Alan Watts Popular Books
Alan Watts Biography & Facts
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience. Watts gained a following while working as a volunteer programmer at the KPFA radio station in Berkeley. He wrote more than 25 books and articles on religion and philosophy, introducing the emerging hippie counter culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first best selling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), he argued that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy. He considered Nature, Man and Woman (1958) to be, "from a literary point of view—the best book I have ever written". He also explored human consciousness and psychedelics in works such as "The New Alchemy" (1958) and The Joyous Cosmology (1962). His lectures found posthumous popularity through regular broadcasts on public radio, especially in California and New York, and more recently on the internet, on sites and apps such as YouTube and Spotify. The bulk of his recorded audio talks were recorded during the 1960s and early 1970s. Early years Watts was born to middle-class parents in the village of Chislehurst, Kent (now south-east London), on 6 January 1915, living at Rowan Tree Cottage, 3 (now 5) Holbrook Lane. Watts's father, Laurence Wilson Watts, was a representative for the London office of the Michelin tyre company. His mother, Emily Mary Watts (née Buchan), was a housewife whose father had been a missionary. With modest financial means, they chose to live in pastoral surroundings, and Watts, an only child, grew up playing at Brookside, learning the names of wild flowers and butterflies. Probably because of the influence of his mother's religious family the Buchans, an interest in "ultimate things" seeped in. It mixed with Watts's own interests in storybook fables and romantic tales of the mysterious Far East. He attended The King's School Canterbury where he was a contemporary and friend of Patrick Leigh Fermor. Watts also later wrote of a mystical dream he experienced while ill with a fever as a child. During this time he was influenced by Far Eastern landscape paintings and embroideries that had been given to his mother by missionaries returning from China. The few Chinese paintings Watts was able to see in England riveted him, and he wrote "I was aesthetically fascinated with a certain clarity, transparency, and spaciousness in Chinese and Japanese art. It seemed to float..." These works of art emphasised the participatory relationship of people in nature, a theme that stood fast throughout his life and one that he often wrote about. (See, for instance, the last chapter in The Way of Zen.) Buddhism By his own assessment, Watts was imaginative, headstrong, and talkative. He was sent to boarding schools (which included both academic and religious training of the "Muscular Christian" sort) from early years. Of this religious training, he remarked "Throughout my schooling, my religious indoctrination was grim and maudlin." Watts spent several holidays in France in his teen years, accompanied by Francis Croshaw, a wealthy Epicurean with strong interests in both Buddhism and exotic, little-known aspects of European culture. It was not long afterward that Watts felt forced to decide between the Anglican Christianity he had been exposed to and the Buddhism he had read about in various libraries, including Croshaw's. He chose Buddhism, and sought membership in the London Buddhist Lodge, which was then run by the barrister and QC Christmas Humphreys (who later became a judge at the Old Bailey). Watts became the organization's secretary at 16 (1931). The young Watts explored several styles of meditation during these years. Education Upon winning a scholarship to the oldest boarding school in the country, Watts attended The King's School, Canterbury, in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral. Though he was frequently at the top of his classes scholastically and was given responsibilities at school, he botched an opportunity for a scholarship to Oxford by styling a crucial examination essay in a way that was read as "presumptuous and capricious". When he left King's, Watts worked in a printing house and later a bank. He spent his spare time involved with the Buddhist Lodge and also under the tutelage of a "rascal guru" named Dimitrije Mitrinović. (Mitrinović was himself influenced by Peter Demianovich Ouspensky, G. I. Gurdjieff, and the varied psychoanalytical schools of Freud, Jung and Adler.) Watts also read widely in philosophy, history, psychology, psychiatry, and Eastern wisdom. By his own reckoning, and also by that of his biographer Monica Furlong, Watts was primarily an autodidact. His involvement with the Buddhist Lodge in London afforded Watts a considerable number of opportunities for personal growth. Through Humphreys, he contacted eminent spiritual authors, e.g. the artist, scholar, and mystic Nicholas Roerich, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and prominent theosophists like Alice Bailey. In 1936, aged 21, he attended the World Congress of Faiths at the University of London, where he met the esteemed scholar of Zen Buddhism, D. T. Suzuki, who was there presenting a paper. Beyond attending discussions, Watts studied the available scholarly literature, learning the fundamental concepts and terminology of Indian and East Asian philosophy. Influences and first publication Watts's fascination with the Zen (Ch'an) tradition—beginning during the 1930s—developed because that tradition embodied the spiritual, interwoven with the practical, as exemplified in the subtitle of his Spirit of Zen: A Way of Life, Work, and Art in the Far East. "Work", "life", and "art" were not demoted due to a spiritual focus. In his writing, he referred to it as "the great Ch'an (emerging as Zen in Japan) synthesis of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism after AD 700 in China." Watts published his first book, The Spirit of Zen, in 1936. Two decades later, in The Way of Zen he disparaged The Spirit of Zen as a "popularisation of Suzuki's earlier works, and besides being very unscholarly it is in many respects out of date and misleading." Watts married Eleanor Everett, whose mother Ruth Fuller Everett was involved with a traditional Zen Buddhist circle in New York. Ruth Fuller later married the Zen master (or "roshi"), Sokei-an Sasaki, who served as a sort of model and mentor to Watts, though he chose not to enter into a formal Zen training relationship with Sasaki. During these years, according to his later writings, Watts had another mystical experience while on a walk with his wife. In 1938 they left England to live in the United States. Watts became a United States citizen in 1943. Christian priest and afterwards Watts left formal Zen training in New York because the method of the teacher did not suit him. He was not ordained as a Zen monk, but he felt a ne.... Discover the Alan Watts popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Alan Watts books.
Best Seller Alan Watts Books of 2024
-
The Wisdom of Insecurity
Alan Watts & Deepak ChopraAn acclaimed philosopher shows us howin an age of unprecedented anxietywe can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect gu...
-
Essays in Idleness
Meredith McKinney, none Kenko & Kamo no ChomeiThese two works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different worldview. In the short memoir Hôjôki, Chômei recounts his decisi...
-
Philosophy and Social Hope
Richard RortyRichard Rorty is one of the most provocative figures in recent philosophical, literary and cultural debate. This collection brings together those of his writings aimed at a wider a...
-
Behold the Spirit
Alan Watts"The perfect guide for a course correction in life" (Deepak Chopra) that teaches us how to enjoy a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the spiritual in our present troubled t...
-
Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown
Alan WattsOver the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ("a spiritual polymatch, the first and possibly greatest" Deepak Chopra) ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthet...
-
64 Geeks
Chas Newkey-BurdenWe wouldn't have Bluetooth or WiFi today without the ingenuity of an actress once described as "the most beautiful woman in the world."And we might have had mobile messaging as ear...
-
The Book
Alan WattsA revelatory primer on what it means to be human and a mindopening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence, by “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disci...
-
The Greatest Secret
Rhonda ByrneNew York Times BestsellerFrom Rhonda Byrne, the author of the worldwide phenomenon The Secret, comes The Greatest Secreta longawaited major new work that offers revelatio...
-
The Complete Poems
John Milton & John LeonardJohn Milton was a master of almost every type of verse, from the classical to the religious and from the lyrical to the epic. His early poems include the devotional 'On the Mornin...
-
Become What You Are
Alan W. WattsThe prominent Zen Buddhist scholar and author of The Wisdom of Insecurity draws on Taoism, Christianity, and other world religions to explore the dilemma of seeking your true self ...
-
Be As You Are
Sri Ramana Maharshi'Our own Selfrealization is the greatest service we can render the world'The simple but powerful teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, one of India's most revered spiritual masters, co...
-
The Athenian Constitution
Aristotle & Peter RhodesProbably written by a student of Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution is both a history and an analysis of Athens' political machinery between the seventh and fourth centuries BC, ...
-
Poetry and Zen
R. H. BlythNever before published letters and uncollected short writings of R. H. Blyth, champion of Zen and the person who brought haiku to the world.Poetry and Zen assembles a remarkable li...
-
There Is Never Anything but the Present
Alan WattsA giftable collection of inspiring, uplifting, and enlightening words of wisdom from one of the most important voices in spirituality and selfhelp"The perfect guide for a course co...
-
Perfect
Emily HalbanEmily Halban developed anorexia in her final year at school. She went on to university at Oxford where her disease took on a powerful dimension and by her final year she was so deb...
-
The Little Book Of Philosophy
André Comte-Sponville & Frank WynneIn this remarkable little book, Andre ComteSponville introduces the reader to the western philosophical tradition in a series of sparkling chapters on the 'big questions'. In doing...
-
Urne-Burial
Thomas BrowneThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They ...
-
The Collected Letters of Alan Watts
Alan Watts, Joan Watts & Anne WattsPhilosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are fin...
-
The Way of Zen
Alan WattsIn his definitive introduction to Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts ("the perfect guide for a course correction in life" Deepak Chopra), explains the principles and practices of this a...
-
Selected Writings
Meister EckhartComposed during a critical time in the evolution of European intellectual life, the works of Meister Eckhart (c. 12601327) are some of the most powerful medieval attempts to achiev...
-
Poems
Li Po & Tu FuLi Po (AD 70162) and Tu Fu (AD 71270) were devoted friends who are traditionally considered to be among China's greatest poets. Li Po, a legendary carouser, was an itinerant poet w...
-
The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose
Oscar WildeSelection includes The Portrait of Mr W.H., Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray, reviews, and the writings from 'Intentions' (1891): 'The Decay of Lying, 'Pen, Pencil, Poison', and 'The...
-
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Matsuo Basho & Nobuyuki Yuasa'It was with aweThat I beheldFresh leaves, green leaves,Bright in the sun'When the Japanese haiku master Basho composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North, he was an ardent student ...
-
The Alan Watts Essentials
Alan WattsAn invaluable guide on the journey to wisdom and selfunderstanding Alan Watts remains one of the great interpreters of Eastern wisdom for Westerners, making it accessible for all r...
-
In Plain Sight
Ross CoulthartAn awardwinning journalist investigates a story largely ignored by mainstream media but right there, in front of our eyes ...Are we not alone? The moment we have an answer might ha...
-
A Nietzsche Reader
Friedrich Nietzsche & R. J. HollingdaleThe literary career of Friedrich Nietzsche (18441900) spanned less than twenty years, but no area of intellectual inquiry was left untouched by his iconoclastic genius. The philoso...
-
The Book of Chuang Tzu
Chuang Tzu & Martin PalmerThe Book of Chuang Tzu draws together the stories, tales, jokes and anecdotes that have gathered around the figure of Chuang Tzu. One of the great founders of Taoism, Chaung Tzu li...
-
The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus & J. CohenNo gamble in history has been more momentous than the landfall of Columbus's ship the Santa Maria in the Americas in 1492 an event that paved the way for the conquest of a 'New Wo...
-
Buddhism the Religion of No-Religion
Alan WattsThe widespread influence of Buddhism is due in part to the skill with which a way of liberation was refined by it's teachers and became accessible to people of diverse cultures. In...
-
An Awakened Life
Christopher TitmussIn an awakened life, our hearts are open, steady and purposeful. Most people today have a greater income, as well as more goods and labour saving devices, than any other generatio...
-
Melmoth the Wanderer
Charles Maturin & Victor SageCreated by an Irish clergyman, Melmoth is one of the most fiendish characters in literature. In a satanic bargain, Melmoth exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tort...
-
Nature, Man and Woman
Alan WattsFrom “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary Westand an author who ‘had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable’” (Los Angeles Ti...
-
The Nature of the Gods
CiceroTowards the end of his life, Cicero turned away from his oratorical and political career and looked instead to matters of philosophy and religion. The dialogue The Nature of the Go...
-
Happy Moments
Meik Wiking'Meik's new book will change the way you think' Dr Rangan ChatterjeeFrom the same author that brought us The Little Book of Hygge, this book reveals the secret to filling your life...
-
The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse
Geoffrey Bownas & Anthony ThwaitePoetry remains a living part of the culture of Japan today. The clichés of everyday speech are often to be traced to famous ancient poems, and the traditional forms of poetry are w...
-
Timaeus and Critias
Plato & Desmond LeeTimaeus and Critias is a Socratic dialogue in two parts. A response to an account of an ideal state told by Socrates, it begins with Timaeus’s theoretical exposition of the cosmos ...
-
Japanese No Dramas
Royall TylerJapanese nõ theatre or the drama of 'perfected art' flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries largely through the genius of the dramatist Zeami. An intricate fusion of m...
-
The Rig Veda
Wendy DonigerThe earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any IndoEuropean language, the Rig Veda (c. 1200900 BC) is...
-
Discourses and Selected Writings
Epictetus & Robert DobbinContains The Discourses/Fragments/Enchiridion'I must die. But must I die bawling?'Epictetus, a Greek Stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in Nicopolis in the ear...
-
The Penguin Handbook of Ancient Religions
Professor John Hinnells & Various contributorsThis overview of the religious customs of ancient cultures boasts an international selection of contributors, all of whom are leading scholars in their field. The cultural practice...
-
The Dhammapada
Juan MascaroThe Dhammapada is a collection of aphorisms that illustrate the moral teachings of Buddha the spiritual path to the supreme Truth. Probably compiled in the third century BCE, the ...
-
The Sickness Unto Death
Søren Kierkegaard & Alastair HannayOne of the most remarkable philosophical works of the nineteenth century, The Sickness Unto Death is also famed for the depth and acuity of its modern psychological insights. Writi...