Alan Watts & The Cloud of Unknowing: Embracing Mysticism & Uncertainty
What World Religions Teach Us About Truth Beyond Perception
As a Progressive Christian — one with an M.Div. in world religions and contemplative traditions — I get the most bang for my spiritual buck by exploring how my faith harmonizes with other traditions.
While I’m a fan of the gospels — canonical and otherwise—as well as the authentic letters of Paul, I don’t view the Bible as the sole source of truth but rather as one voice in a rich conversation that includes the Sutras, the Upanishads, and many other scriptures.
This past Sunday, services began with this familiar passage from the Gospel of John:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;
2 this one was in the beginning with God;
3 all things through him did happen, and without him happened not even one thing that hath happened.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men,
5 and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
Our pastor thanked the lector — a young man in his 20s — then turned to the congregation. “We all know logos means ‘word’ in Ancient Greek, right?”
Heads around the sanctuary nodded.
“But did you know it also means rational divine intelligence?” She smiled and gave that a moment to sink in.
“It was used by theologians and philosophers alike, and points to a universal, underlying principle that is eternally valid.”
As she said this, I was immediately reminded of the Tao. Like Logos, the Tao also represents wisdom and rightness, and also the underlying order in the fabric of the universe.
This is how studying world religions helps us understand more about each — we get new insights into our own spiritual tradition by studying others.
It’s like looking over at our classmate’s notes — the teacher gave the same lecture in front of all her students, but none of us have a perfect transcription.
The famous parable of blind men describing an elephant offers a more fitting analogy. We each only have partial data coming in from our life experience. Each of us has an imperfect understanding of even our own circumstances.
We all live in a bubble alongside others who have similar experiences and education. Universal understanding escapes all, with the possible exception of the enlightened ones.
Truth, however, is universal. We’re all trying to describe a very real but ineffable thing when we construct our philosophies, theologies, and worldviews. Our disparate perceptions fuel conflict, mirroring the blind men’s experience.
Rather than defending our turf, our truth, we should be listening to those who differ from us.
By combining their knowledge with ours, we can gather more data and move closer to pinpointing the essence of what we hold in our hands - be it life or the universe. We cannot see it, but it encompasses us.
Blind men’s descriptions of the elephant, while varied and perceptive, fell short of Truth.
Check out the correspondences.
1 Corinthians 8:2: “and if any one doth think to know anything, he hath not yet known anything according as it behoveth [him] to know.”
The Upanishads: "He who thinks he knows, knows not. He who knows he knows not, knows."
Laozi (Lao Tzu): "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name."
St. Augustine: "If you comprehend it, it is not God."
Alan Watts: "You cannot understand life and its mysteries as long as you try to grasp it. Indeed, you cannot grasp it, just as you cannot walk off with a river in a bucket."
Søren Kierkegaard: “The ultimate truth is not something human beings can fully comprehend, for it lies beyond the reach of reason and language."
Albert Einstein: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
However we’ve constructed our worldview, let’s remember to be humble. Whatever we have discovered — it’s only part of the puzzle.
In the end, truth isn’t about winning arguments or proving others wrong—it’s about remaining open— seeking, learning, and growing.
As we piece together glimpses of the divine from our own faith and others, we move closer to understanding this mystery that we share.
A moment to reflect:
How do listening to others’ perspectives—whether from a different faith, philosophy, or walk of life—enrich your own understanding of truth?
What new concepts have you added to your worldview?
Drop your answers in the comments — I’d love to know what you’ve found!
Hello, Enthusiasts! I’m a writer specializing in world religions. With M.Div. in hand, I’ve spent the past couple of decades exploring Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, and Shinto, as well as traditional Incan practice. You can subscribe for a free or paid subscription here.
If you’d enjoy a free five-minute mediation, with a brief reading and a chat, please drop in on my weekly podcast, 5 Minutes of Peace. You’ll be more grounded, calm, cheerful, and back to to your daily schedule in the time it takes to get a cup of coffee.
Speaking of which — if you’re feeling flush, please consider tossing a coin into the tip jar. Many thanks, my friend!
Look me up if you’re on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Threads, or Medium!
Thank you for your reflection. You ask: "How do listening to others’ perspectives—whether from a different faith, philosophy, or walk of life—enrich your own understanding of truth?"
I love that you end your article by bringing everything down to 'humility'. I enjoy the fact that you recognise how, faced with all these 'truths', the traditions people around the world have 'grown' and, more importantly, the mysterious nature of the world and life itself, you call for 'openness', 'enlightenment'. You say: "In the end, truth isn’t about winning arguments or proving others wrong—it’s about remaining open— seeking, learning, and growing."
However (you knew this was coming 😀), there are a couple of things you say that do not personally 'enrich my understanding of truth' as you put it. In fact, they would confuse me if I had not investigated them, lived through them, and thought deeply about them beforehand within the context of other cultures and religions. Here are a couple of things that come to mind:
Your conclusion is this: "As we piece together glimpses of the divine from our own faith and others, we move closer to understanding this mystery that we share." Yet, in your article, you've just quoted 7 different authorities saying not only that such understanding of the divine is impossible, but that stating or thinking we have achieved it reveals our arrogance, our haughtiness, in fact, our ignorance of the truth.
Based on this, I'd say there is a problem with the logical intent of the argument, which, as I see it, originates essentially in trying to equate that which is not, and can never be equal. Equating personal expression with truth is unreliable at best, trying to equate all individual expression under the banner of truth is even more implausible.
Additionally, the statements from these authorities concentrate directly or obliquely on our inability and/or the impossibility of knowing the truth; they tell us what we cannot do. They are negative argumentations (admitedly read out of context), which, in my book, can rarely if ever be used in supporting a positive, actionable concept such as 'truth'.
Which brings me to my next point of reflection. I bear in mind and agree with you also when you say: "In the end, truth isn’t about winning arguments or proving others wrong".
Truth is, and I quote the dictionary: "Conformity to fact or actuality, Reality; actuality., The reality of a situation." If truth has no direct and effective connection to reality, in fact, if truth does not show, embody, or complely fill our reality, it cannot be called truth.
As such, truth is an experience, and the truth of the divine is the experience of the divine. It is tangible and personal, it effects change because it is true or, as your pastor says, "It was used by theologians and philosophers alike, and points to a universal, underlying principle that is eternally valid."
John 1:1-5 is the revelation to humanity of the divine experience, the truth. And truth is unique and universal, not comparable or equivalent to any other so-called 'truth' because it is "a universal, underlying principle that is eternally valid."
John 1:1-5 says God's Word (Logos) is Life, Life is itself Light, and Light maybe comprehended or understood in the Light and not in darkness.
John 1.6-14 explains how Light (Life, the Word and God) are understood by humans, how humans become witnesses to the Light, to God, and how humans, by receiving (by believing in, by having faith in, by witnessing to the truth) the Word made flesh (God with us Immanuel), by witnessing Him (the Lord Jesus), are born (again) as children to God.
So, there are those who recognise the Light - the truth - and those who don't. And these children born again ("born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:13), are in truth with God through Jesus (Light of the world).
Now, there are many ways, as many as there are individual people, to express truth, and Jesus tells us clearly: "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 8.11).
These are those who see the Light in Jesus through His Word (the universal Logos), whose heart have turned away from personal conceptions, philosophies, and the varied expressions (guesses at the mysteriousness of what we experience) of humanity and look into the Light, the Life, into God while on the Way in Jesus Himself. The Logos has said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
True humility lives in witnessing God's Word, God's Life, God's Light, receiving the Holy Spirit, and making the 1st and 2nd commandments efforts (Mark 12:29-31) to remain dependent and subject to Him in truth throughout our lives.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." Genesis 1:1-4
Apologies for my lengthy comment.
You asked, "What new concepts have you added to your worldview?"
I have just decided that I am an apatheist, I don't care about the question of whether there is, or is not, a God (or gods). I am secular, and care about civic values of equality and opportunity. I also respect believers who are charitable and care about the community and the world.
Belief in God is an artificial barrier between secular humanists and believers who respect all neighbours.
You asked.