Alan Watts is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. He earned the reputation of being one of the most original and unfettered philosophers of the twentieth century. He was the author of more than twenty books, including The Way of Zen, The Wisdom of Insecurity, The Meaning of Happiness, Psychotherapy East and West, The Book, This Is It, The Joyous Cosmology, In My Own Way, and Tao, the Watercourse Way (with Chungliang Al Huang). He died in 1973.
Editors Joan Watts and Anne Watts are Alan Watts's eldest children.
"Altogether revelatory."
-- Maria Popova, Brain Pickings "The writings of Alan Watts, a
prominent 20th-century Western interpreter of East Asian religion
and philosophy, receive a formidable bolstering in this revealing
collection of unpublished letters compiled by two of his daughters.
. . . The first half of the collection is particularly
illuminating: the letters reveal a sharp, delighted mind,
conversing with others in near-paroxysm to synthesize Buddhist
insight with Christian metaphysics and "God-as-Person" theology
(his early emphasis on mystical experience as a dramatic action
hints toward his later intellectual development as a popular guru
of 70s counterculture). Commentary by his daughters gives context
to some crucial details that are otherwise elided by Watts himself,
such as the deterioration of a few of his marriages and his
relationships with literary figures such as Aldous Huxley, Carl
Jung, and Sokei-an Sasaki. This collection is a gold mine of
insights, offering glimpses into a brilliant mind for newcomers and
the acquainted alike."
-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Perhaps the most complete and accurate profile of the man and his
work. . . . Watts's daughters . . . add indispensable context and
insights into Watts's personal and family life. . . . The Collected
Letters adds a new portal to the identity of the man most
responsible for introducing Zen Buddhism and the many strands of
Eastern philosophy to the masses in the West."
-- Foreword (starred review)
"Alan Watts's influence in the USA, which began to really flourish
in the mid-1950s, was remarkable. Alan was so clear and such a good
writer, and so well grounded in the teachings and worldview he
extolled, that he was taken by some as 'easy' and glib. Without
artifice, a truly human life and heart, he was both deep and
accessible, and made no effort to impress. Consequently, he was
impressive, and he lived his life fully and to the end. . . . I
knew Alan over twenty-five years, and he was always a grand and
instructive friend to me. Yet it took some years after his death
before I could see and appreciate the whole. This collection of
letters will entrance and challenge you, and be with you for
decades."
-- Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
"This collection of letters reveals more about Alan Watts than we'd
known before, his faults as well as his many virtues, his
weaknesses as well as his strengths, and turns of his wisdom not to
be found in his books. He called himself a philosophical
entertainer, but he was much more than that. You can learn a lot
about Chinese and Japanese aesthetics from him, about secrets of
language, about the satoris of everyday life. What a life he lived!
Yeats said of Oscar Wilde that he left half of what he had to say
in conversation instead of his written works. I can testify that
Alan, too, left much of his genius unwritten. If Wilde was the
greatest conversationalist of his day, Alan arguably was the
greatest of his. Fortunately, though, he has left us his recordings
and these letters."
-- Michael Murphy, cofounder of Esalen Institute
"Alan Watts once told me, 'In fifty years, nobody will remember
me.' To the contrary, his books, essays, and recorded lectures have
gained in stature in recent decades, and the claim that he simply
popularized Eastern wisdom has been eclipsed by a recognition of
his scholarly insights. I never knew Alan to utter a boring
sentence or write a dull word. This collection of his letters bears
testimony to my impressions. His keen observations, his witty
rejoinders, and his depth of knowledge are reflected in this
incredible collection. Brava to his daughters for their diligence,
and bravo to their father for taking the time to write his circle
of friends and acquaintances!"
-- Stanley Krippner, Phd, coauthor of Personal Mythology
"Alan Watts has touched so many lives, then and now and forever
into the future. The Chinese name I have chosen for him is 'Ai-Lan,
' with two symbols -- 愛蘭 -- depicting 'the love of orchid ' the man
who loves the beauty and the quality of being a highly cultivated
human being. These letters offer us further insights into the Man
with Many Qualities we can admire and emulate. I am forever
grateful to him as my mentor, colleague, and friend."
-- Chungliang Al Huang, founder and president of the Living Tao
Foundation and director of the International Lan Ting Institute
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