. You are not one extreme point on a spectrum, separate from any of the other points. You are the whole cosmos."_ - _"The true bodhisattva does not leave a track of any kind, either by being overtly religious or by being overtly nonreligious."_ - _"When you go to a Zen teacher and approach him in the traditional way, the first thing he will do is say, “I haven’t anything to teach. Go away.”"_ - _"There is nothing you can do to be genuine. The more you do, the phonier you become. At the same time, you cannot give up trying to be genuine."_ (Zen paradox) - _"The way of Buddhism is to let go of yourself, to see that you live in a universe in which nothing can be grasped, and therefore to stop grasping."_ - _"The ego does not exist except as a figment of the imagination, or as a player in the game of pretending that everybody is responsible, independent, and separate. That is a great game, but it is only a game."_ - _"Life has to surprise itself, because if it didn’t you wouldn’t know of your own existence. You only know existence to the degree that there is a balance between knowing and not knowing."_ (Related to Upayas) - _"Saraha... said in critique of both the Hindu and Buddhist orthodoxy, “Whoever is intent on method, how may he gain release? Will one gain release abiding in meditation? What is the use of lamps or offerings? What is to be done by reliance on mantras? What is the use of austerities or of going on pilgrimages? Is release achieved by bathing in water? No. Abandon such false attachments and renounce such illusions:”"_ (Critique of attachment to methods) - _"Buddhism consists simply in knowing the secret of the unity of opposites—the unity of the inner and outer worlds—and in understanding that secret as an adult rather than as a child. It means, really, to finally grow up."_ - _"You must acknowledge that you have no power or capability of being virtuous or unselfish."_ (Core idea of Pure Land Buddhism's reliance on tariki) **Areas for Further Exploration:** - A deeper dive into the specific practices associated with the Eightfold Path (e.g., right action, right livelihood). - Further exploration of the historical and philosophical development of the Mahayana schools, particularly Zen and Tantra, beyond their core concepts. - More detail on the concept of karma and reincarnation as it is understood (or not understood) by different Buddhist schools. - The relationship between Buddhism and Western psychology or philosophy, which Watts alludes to but does not extensively detail in these excerpts.