Paperback, 146 pages
English language
Published April 3, 1966 by Pantheon Books.
At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence.
In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.
A well-worked short study (with a dated feel) in ego-dissolution and recognizing our individualistic society's contradicting double-binds in defining progress, freedom, and love. Better to dance as one with the universe, but watch out for all the ways attempting to do so reinstates your sense of self...
