Alan Watts on sudden enlightenment (audio)

Enlightenment never comes by will. Meditate, accept, allow (Souljerky: Yoga Comics).

Calvin and Hobbes get philosophical about life and death and the Zen of it all (reddit.com).

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Sudden Enlightenment (Satori)

"I'm enlightened, Batman!" (Mirror of Zen)

(Brain Bot, Nov. 2, 2020) Alan Watts' recordings and book resulted in an organization (alanwatts.org and alanwatts.com) thanks to his children. In this segment, he speaks to us about the nature of Zen as an approach to enlightenment. It can only be sudden and spontaneous, unprompted and a surprise because otherwise we'd be giving notice to our creditors and "The Devil" (Devaputra Mara) would lay many traps before us to keep us here. Mahayana Buddhism (the many latter day schools of Buddhism like Zen) came up with many views and ideas as they departed from the historical Buddha's teaching, the original Dharma he revealed. So we keep spinning and spinning new webs to catch ourselves in.

ABOUT

Way Beyond the West to In My Own Way

: Alan Watts was among the first to translate and interpret Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born outside of London in 1915, he discovered a nearby Buddhist lodge in his youth. On moving to the United States in 1938, he studied comparative religion and became an Episcopal priest, then relocated to Millbrook, New York, where he wrote his pivotal book The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety. He became discouraged and moved to San Francisco in 1951, where he began teaching Buddhist studies, and in 1956 began his popular radio show “Way Beyond the West.” By the early 1960s, his radio talks aired nationally. The counterculture movement adopted him as a spiritual spokesperson. He wrote and spoke regularly until his passing.