adrianlarose's review against another edition
4.0
Educational and with Watts' usual dose of diverse religious references.
joelafond's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite Watts but still has some pearls of wisdom.
creaz's review against another edition
I refuse to give up on a book but with a small book of collected essays like this— I read a couple when I needed it and I likely won’t return for a good while!
books4brunch's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Fascinating! Wether you agree or disagree with Alan’s various short essays. There’s no doubt this book will make you ponder life, reality, spirituality, truth, meaning and philosophy. If you’re considering reading this book, then do! But it’s not something to force on yourself, or a friend who isn’t into philosophy or spirituality.
peapod_boston's review
5.0
A collection of short essays and excerpts form Alan Watts, stand-up philosopher and Western spokesperson for Buddhism as a philosophy. The articles are his trademark mix of cool logic, wry observation, and eye and heart-opening insights. As always, his take can be a little dated (the chauvinism and privilege of a white man in the seventies) but the insights are timeless and he always makes me think. A worthwhile and very brief read that can be chunked out over several evenings, one article at a time.
alexgsmith's review
Reading one or two of the essays collected here over a cup of tea each morning has been a welcome grounding ritual during this fourth Melbourne lockdown. Alan Watts has a greatly enjoyable talent for clearly and wittily articulating abstract spiritual ideas in a variety of ways, from parables like The Second Immortal to more academic works like The Problem of Faith and Works in Buddhism. After most of the pieces here I felt a little lighter, or had something interesting to reflect on that would pop up later in some unexpected way. Another volume to return to again and again.
Whether we like it or not, change comes, and the greater the resistance, the greater the pain. Buddhism perceives the beauty of change, for life is like music in this: if any note or phrase is held for longer than its appointed time, the melody is lost. Thus Buddhism may be summed up in two phrases: “Let go!” and “Walk on!” Drop the craving for self, for permanence, for particular circumstances, and go straight ahead with the movement of life.
nicole_rietveld's review against another edition
Nu îmi place deloc cum e scrisă. Mult prea ambiguă și nu rezonez cu unele idei.