Maya, the Illusion of the Self: Alan Watts will transform YOU
(Simply Art - Inspire) May 2, 2025: Alan Watts unpacks the ancient concept of Maya — the illusion of the self (The Matrix) — in this 27‑minute remastered talk, set to soothing meditation music and complete with accurate subtitles. Discover how our sense of “I” is shaped by thought (thing) patterns, why letting go of the selfish ego can open us to deep peace, and practical insights for seeing through what is really an illusion.
What is maya? It literally means "illusion," "magic," or "appearance" [1, 2, 3] but has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, māyā connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem" [2, 4], the principle which shows "attributeless Absolute" as having "attributes" [3].
Māyā also connotes that which "is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal" (in opposition to an unchanging Absolute, or Brahman), and therefore "conceals the true character of spiritual reality" [5, 6].
The Mahayana (Hindu-Buddhist) way of saying this is to state that self and all other phenomena are empty (Śūnyatā).
Alan Watts, when there was a Zen boom, provided explanations and answers for Westerners wishing to understand Eastern philosophy and The Way, be that the Buddha's eightfold path or the Tao or the marga as found in the Vedas and Hinduism.
Alan Watts (alanwatts.org), KQED; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
Alan Watts (alanwatts.org) KQED, San Francisco; Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Alan Watts: Mahayana Buddhism (1960)
(The Partially Examined Life, 2012) This is an episode from the 1960 season of Alan Watts' KQED television series Eastern Wisdom & Modern Life entitled "Mahayana Buddhism."
A native of England who lived and taught in California, Alan Watts attended the King's School near Canterbury Cathedral, and at the age of 14 he became fascinated with the philosophies of the East.
By 16 he regularly attended the Buddhist Lodge in London, where he met Zen scholars Christmas Humphries and D. T. Suzuki.
As a speaker and contributor to the Lodge's journal, The Middle Way, he wrote a series of philosophical commentaries and published his first book on Eastern thought, The Spirit of Zen, at age 21.
In the late 1930s he moved to New York, and a few years later he became an Episcopalian priest. In 1942 he moved to Illinois and spent the wartime years as chaplain at Northwestern University.
Then, in 1950, he left the church, and his life took a turn away from organized religion back toward Eastern ways and expanding horizons. After meeting author and mythologist Joseph Campbell and composer John Cage in New York, he headed to California and began teaching at the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco.
There his popular lectures spilled over into coffeehouse talks and appearances with the well-known beat writers Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg.
In late 1953 he began what would become the longest running series of Sunday morning public radio talks, which continue to this day with programs from the Alan Watts tape archives. It continues in Los Angeles at KPFK.org, available in the Pacifica archives.
In 1957 he published the bestselling The Way of Zen, beginning a prolific ten-year period in which he wrote Nature, Man and Woman; Beat Zen, Square Zen and Zen; This Is It; Psychotherapy East and West; The Two Hands of God; The Joyous Cosmology; and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.
By 1960 Watts's radio series "Way Beyond the West" on Berkeley's KPFA.org had an avid following on the West Coast, and NET television began national broadcasts of the series Eastern Wisdom in Modern Life. The first season, recorded in the studios of KQED, a San Francisco television station, focused on the relevance of Buddhism, and the second, on Zen and the arts.
AlanWatts.org (Eastern Wisdom & Modern Life); Roy of Hollywood Tuckman, "Something's Happening," KPFK.org; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (D.M.I.), Crystal Q. (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly
Alan Watts: The Discipline of Zen (1960, full length)
The Partially Examined Life, Feb. 19, 2012 This episode from the 1960 season of Alan Watts' KQED television series Eastern Wisdom & Modern Life is entitled "The Discipline of Zen." The entire Eastern Wisdom & Modern Life series on DVD is available at alanwatts.com/collections.
Alan Watts was a native of England, who attended the King's School near Canterbury Cathedral. At the age of 14 he became fascinated with the philosophies of the Far East. By 16 he regularly attended the Buddhist Lodge in London, where he met Zen scholars Christmas Humphries and D. T. Suzuki.
As a speaker and contributor to the Lodge's journal, The Middle Way, he wrote a series of philosophical commentaries and published his first book on Eastern thought, The Spirit of Zen, at age 21. In the late 1930s he moved to New York, and a few years later he became an Episcopalian Christian priest.
In 1942 he moved to Illinois and spent the wartime years as chaplain at Northwestern University. Then, in 1950, he left the Church, and his life took a turn away from organized religion back toward Eastern ways and expanding horizons.
Here I am. Wasn't I?
After meeting author and mythologist Joseph Campbell and composer John Cage in New York, he headed to California and began teaching at the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco.
There his popular lectures spilled over into coffeehouse talks and appearances with the well-known beat writers Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg.
In late 1953 he began what would become the longest running series of Sunday morning public radio talks, which continue to to be broadcast to this day on archive.KPFK.org with programs from the Alan Watts tape archives.
In the (sandy) Garden of Zen...
In 1957 he published the bestselling The Way of Zen, beginning a prolific 10-year period in which he wrote Nature, Man and Woman; Beat Zen, Square Zen and Zen; This Is It; Psychotherapy East and West; The Two Hands of God; The Joyous Cosmology; and The Book: On the Taboo against Knowing Who You Are.
By 1960 Watts's radio series Way Beyond the West on Berkeley's KPFA.org had an avid following on the West Coast, and NET television began national broadcasts of the series Eastern Wisdom in Modern Life.
The the first season, recorded in the studios of KQED.org, a San Francisco TV station, focused on the relevance of Buddhism, and the second, on Zen and the arts.
Cristina Garcia denies being a hypocrite, sexual harasser, and genital groper
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (who kept a keg of beer in California's 58th District, Los Angeles) is still on leave from her job after being accused of groping male subordinates in her office.
Assemblymember Garcia was a proponent and leader in the #MeToo Movement, even appearing in the Time Magazine "Silence Breakers" issue.
[She was also a giant hypocrite molesting younger male employees, who were offered alcohol, groped, and feared the loss of their job if they complained or did not go along. Hey, it's just like when the tables were turned and men were on top!]
Politician Garcia -- who once set herself up in a bid for "woman of the year" -- did an extensive interview with KQED: Listen + Transcript
Anti-racist counter-protesters gather in San Francisco to stop Patriot Prayer and Nazis
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Large protests against far-right in S.F.
Authorities in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Alameda County prepared for an influx of fringe-right supporters over the weekend, hoping to squelch the assemblies from turning violent -- like they have in the past -- through a series of legal maneuvers and bureaucratic red tape. And it seems to be working: Patriot Prayer has twice canceled its event in San Francisco and the organizer of a fringe-right rally in Berkeley is urging people not to come. More
ANTIFA (Anti-Fascist Movement) is good and cool and its anarchist members seem to be coming from a good motivation to oppose oppression -- but to deny free speech to anyone? Wisdom Quarterly disagrees. We side with the ACLU in saying that, "The antidote to hateful speech is not silence but more speech." And to use and threaten physical violence? All power to the people. Who takes away our power? Violent police. Now will Antifa do the violent policing? How is that any improvement? It's good to F sh*t up but that's because S is so f*ck*d up right now that subverting the dominant paradigm is a good thing. "Peace," as the Buddha, MLK Jr., Thich Nhat Hanh, Gandhi, and the mothers of many black men murdered by cops would say. When you fight violence with violence, no matter who comes out ahead, violence has won.
Antifa holds up cloth sign: "FUCK THIS SHIT" at MLK Jr. Park in Berkeley, CA (WQ)
NOTES from counter-protester Aaron Connelly: Nazi groups: Proud Boys, Rise Against, Rise Above, DIY Nazi gang in LA/OC, Identity Europa, Hollywood McGinis, racist white-Latino Colombian Johnny Benitez, Augustus Invictus is an outed racist Nazi...
OTHER NOTES: "Khakistan" is a racist wonderland, BAMN = By Any Means Necessary, counter-protesters outnumber right wingers more than 100:1 at Berkeley rally, "Avenge Charlottesville, Defend Your Community" - reads large black and red sign carried in by Antifa, which police tugged at and tried to steal.
Authorities in San Francisco and Alameda counties prepared for the influx of fringe-right supporters over the weekend, hoping to squelch the assemblies from turning violent -- like they have in the past -- through a series of legal maneuvers and bureaucratic red tape. And it seems to be working: Patriot Prayer has twice canceled its event in San Francisco and the organizer of a fringe-right rally in Berkeley is urging people not to come. More
SAN FRANCISCO, California - Counter-protesters opposing a right-wing gathering in liberal San Francisco claimed victory Saturday.
Why? The [racist] event was cancelled after city officials walled off a city park -- a move that the event's [right wing] organizer said was more about silencing his group's [white supremacist] message than preventing a violent clash. ...
Golden Gate Bridge in the city of peace 'n love
Joey Gibson, who is Japanese-American and leads Patriot Prayer, said his group disavows racism and hatred and wanted to promote dialogue with people who may not share its views.
He cancelled a planned rally Saturday at a field under the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge after he said his members received anonymous threats on social media and feared civic leaders and law enforcement would fail to protect them.More
"No hate! No KKK! No Nazis in the USA!" Andrea Smith holds sign in San Francisco (AP)
British Zen Buddhist, Taoist, Episcopalian teacher Alan Watts is an inspiration to Californians, where his show continues to air on Los Angeles' Pacifica Radio (KPFA.org) thanks to Roy of Hollywood Tuckman (8:00 am Sundays, midnight Thursdays).
This video is the fourth episode of Alan Watts' 1959 KQED TV series "Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life." (DVDs available at alanwatts.com/collections).
A native of England, Watts attended the King's School near Canterbury Cathedral. At 14 he became fascinated with the philosophies of the Far East. By 16 he regularly attended the Buddhist Lodge in London, where he met Zen scholars Christmas Humphries and D.T. Suzuki. As a speaker and contributor to the Lodge's journal, The Middle Way, he wrote a series of philosophical commentaries and published his first book on Eastern thought, The Spirit of Zen, at age 21. In the late thirties he moved to New York, and a few years later he became an Episcopalian priest. In 1942 he moved to Illinois and spent the wartime years as chaplain of Northwestern University.
In 1950 he left the church, and his life took a turn away from organized religion back toward Eastern ways and expanding horizons. After meeting author and mythologist Joseph Campbell and composer John Cage in New York he headed to California and began teaching at the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco.
There his popular lectures spilled over into coffehouse talks and appearances with the well-known beat writers Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg. In late 1953 he began what would become the longest-running series of Sunday morning public radio talks, which continue to this day with programs from the Alan Watts Tape Archives.
Something's Happening - A: PLAY AUDIO Alan Watts "Aldous Huxley's 'Island'" Part 4 (concluding) // Aldous Huxley, “Visionary Experience” // Shinzen Young, "Learning from the Marathon Monks" (Friday, June 20, 2014 12:00 am, somethingshappening.com)
In 1957 he published the bestselling The Way of Zen, beginning a prolific ten-year period during which he wrote Nature,
Man and Woman; Beat Zen, Square Zen and Zen; This Is It; Psychotherapy
East and West; The Two Hands of God; The Joyous Cosmology; and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.
By 1960 Watts' radio series "Way Beyond the West" on Berkeley's KPFA.org had an avid following on the West Coast, and NET TV began national broadcasts of the series "Eastern Wisdom in Modern Life." The first season, recorded in the studios of KQED, a San Francisco TV station, focused on the relevance of Buddhism, and the second on Zen and the arts.
The Michael Slate Show(Fridays, 10:00 am)PLAY/downloadHow should we understand the dramatic occupation of Iraq's second largest city by ISIS? What about our criminal and immoral invasion and occupation? What should we do in the face of a possible US escalation? Guests: Larry Everest, Revolution Newspaper, Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us), Stop Mass Incarceration Network. An army of 400 cops descended on Harlem June 4 (revcom.us).
(KQED) Religion and health care: Put these words together in the same sentence, and opinions are sure to fly. Join the April edition of "Health Dialogues" as it explores how religion affects health care: from making major life decisions, to choosing health practitioners, to religio-cultural attitudes towards health care, and much more. Tune in to hear more. (Find local airtimes). View clips from this month's interviews.
Health Dialogues is a special series from KQED's "The California Report." It fa-cilitates an ongoing discussion of California health care issues important to the underserved: children, low-income residents, minorities, and people with disabilities to name just a few. Learn more>>
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