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On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious Paperback – April 1, 2002

by Douglas E. Harding (Author)

29 customer reviews

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Headlessness, the experience of "no-self" that mystics of all times have aspired to, is an instantaneous way of "waking up" and becoming fully aware of one's real and abiding nature. Douglas Harding, the highly respected mystic-philosopher, describes his first experience of headlessness in "On Having No Head," the classic work first published in 1961. In this book, he conveys the immediacy, simplicity, and practicality of the "headless way," placing it within a Zen context, while also drawing parallels to practices in other spiritual traditions.If you wish to experience the freedom and clarity that results from firsthand experience of true Being, then this book will serve as a practical guide to the rediscovery of what has always been present.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

<DIV>Douglas Harding is a highly respected mystic/philosopher who was known for his experience of Headlessness--the experience of "seeing" our original nature. Harding spent his live expressing this abiding experience, and also developed a series of awareness exercises that enabled other to see for themselves, "who we really are" in essence.</div>

Paperback: 123 pages
Publisher: Inner Directions; Revised edition (April 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1878019198
ISBN-13: 978-1878019196
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 29 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,151,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #698 in Psychology & Religion
- #2437 in Religious Philosophy (Books)
- #2512 in New Age Mysticism (Books)

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Dianelos Georgoudis

awareness of awareness

April 12, 2002

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Harding wants to convince us, literally, that we do not have a head. It sounds preposterous but he is rather insistent and, incredibly, it starts to dawn on us that somehow he has a point. The phrase "I have no head" says something new not about the word "head" but about the word "I". Actually what Harding should have written is that "I am not a head": our experience of the world is something much more basic and elemental, and only later do we learn about our head. This becomes clearer when one finds that Harding also claims that we don't have a body. In fact, even after reading the book I shall continue to talk about my head as something I have - it sounds more natural.
I think that Harding is talking about one of the most intriguing philosophical problems of today, which is consciousness. He wants us to become aware of our awareness, and to show how this experience fundamentally changes the way we see everything else.
To my mind, his connection to Zen Buddhism is strenuous. He mentions many passages from Zen Buddhism (and also from some Christian mystics) to make his point. Zen Buddhism is about rational thought being an obstruction of truth, but thinking about awareness is a very rational enterprise. I am not convinced that when the Zen masters talked about the disappearance of the self they meant the same as headlessness. Anyway the connection with Zen adds little to the main idea of the book, which I think can very well stand on its own.
All in all, I think this book touches on something that is really very important, even fundamental. My only criticism is that the book contains much that I thought peripheral and even unnecessarily opaque.

13 people found this helpful

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Table_for_5

The pleasure of decapitation

December 2, 2007

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Who ever thought begin decapitated could be so enriching? In this book, Harding does just that to the reader - at least he attempts to have the reader do it to him/herself. This work blends the one theme that Eastern and Western religions/philosophies share - the oneness of all things, and the delusion of separateness. This book is written from a Zen Buddhist perspective, however, Harding pulls from Christianity, Hinduism, science, and other fields to drive his point home. Though this book will not bring you the enlightenment that Harding seems to have received, it will help you to view enlightenment from a unique perspective.

This book is short and sweet, and Harding comes across as honest and compassionate. I highly recommend it. I also suggest Stephen Batchelor's "Living With the Devil" as a companion to this book. It is a weightier read, but it is nothing short of brilliant.

6 people found this helpful

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Bruce McElhaney

Worthwhile, However. . .

March 2, 2006

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I purchased the book in part due to its good reviews here and elsewhere, and because of the author's interesting website. I can appreciate the obvious but original slant of the author's views. (There is no self, only Self) While I can comprehend the essential message of the book, I feel its presentation somewhat lacking. If you don't "get it" within the first few pages, then you probably won't get it at all, as the explanation of the message appears (to this reader) to be more murky than the message itself. Some might believe that it's only problematic of a murky reading. I can pretty much agree with the previous reader who wrote: "This book lacks clarity. If you are familiar with Zen I don't think he has much to add." That's the bad news. The good news is, you don't need to buy the book! Fortunately, the essence of the message presented here has been clarified in the author's later works as well as on his excellent website. In addition, the experiments offered on the website are enlightening in themselves.

27 people found this helpful

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S. Webb

A Headless Wonder

May 23, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Warning: This little book is not a trick, but a point to an obvious way of seeing our world, that we've been overlooking. Harding is a non-dual exponent, that found this method helpful for many others--including myself!

One person found this helpful

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Lorraine Tucker

Five Stars

April 12, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

excellent

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Mary E. Feagan

We just don't know

March 19, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I love this book! We know so little, really. I want awe at the Mystery, not trying to understand the incomprehensible. Awe and deep- breathing go a long way.

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Alexander Rogers

The world is here yes but what is looking at it? Read this book to find out.

June 2, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book describes a very simple clear method into seeing for yourself just what we really are. We have a movie theater here in cincinnati where the screen stretches across the inside of a half-dome so that it covers the whole field of your visual perception. This was a powerful key for me pointing out the world theater plastered over my "void" right here. Empty of any self but absolutely full of all manner of objects! Sit down with this book and read it several times it is short and sweet but pure genius. The truth is so simple but can take lifetimes to truly comprehend. We are already wearing 3D reality glasses and it has always been so.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

November 9, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

gr8 b00k

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On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious Paperback – April 1, 2002

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