You Chose It - Akira the Don, Alan Watts

Now, you may say, «I need some help in this process

And therefore, I am going to find someone else to help me.»

It may be a therapist, it may be a clergyman, it may be a guru

It may be any kind of person who teaches a technique of self-improvement

Now, how will you know whether this person is able to teach you?

How can you judge, for example, whether a psychotherapist is effective,

or just a charlatan?

How can you judge

Whethr a guru is himself spiritually wise, or merly a good chatterbox?

Well, of course, you ask your friends, you ask his other students, or patients

And they’re all, of course, enthusiastic

You have to be enthusiastic when you bought something expensive

If you bought an automobile, which turned out to be a lemon

It’s very difficult to admit that it was a lemon, and that you were fooled

And it’s the same when you buy a religion or an expensive operation

But what people do not sufficiently realize is that when you pick an authority,

whether it’s a psychotherapeutic one, or a religious one

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

In other words

That this fellow, or this book, or this system is the right one is your opinion

And how are you competent to judge?

After all, if you’re saying to this other person or other source

«I think you are the authority,»

That’s your opinion, so you cannot really judge whether an authority is a sound

authority unless you yourself are a sound authority

Otherwise, you may just be being fooled

You may say, for example, I believe that the Bible is the word of God

All right, that’s your opinion

I know the Bible says it’s the word of God, but it’s your opinion that the

Bible is not lying

The Church says the Bible is the word of God, but it’s your opinion that the

church is right

You cannot escape from that situation, it’s your opinion

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it

You chose it