Customer Reviews

Two Hands of God

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book that few people know of. Hopefully it is reprinted. Here is Watts' summary of this book (from p. 41-2):

Chapters I and II,'The Primordial Pair' and 'The Cosmic Dance,' are based on Chinese and Indian sources, on Taoist, Buddhist, and Hindu myths and images in which the principle of polarity, of the inner unity of opposites, is explicitly recognized. I begin with these, not only to clarify the principle, but also to see what will happen if we take it as a hidden background for myths which do not appear to recognize it at all.

Chapter III, 'The Two Brothers,' introduces us to myths - mostly from the Middle East - having to do with the conflict of good and evil, light and darkness. The fact that the pair, e.g., Horus and Set, Ohrmazd and Ahriman, are BROTHERS intimates that there is still some recognition of the basic unity of the opposed forces. But, in general, as we move Westward from the Indus basin, the common ground between the two drops out of sight, and the conflict begins to be a struggle to the death, fought in absolute seriousness.

Chapter IV, 'Ultimate Dualism,' follows the disappearance of this inner unity to its extreme: the Christian mythology of Satan and of the Hell of everlasting damnation. We see that this ABSOLUTE separation of good from evil renders our choice between the two an ultimately perilious adventure. While this enriches life with an earnestness and momentousness hitherto unknown, it deprives the Divinity of all humour and playfulness. However, we see that the positive values of the contest between God and Satan are preserved, and the total insanity of ultimate dualism avoided, by the assumption of a 'hidden conspiracy' between the two to conceal their unity. This is related to the Hindu concept of Maya - the dramatic self-deception whereby the One plays at being the Many, and the Godhead lets itself be forgotten in pretending to be each individual being.

Chapter V, 'Dismemberment Remembered,' brings us back - through the separation of opposites - to their eternally implicit union. There are myths of the creation of the world through the cutting up of some primordial being, of its division into heaven and earth, into the multiplicity of things, of into the two sexes - from which follows the generation of offspring. Thus many mythologies envisage the goal of life as the 'rememberment' of this original 'dismemberment.' The human ideal becomes, then, the hermaphroditic or androgynous sage or 'divine man,' whose consciousness transcends the opposites and who, therefore, knows himself to be one with the cosmos. We conclude with visions of the universe seen from this point of view.

:-)
Bao Pu

_Two Hands of God_ is an overall superior work by Alan Watts, and is instumental in understanding obscure Eastern-religious myth. Anyone who is interested in the mythical studies of authors such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell should check out this little-known and vastly underrated book. It is a very valuble contribution to our understanding of primitive and not-so-primitive myth. You will be amazed to see the parallels between modern psychology and ancient ritual. This book can also help us appreciate the profound significance and sophistication of mythology and ritual outside of the Christian world - it may help to break down some of our bias and superiority complexes. Even if it is still out of print, somehow you must find a way to get your hands on this book through Amazon's network of used book sellers.