Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Meditation fails when viewed as something the self can achieve, leading to competition rather than transformation.
In plain terms
Trying to meditate as a goal to reach creates ego battles instead of real change.
What can you take from it?
Meditation is a process not a goal; achieving it requires letting go of the self trying to achieve.

Where it applies

  • discussing meditation
  • analyzing spiritual goals
  • addressing ego in practice

Putting it to work

  • stop goal-oriented practice
  • drop self-ambition
  • avoid spiritual competition

Questions to consider

  • Can you meditate to get somewhere?
  • Does spirituality have to be a competition?

Another view

It ignores that structured practice often requires a sense of agency to begin.

More from Alan Watts

  1. A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusion.

    Permalink to quote #20
  2. That we are no longer this poor little stranger and afraid in a world it never made. But that YOU ARE THIS UNIVERSE and you are creating it in every moment...B…

    Permalink to quote #22
  3. If you know that 'I', in the sense of the person, the front, the ego, it really doesn't exist. Then...it won't go to your head too badly, if you wake up and di…

    Permalink to quote #23

Related quotes

  1. In deep meditation the flow of concentration is continuous like the flow of oil.

    PatanjaliPatanjali quote #2
  2. The race was over. I was last, by ten yards. Without the slightest hesitation I protested and challenged the runners to another race, same distance, back. They…

    William SaroyanWilliam Saroyan quote #7
  3. Zazen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Strictly speaking, for a human being, there is no other practice than this practice; there is no ot…

    Shunryu SuzukaShunryu Suzuka quote #8