Alan Watts on Carl Jung

Alan Watts speaks about the time he met with Carl Jung. Topics discussed include approaching Eastern Philosophies as a westerner, Jung's ability to distill ancient wisdom in modern psychological terms, the collective unconscious and more.

Transcription

There was a sort of twinkle in Jung’s eye that gave me the impression that he knew himself to be just as much a villain as everybody else.There is a nice German word, hintergedanken, which means a thought in the very far far back of your mind.

Jung had a hintergedanken in the back of his mind that showed in the twinkle in his eye. It showed that he knew and recognized what I sometimes call the element of irreducible rascality in himself. 

And he knew it so strongly and so clearly and in a way so lovingly, that he would not condemn the things in others and would therefore not be lead into those thoughts, feelings, and acts of violence towards others which are always characteristic of the people who project the devil in themselves upon the outside - upon somebody else - upon the scapegoat.

Now this made Jung a very integrated character.In other words, here I have to present a little bit of a complex idea.He was man who was thoroughly with himself - having seen and accepted his own nature profoundly. He had a kind of a unity and absence of conflict in his own nature which had to exhibit additional complications that I find so fascinating.

He was the sort of man who could feel anxious and afraid and guilty without being ashamed of feeling this way. In other words, he understood that an integrated person is not a person who has simply eliminated the sense of guilt or the sense of anxiety from his life - who is fearless and wooden and kind of sage of stone.

He is a person who feels all these things, but has no recriminations against himself for feeling them.And this is to my mind a profound kind of humor. You know in humor there is always a certain element of malice. There was a talk given on the Pacifica stations just a little while ago which was an interview with Al Capp. And Al Capp made the point that he felt that all humor was fundamentally malicious.Now there’s a very high kind of humor which is humor at one’s self – malice towards one’s self.

The recognition of the fact that behind the social role that you assume; behind all your pretentions to being either a good citizen or a fine scholar or a great scientist or a leading politician or a physician or whatever you happen to be – that behind this façade – there is a certain element of the unreconstructed bum. Not as something to be condemned and wailed over, but as something to be recognized as contributive to one’s greatness and to one’s positive aspect; in the same way that manure is contributive to the perfume of the rose.Jung saw this and Jung accepted this and I want to read a passage from one of this lectures, which I think is one of the greatest things he ever wrote. And which has been a very marvelous thing for me. It was in a lecture delivered to a group of clergy in Switzerland a considerable number of years ago ago and he writes as follows: People forget that even doctors have moral scruples and that certain patient’s confessions are hard even for a doctor to swallow. Yet the patient does not feel himself accepted unless the very worst of him is accepted too.

No one can bring this about by mere words. It comes only through reflection and through the doctor’s attitude towards himself and his own dark side. If the doctor wants to guide another or even accompany him a step of the way, he must feel with that person’s psyche. He never feels it when he passes judgment. Whether he puts his judgments into words or keeps them to himself, makes not the slightest difference.

To take the opposite position and to agree with the patient offhand is also of no use but estranges him as much as condemnation. Feeling comes only through unprejudiced objectivity.This sounds almost like a scientific precept. And it could be confused with a purely intellectual abstract attitude of mind. But what I mean is something quite different. It is a human quality: A kind of deep respect for the facts - for the man who suffers from them and for the riddle of such a man’s life. The truly religious person has such an attitude.

He knows that God has brought all sort of strange and unconceivable things to pass and seeks in the most curious ways to enter a man’s heart. He therefore senses in everything the unseen presence of the Divine Will. This is what I mean by unprejudiced objectivity. It is a moral achievement on the part of the doctor who ought not to let himself be repelled by sickness and corruption. We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate. It oppresses. And I am the oppressor of the person I condemn - not his friend and fellow sufferer.I do not in the least mean to say that we must never pass judgment when we desire to help and improve. But, if the doctor wishes to help a human being, he must be able to accept him as he is. And he can do this in reality only when he has already seen and accepted himself as he is. Perhaps this sounds very simple, but simple things are always the most difficult.

In actual life, it requires the greatest art to be simple. And so, acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem, and the acid test of one’s whole outlook on life. That I feed the beggar - that I forgive an insult - that I love my enemy in the name of Christ - all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all - the poorest of all beggars - the most impudent of all offenders - yea the very fiend himself - that these are within me? And that I myself stand in need of the arms of my own kindness. That I myself am the enemy that must be loved.

What then?

Then, as a rule, the whole truth of Christianity is reversed. There is then no more talk of love and long suffering. We say to the brother within us: Rocca, and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide him from the world. We deny ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.

And had it been God himself who drew near to us in this despicable form, we should have denied him a thousand times before a single cock had crowed.

It's Okay by Toni Bernhard

A Practice to Help You Handle Life's Difficulties with GraceA few months ago, I was being interviewed for a radio show and the host said to me, “What is equanimity? You talk about it in your books but I don’t know what it is. Tell me in one sentence. ” I’d never been asked to reduce equanimity to one sentence, but I had my second book, How to Wake Up, sitting next to me and as I hastily opened it, lucky for me, it opened right to a discussion of equanimity. I answered her question with:Equanimity is greeting whatever is present in our experience with an evenness of temper, so our minds stay balanced and steady in the face of life’s ups and downs.Today, I’d add the words calm and tranquil: balanced and steady, calm and tranquil, in the face of life’s ups and downs.How does this aspiration play out in every day life? If we’re to “greet whatever is present in our experience” with calmness and tranquility, how about the many (many) times when those experiences are unpleasant? It’s not easy to greet unpleasant experiences with calmness and ease! It’s more common to be thrown off-balance when the day doesn’t go as expected, or when someone makes a thoughtless comment to us, or plans have to be changed at the last minute due to something such as chronic illness (which I use as an example because it applies to so much of my life).I know from over 25 years of practicing equanimity (learned from my Buddhist studies), it’s a challenge—every single day. But with practice, it becomes easier to reach that place of calmness and tranquility, if only for a few moments at first.In this piece, I want to share a practice I’ve been using recently. It’s simple, really. I intentionally start a sentence by saying to myself “It’s okay if…” Obviously, not everything is going to feel okay (certainly not the loss of a loved one) and so this is a practice to use only when it’s wise to do so—that is, when you think it might help you accept and feel okay about what’s happening in your life.Starting a sentence with “It’s okay if…” helps me stay steady and calm when everyday challenges start to throw me off balance. For example, on a day I’m feeling particularly sick or my pain levels are high, I’ll say to myself, “It’s okay if I feel awful today. Sometimes that’s how chronic illness feels.”You can be as creative with this practice as you’re comfortable with. With health-related issues, you might say to yourself: “It’s okay if I can’t do all the things I used to do”; “It’s okay if my friend doesn’t understand what it’s like to live with chronic pain. Some people have to suffer from something themselves before they can empathize with what it’s like.” With other issues, you could say: “It’s okay if my new job didn’t turn out to be all I’d hoped for. Nothing’s perfect”; “It’s okay if my kids have problems. Everyone does.”The more I use this practice, the braver I become with my “It’s okay if…” formulations. Recently, I’ve been trying this out: “It’s okay if I’m chronically ill the rest of my life.” Whoa! The rest of my life? Can that ever be okay? It turns out that, for me, it can.It’s true that sometimes when I say that sentence, resistance arises and I get thrown off-balance and feel scared. But if I’m honest with myself, I might very well be chronically ill the rest of my life. If that’s the case, I know from experience that I’ll feel better emotionally and I’ll be happier the more I can accept that possibility with grace. That’s equanimity in action for me. When I feel equanimous, a sense of well-being arises and I feel at peace. That’s why I keep practicing.I hope this idea was helpful and that you’ll try it.Toni Bernhard is the author of the award-winning  How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and their Caregivers, and How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow. Her newest book is called How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide. Before becoming ill, she was a law professor at the University of California—Davis. Her blog, “Turning Straw Into Gold” is hosted by Psychology Today online. Visit her website at www.tonibernhard.com. 

Carl Jung on Death

Face to Face, a 35 episode BBC television series broadcast between 1959 and 1962, was the first program on British television to unmask public figures and show what lies beneath the surface. Harsh lighting and close-up camera angles were employed to capture each flicker of emotion, a method critics referred to as "torture by television." Among those who submitted to Freeman's remorseless scrutiny were Evelyn Waugh, Henry Moore, Bertrand Russell, and Carl Gustav Jung.When Carl Jung consented to be interviewed, the medical community was surprised that this very private figure was suddenly willing to allow an interviewer into his personal space. When the program was first aired in 1959, Jung himself was taken aback at the unexpectedly positive response from the general public. This strong interest in his work inspired Jung to write his final work, Man and His Symbols, his theory of the symbolism of dreams, explained in lay terms so as to be accessible to all who would come seeking answers.Freeman's face was almost never shown. Apart from the back of his head, the cameras were concentrated on the subject, sometimes concentrating on a nervously smoked cigarette or a close-up of a face. The theme music was an excerpt from the overture to Berlioz' opera Les Francs-juges. The titles for each episode featured caricatures of that week's subject drawn by Feliks Topolski. Some episodes departed from an interview conducted at the BBC's Lime Grove Studios: the edition with Carl Gustav Jung was conducted at his home in Switzerland. The interview was a success, with his much quoted remark about the existence of God - 'I don't believe, I know' - arousing a storm of comment at the time.

Advice on Spiritual Practice

by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe DorjeThe practice of Dharma involves certain possibilities. How these potentials evolve into actual situations for the practitioner, and how much is possible within these situations depends on the capacity of individual beings. It depends upon the level of teachings that one is able to relate to, such as Mahayana or Hinayana. At this particular time in our lives, the practice of the Mahayana teaching is possible. It is absolutely precious and absolutely rare. Our concern for development and our sense of responsibility has placed us in a position to integrate the preciousness and rarity of the Mahayana teaching with our lives. Through it there is the possibility of the experience of no-returning back into Samsara and the experience of ultimate bliss that is self knowing and in which there are no doubts.In the midst of the wanderings of our minds we might sometimes fall into thinking that whether one practices or not, the Dharma will always be available. If you have that kind of notion, it is a very serious mistake. Any brief moment, any time at all that one could use as an opportunity for Dharma practice, one must use. If one does not take this responsibility and offer sincere respect to the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings, there is a definite possibility of causing harm to oneself as well as to those spiritual friends to whom one is linked. A lack of attention to the responsibilities of the Mahayana path constitutes a breaking of the Samaya principles, therefore, in whatever way one can hold to the teachings, one must sincerely do so.If you think that the teaching is negligible, such a reality will manifest because of your attitude, to your great loss. The fact is that the teaching is very much hidden from you, so you cannot really make speculations about it. On the other hand, the validity of the teaching has been witnessed by its ageless effectiveness from the time of the Buddha to this day. This is something to dwell upon. You must sincerely realise the sacredness of the teachings, to the extent of understanding that there is actually nothing more important than the practice of the Dharma within this lifetime, and in lifetimes to come. In a simple mundane life situation, in the field of ‘business’ we know that the businessman develops a plan for a project, he knows what it will cost him, perhaps one million dollars, and every detail of the project is regarded with the utmost care. Absolute importance is attached to such a project in the business world, and a great deal of energy is put into bringing it to a successful conclusion. The point is if one is going to expend such effort for a result of such a temporary nature, why not put at least as much effort into a project that is going to cause one’s temporary as well as ultimate benefit? Whether you are receiving an empowerment or an explanation, if you are able to have or develop that sense of importance about the Dharma, then there is purpose in your relationship with the Mahayana teachings and there is going to be fulfillment, too. If there is a genuine commitment to the teaching, you will be able to develop direct and meaningful trust and confidence in the teachings and sincere compassion towards beings. A true understanding of the universality of the working of karma, the nature of cause and effect, will occur.The Bodhisattva’s aspiration and actions are powerful because from the very beginning when bodhisattva embarks on the journey of the bodhi path he aspires to work for the benefit and liberation of all sentient beings with a very determined, definite and powerful intention. Because of the sincere resolve that is within this aspiration, whatever actions need to be performed to benefit and liberate beings are performed with great power and tirelessness. Having undertaken such a profound journey by virtue of the aspiration to help beings, as the different stages of the Bodhisattva are experienced, one finds oneself increasingly capable of benefiting countless beings. That is how the Bodhisattva first treads upon the path.When the bodhisattvas work for the benefit of all beings with such appropriate aspirations and actions there is total fulfillment. The fulfillment appropriate in the sense that there is no selfishness involved in the way of expectations, doubts, hopes, attachment or aversion regarding gains and losses of any kind. The Bodhisattva is completely pure and spotless, working incessantly and wholeheartedly for the benefit of beings. Not for a moment is there any hesitation or doubt, as these obstacles have been transcended. The ways of a Bodhisattva are gentle, since all harmful actions and indulgences have been abandoned. Not only are harmful deeds themselves eliminated in a Bodhisattva’s life, but also the creation of causes of future harmful situations. Work is done solely for the benefit of other beings, not only in direct deeds, but in laying the foundations for future benefits to accrue. When these bodhisattvas initiate work, then, they are able to cause immeasurable benefit towards beings, and they do so manifesting fearless generosity without doubts or expectations, like the great Bodhisattva of Boundless Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, or the Bodhisattva of Boundless Power, Vajrapani, and so on.All who comprise the great assemblage of Bodhisattvas are equally powerful and equally beneficial to countless beings, so that all things seem to be at their command. Sometimes beautiful lotuses and lotus trees are caused by them to grow from the middle of the ocean, or a teardrop is transformed into an ocean. Everything in nature is at the Bodhisattva’s call. Fire can appear as water; water can appear as fire. It is all because of the strength of the Bodhisattva’s attitude, the aspiration and action. For us this says that the practice of compassion must be given full consideration and it must at all times be in our awareness and at all times performed.If one is going to attempt to do meditation, for example, on emptiness, Sunyata, one must never fail to relate to the enlightened objects of the Refuge on one hand, and to consistently generate genuine compassion towards beings on the other hand. The true nature of emptiness is compassion. Without the experience of the fullness of compassion, even if one claims to have realised emptiness, Sunyata, it does not have any significance.At this particular point you have the opportunity to receive the teachings. There are teachers, there are facilities. You have been receiving many levels of teachings, and it is important that you don’t miss the point in terms of putting into practice what is taught. It is absolutely important. I am emphasising today something you must have heard many times. And yet there is always the need for complete integration, for mindfulness and respect, for the treasuring of what one has understood, what one has received. There is the need of working towards the fulfillment of the teachings and the complete realisation of the meaning. And toward that end the most important factor, once again, is the practice of bodhicitta, the Enlightened Mind, by which you will gradually tread the Vajrayana path. At every turn bodhicitta is indispensable. Unless the profound techniques of the Vajrayana are being supported by bodhicitta one will not necessarily make meaningful realisations. So, you see, that everything is actually rooted in the practice of bodhicitta, and to pursue with sincerity whatever enhances and supports the practice of bodhicitta creates favorable situations for its development.An example of a means to develop bodhicitta is Pratimoksa. In the Pratimoksa tradition there are seven families or levels of Pratimoksa, or self-discipline. These are known as the precepts or vows. Refuge is the most important prerequisite to enter into the practice of discipline. After taking refuge, you take whatever other precepts you can. Keeping them strengthens your practice of bodhicitta, and enables you to tread on the path of Buddhadharma more simply, sincerely and sanely. The importance of the application of self-discipline, the precepts, must not be neglected. Strongly ingrained are the patterns of the three poisons: aggression, attachment and ignorance. If one is to uproot these patterns and to apply the proper antidote for these poisons, the practices of discipline as outlined in the Pratimoksa are necessary tools.Then we have the Mahayana principles. We must practice living the Mahayana ideals which we have been talking about: the development of the Enlightened Attitude, a concern for the benefit and liberation of all beings.From the material point of view this country is very rich, which means life is busier for everyone than in other places in the world, and people are occupied by all kinds of mundane demands. Because of the overwhelming material concerns that surround one, the speed of life activity increases. One busy situation leads to another, and on and on. You are constantly busy. The truth of cyclic existence is very well manifested in your lives. To remedy this state of affairs one first needs to calm down the mind. Do not be completely absorbed by your surroundings. Develop some degree of stillness. Cultivate simple control of mind, tranquility. At least some openness of the mind needs to be developed. No matter who you are, everyone needs first to relate to basic meditation practices, meditation practices that are specifically designed to bring about the calmness of the minds of beings who are occupied in such constant, busy involvement. This is the first step in the practice of the Dharma, the Dharma that is so very important for oneself and for others.If you could see and appreciate the truth of the Dharma, and in the light of that appreciation continue to practice, there is no doubt about your being of tremendous benefit to the people you encounter and to this country especially. There would be no doubt about your ability to save beings from countless problems and conflicts. So the practice of the Dharma must be taken very seriously and done very sincerely. It plays a crucial part in shaping of one’s life, and not this life alone but all lifetimes to come. If one is to have temporary as well as ultimate fulfillment of happiness, the incomparable and the only reliable connection is the practice of the Dharma. The notion of perception and perceiver has existed from beginningless time, and it is part of the pattern of clinging. From beginningless time our shortcoming has been to fall back into Samsara. In the past, in the future and in the present, the mind has been in many ways very playful. But where the true nature of the mind is concerned, neither the color nor the shape nor the location of the mind nor its consciousness can be pinpointed.The nature of mind goes beyond all such substantialities. This being so, in the meditation practice it is important neither to invite the future nor recollect the past, but to remain in the state of nowness. The nowness of the mind is the practice which should be developed by you all.

Faith & Reason with Pema Chodron & Bill Moyers

Enjoy this 55 minute interview with Bill Moyers and Pema Chodron entitled, "Faith & Reason"Pema Chödrön (born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown on July 14, 1936) is a notable American figure in Tibetan Buddhism. A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and acharya, senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage Trungpa founded.A prolific author, she has conducted workshops, seminars, and meditation retreats in Europe, Australia, and throughout North America.Video provided courtesy of PBS.Please visit the official PBS website at www.pbs.org

Watch: Tibetan Book of the Dead - A Way of Life

The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening two-part series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom. Part 1: A Way of Life reveals the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and examines its traditional use in northern India, as well as its acceptance in Western hospices.Shot over a four-month period, the film contains footage of the rites and liturgies for a deceased Ladakhi elder and includes an interview with the Dalai Lama, who shares his views on the book's meaning and importance. Part 2: The Great Liberation follows an old lama and his novice monk as they guide a Himalayan villager into the afterlife using readings from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The soul's 49-day journey towards rebirth is envisioned through actual photography of rarely seen Buddhist rituals, interwoven with groundbreaking animation by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ishu Patel.

Devotion and Compassion by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

"Enhancement practices, for instance, are to develop devotion to the enlightened ones and compassion for sentient beings. Devotion and compassion strengthen the recognition of mind nature. Other practices also further enhance mind essence; however the Third Karmapa stated the most essential point when he said: “In the moment of love, the empty essence dawns nakedly.”"In the moment that either devotion or compassion is felt sincerely, from the core of our heart, there is really nothing to obscure us any longer. The more we train in devotion to all enlightened masters, buddhas and bodhisattvas, the more our progress in recognizing mind essence will be enhanced. In exactly the same way, generating loving kindness and compassion for all beings will also help tremendously to enhance our realization of buddha nature."~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Opening to the Mystery Meditation by Tara Brach

“Walk Slowly”by Danna FauldsIt only takes a reminder to breathe,a moment to be still, and just like that,something in me settles, softens, makesspace for imperfection. The harsh voiceof judgment drops to a whisper and Iremember again that life isn’t a relayrace; that we will all cross the finishline; that waking up to life is what wewere born for. As many times as Iforget, catch myself charging forwardwithout even knowing where I’m going,that many times I can make the choiceto stop, to breathe, and be, and walkslowly into the mystery. Image Credit