Exploring the Philosophy of Douglas Edison Harding: On Having No Head

Nune H.: I picked up this book following recommendation of Sam Harris in his Waking Up app in order to understand better the concept of “headlessness” he refers to.
This turned out to be a unique introduction to Zen written in a simple language making it somewhat more understandable. The book is leaving the reader with the thirst to explore more and dive deep into the concepts the author presents, so I’d definitely recommend this.

United States on May 22, 2023

timeDrapery: Read this text here and now and then do the same thing later on down the road. You will not regret it one bit.

United States on Mar 06, 2023

Alexander HowardAlexander Howard: I've been studying non-duality for a number of years and had yet to have any 'glimpses' of this reality. Having read this book, I can literally see this non-dual reality, albeit rather briefly. If you think the recommended exercises are just an interesting "parlour game", then it may be worthwhile reading up on what it is trying to point to. For example, the classic I Am That (Nisargadhatta Maharaj) is both an excellent starting and ending point (though I've only reached the former). Also, the teachings of Tony Parsons and Jim Newman are a wonderful way to get into the concept. Another reviewer has stated that one experience is not enough; it has to be a lived experience. The material is backed up with stories and quotes from the Zen tradition, which I knew little about. I think it's a wonderful book and thoroughly recommend it.

United Kingdom on Oct 29, 2021

Trevor: I didn't quite "get" what Harding meant by headlessness when I first started reading this book a couple years ago, but with some time and practice (of both the headless and other varieties), I now see that this book puts into very clear, no-nonsense language some of the most important things that a person can discover about their own situation as a conscious being. The clarity is almost unique among the many books on meditation that I have read. I would say that Harding doesn't quite give the more traditional meditation practices the credit they deserve, but the style of meditation he presents is certainly quite potent and deep on its own.

United States on Sep 01, 2021

Vic S: The interesting thing about becoming "awake" is that to others there is nothing special that has occurred within you. People can have an intellectual understanding and yet lack the full scope of understanding that comes with waking up. And so the door is opened for critics.

Harding's work is more than a metaphor. Certainly, the metaphor is apt — we are physically geared to see what is "out there," yet forget to consider who is "in here," as the seer. The idea that we have no head is a pointer back to the source. But in a more literal sense, we do not have a head and the head has us. All of what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste are images, not objectively provable. Even our own image is a falsehood.

For many who have gone the route of self-enquiry and have studied and practiced the teachings of Ramana, Nisargadatta, Krishnamurti, and others of their enlightened ilk, Harding's work is a shortcut to instantaneously knowing this infinite, undefined, unchangeable void that is in the general direction of this human head and yet not contained within it. If you are a materialist you won't get it, and if you're a lofty New Age believer then you may fall for it without...

United States on Oct 02, 2020

MANAS SHETTY: Brilliant book
. Do the exercise he says to truly understand his worlds. Be honest while you are doing it. The headless method is devoid of God and that makes it very appealing to me.

India on Apr 09, 2020

Alex J.: I liked Douglas’ description of God as ‘Self Being Aware’. This book is straight to the point and emphasises how immediate the experience of satori is.

United Kingdom on Mar 09, 2020

Brian Hines: I’d read the original version of this book quite a few years ago, then gave away the book. Recently, though, I heard Sam Harris speak about the book in his Waking Up iPhone app, so I decided to re-buy and re-read it. Here's my review, which is of this second edition of the book that contains a "Bringing the story up to date" section that was written over forty years after Harding wrote the first edition.

My main problem with On Having No Head is the problem that I have with all books about personal spiritual breakthroughs or realizations. In the early days after I turned toward atheism, I was more interested in stories of how someone uncovered the Secret of the Universe. 

Now I’m much more skeptical about these sorts of stories. Why? Because I've got a better understanding of how the human mind works -- the result of both my own experiences with meditation, and a lot of reading about modern neuroscience and psychology. 

Here's a short version of what Harding experienced on a walk in the Himalayas, after he realized that he wasn't seeing his head (excerpt for a part of his nose).

“It took me no time at all to notice that this nothing,...

United States on Nov 05, 2018

Canerrity: Great book! The writing is delightful. Reminds me of C. S. Lewis and Chesterton. Harding has one of the most original and practical approaches to enlightenment I have ever read. It is not really about Zen per say, but is universal in its approach. It is one of the most influential books I have read (and I have read hundreds). I have re-read it again and again.

I also bought the audio book. I do not recommend it solely because it is audible and they only give you a proprietary file format (aax), so they control how you listen, either through itunes or audible. What I purchase I expect to own and to do with as I please. I certainly won't be buying anything through audible again.

Canada on Apr 10, 2017

Thomas: Some of what this chap says can leave some (not me, not yet, anyway) saying "Yeah, I KNOW what you're saying. And so what?" Mr. Harding has had what appears to me to be a real spiritual experience, a true glimpse at the experiential level of what we already know is the case, or rather, what science tells us must be the truth about our inner lives: the self is an illusion, a mere appearance in consciousness, fleeting before our eyes, along with the rest of the contents of our consciousness. There is no magic black box lurking inside of us that makes the decisions, who runs the show, and who we can call "me" or "I". Mr. Harding says he can prove it, too. He has designed this very basic experiments (on his Headless website) which are intended to show you this.

The experience he is trying to engender in others is analogous to what Zen masters work to precipitate in their students, from what I can gather (I have never studied Zen) and seems to be the ultimate goal of the my daily practice of insight meditation. Though Mr. Harding says this epiphany need not come so gradually, it can come in an instant.

What he is saying is really quite astonishing to me, but I find that...

Italy on Oct 27, 2014