The moralist is the person who tells people that they ought to be unselfish, when they still feel like egos, and his efforts are always and invariably futile.

Quote by Alan Watts

Topics: Alan Watts Quotes

You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave...

You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave...

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen...

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen...

Really, the fundamental, ultimate mystery -- the only thing you need to know to understand...

Really, the fundamental, ultimate mystery -- the only thing you need to know to understand...

But we try to pretend, you see, that the external world exists altogether independently of...

But we try to pretend, you see, that the external world exists altogether independently of...

And although our bodies are bounded with skin, and we can differentiate between outside and...

And although our bodies are bounded with skin, and we can differentiate between outside and...

The ego is nothing other than the focus of conscious attention.

The ego is nothing other than the focus of conscious attention.

The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an...

The reason we want to go on and on is because we live in an...

I owe my solitude to other people.

I owe my solitude to other people.

We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose. In...

We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose. In...

But to me nothing - the negative, the empty - is exceedingly powerful.

But to me nothing - the negative, the empty - is exceedingly powerful.

Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make...

Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make...

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity...

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity...

We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose. In...

We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose. In...

In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to...

In other words, a person who is fanatic in matters of religion, and clings to...

What the devil is the point of surviving, going on living, when it's a drag?...

What the devil is the point of surviving, going on living, when it's a drag?...

The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it...

The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it...

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't...

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't...

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such...

How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such...

But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far...

But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far...