Alan Watts's Books

The Collected Letters of Alan Watts

By: Alan Watts

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The Collected Letters of Alan Watts

By: Alan Watts

Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings. The Collected Letters of Alan Watts reveals the remarkable arc of Watts’s colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University to his alternative lifestyle and experimentation with LSD in the heyday of the late sixties. His engaging letters cover a vast range of subject matter, with recipients ranging from High Church clergy to high priests of psychedelics, government officials, publishers, critics, family, and fans. They include C. G. Jung, Henry Miller, Gary Snyder, Aldous Huxley, Reinhold Niebuhr, Timothy Leary, Joseph Campbell, and James Hillman. Watts’s letters were curated by two of his daughters, Joan Watts and Anne Watts, who have added rich, behind-the-scenes biographical commentary. Edited by Joan Watts & Anne Watts

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634

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608686094

ISBN 13

9781608686094

There Is Never Anything but the Present

And Other Inspiring Words of Wisdom

By: Alan Watts

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There Is Never Anything but the Present

And Other Inspiring Words of Wisdom

By: Alan Watts

A giftable collection of inspiring, uplifting, and enlightening words of wisdom from one of the most important voices in spirituality and self-help "The perfect guide for a course correction in life." —Deepak Chopra Here is an indispensibli treasury of uplifting and enlightening quotations for guidance, support, and spiritual sustenance. In his classic works of philosophy, Alan Watts shared timeless wisdom with readers worldwide. In this book are some of his most thought-provoking words to live by, to reflect upon, and to read for inspiration, knowledge, and growth

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129

Publisher

Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

0593316029

ISBN 13

9780593316023

In My Own Way

An Autobiography

By: Alan Watts

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In My Own Way

An Autobiography

By: Alan Watts

In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography — long out of print and rare until now — Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution. A child of religious conservatives in rural England, he went on to become a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. Watts's portrait of himself shows that he was a philosophical renegade from early on in his intellectual life. Self-taught in many areas, he came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humphreys and D. T. Suzuki. Told in a nonlinear style, In My Own Way combines Watts's brand of unconventional philosophy with wry observations on Western culture and often hilarious accounts of gurus, celebrities, and psychedelic drug experiences. A charming foreword by Watts's father sets the tone of this warm, funny, and beautifully written story. Watts encouraged readers to “follow your own weird” — something he always did himself, as this remarkable account of his life shows.

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Page Count

402

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1577319931

ISBN 13

9781577319931

Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

A Mountain Journal

By: Alan Watts

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Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

A Mountain Journal

By: Alan Watts

Over the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ("a spiritual polymatch, the first and possibly greatest" —Deepak Chopra) ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthetics, religion, and metaphysics. Assembled in the form of a “mountain journal,” written during a retreat in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, CA, Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is Watts’s meditation on the art of feeling out and following the watercourse way of nature, known in Chinese as the Tao. Embracing a form of contemplative meditation that allows us to stop analyzing our experiences and start living in to them, the book explores themes such as the natural world, established religion, race relations, karma and reincarnation, astrology and tantric yoga, the nature of ecstasy, and much more.

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225

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

030780786X

ISBN 13

9780307807861

Wandering Nowhere

A Personal Journal for Everyday Inspiration

By: Alan Watts

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Wandering Nowhere

A Personal Journal for Everyday Inspiration

By: Alan Watts

A guided journal for practical wisdom and self-reflection—featuring insightful quotes, sage advice for a life well-lived, and charming illustrations—from acclaimed philosopher Alan Watts. Whether you are familiar with his work or new to it, these inspiring messages will guide you in the mindful practice of journaling. From the quotidian to the profound, these ideas touch on themes such as: Living for the present moment Liberating the mind from patterns of anxiety and self-consciousness The oneness of the material and the spiritual Finding the playfulness of day-to-day life Alan Watts spent a lifetime bringing ancient wisdom and spiritual revelations of Zen Buddhism to Western readers. Having written more than twenty-five books, his work represents a treasury of enlightened personal thought, compassionate disruption of convention, and warm encouragement. In this journal, readers will discover some of Watts’ most salient and pithy philosophical observations, from seeing through arbitrary separations prescribed by language and society to leaving behind assumptions to see things as they truly are: fleeting, yet everlasting—simple, but wondrous.

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257

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Pantheon

Published Date

ISBN 10

0593317513

ISBN 13

9780593317518

The Wisdom of Insecurity

A Message for an Age of Anxiety

By: Alan Watts

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The Wisdom of Insecurity

A Message for an Age of Anxiety

By: Alan Watts

An acclaimed philosopher shows us how—in an age of unprecedented anxiety—we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra). The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it. Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment—the only one we are actually able to inhabit. Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Watts explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making this the kind of book you can return to again and again for comfort and insight in challenging times. “Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’” —Los Angeles Times

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112

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307809862

ISBN 13

9780307809865

The Book

On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

By: Alan Watts

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The Book

On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

By: Alan Watts

A revelatory primer on what it means to be human, from "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (Deepak Chopra)—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.

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169

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0679723005

ISBN 13

9780679723004

Zen & the Beat Way

By: Alan Watts

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Zen & the Beat Way

By: Alan Watts

When Jack Karouac wrote about Zen in Dharma Bums he was echoing the sentiments of the Beat generation, who found in Zen credence for a way of life unencumbered by the limits of "square" society. And it was Alan Watts who first wrote and spoke about Zen and Eastern culture in terms accessible to mainstream Western audiences. Through his popular radio series Way Beyond the West Alan Watts brought listeners a delightful and practical side of Zen, which he prescribed as "a cure for education and culture." By the early sixties his radio programs were renowned for their synthesis of Eastern wisdom and everyday life. Several of these radio talks have been selected and edited by Mark Watts, Alan's oldest son, to introduce a new generation to Zen and the Beat Way. Through this collection we see influences of D.T. Suzuki, C.G. Jung, Gary Snyder and others. Specific chapters discuss Zen influences on traditional Japanese and Chinese arts and explore the celebrated concept of the "controlled accident" within the rich tradition of Zen aesthetics. Also included is "Return to the Forest," an essay that explores the works of Joseph Campbell on the earliest Beat tradition.

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132

Publisher

Tuttle Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1462904661

ISBN 13

9781462904662

Still the Mind

An Introduction to Meditation

By: Alan Watts

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Still the Mind

An Introduction to Meditation

By: Alan Watts

Mark Watts compiled this book from his father's extensive journals and audiotapes of famous lectures he delivered in his later years across the country. In three parts, Alan Watts explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.

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130

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1577313291

ISBN 13

9781577313298

Nature, Man and Woman

By: Alan Watts

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Nature, Man and Woman

By: Alan Watts

From “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West—and an author who ‘had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable’” (Los Angeles Times)—a guide that draws on Chinese Taoism to reexamine humanity’s place in the natural world and the relation between body and spirit. Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas—that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuality entails a seduction—that in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotion, and our loneliness and reluctance to love. Here, Watts fundamentally challenges these assumptions, drawing on the precepts of Taoism to present an alternative vision of man and the universe—one in which the distinctions between self and other, spirit and matter give way to a more holistic way of seeing.

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226

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0679732330

ISBN 13

9780679732334

Become What You Are

By: Alan Watts

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Become What You Are

By: Alan Watts

Discover the path to your authentic self and embrace your true identity with these insightful teachings from celebrated author and spiritual luminary Alan Watts. In this collection, Watts displays the intelligence, playfulness of thought, and simplicity of language that has made him so perennially popular as an interpreter of Eastern thought for Westerners. He draws on a variety of religious traditions and covers topics such as the challenge of seeing one’s life “just as it is,” the Taoist approach to harmonious living, the limits of language in the face of ineffable spiritual truth, and the psychological symbolism of Christian thought. Throughout, he shows how our true self is never to be found anywhere other than this very life and this very moment.

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145

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Shambhala Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

1645472868

ISBN 13

9781645472865

Does It Matter?

Essays on Man s Relation to Materiality

By: Alan W. Watts

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Does It Matter?

Essays on Man s Relation to Materiality

By: Alan W. Watts

This classic series of essays represents Alan Watts's thinking on the astonishing problems caused by our dysfunctional relationship with the material environment. Here, with characteristic wit, a philosopher best known for his writings and teachings about mysticism and Eastern philosophy gets down to the nitty-gritty problems of economics, technology, clothing, cooking, and housing. Watts argues that we confuse symbol with reality, our ways of describing and measuring the world with the world itself, and thus put ourselves into the absurd situation of preferring money to wealth and eating the menu instead of the dinner. With our attention locked on numbers and concepts, we are increasingly unconscious of nature and of our total dependence on air, water, plants, animals, insects, and bacteria. We have hallucinated the notion that the so-called external world is a cluster of objects separate from ourselves, that we encounter it, that we come into it instead of out of it. Originally published in 1972, Does It Matter? foretells the environmental problems that arise from this mistaken mind-set. Not all of Watts's predictions have come to pass, but his unique insights will change the way you look at the world.

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141

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1577318390

ISBN 13

9781577318392

The Way of Zen

By: Alan Watts

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The Way of Zen

By: Alan Watts

In 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 ancient religion. With a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, he delves into the origins and history of Zen to explain what it means for the world today with incredible clarity. Watts saw Zen as “one of the most precious gifts of Asia to the world,” and in The Way of Zen he gives this gift to readers everywhere. “Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’” —Los Angeles Times

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257

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0375705104

ISBN 13

9780375705106

Out of Your Mind

Tricksters, Interdependence and the Cosmic Game of Hide-and-Seek

By: Alan Watts

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Out of Your Mind

Tricksters, Interdependence and the Cosmic Game of Hide-and-Seek

By: Alan Watts

In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Out of Your Mind brings readers, for the first time, six of this legendary thinker's most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind. Offering answers to generations of spiritual seekers, Alan Watts is the voice for all who search for an understanding of their identity and role in the world. For those both new and familiar with Watts, this book invites us to delve into his favourite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness: discover art of the "controlled accident" - what happens when you stop taking your life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity. Embrace chaos to discover your deepest purpose. How do we come to believe "the myth of myself" - that we are skin-encapsulated egos separate from the world around us-and how to transcend that illusion? Find the miracle that occurs when we stop taking life so seriously.

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207

Publisher

Souvenir Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0285644092

ISBN 13

9780285644090

This Is It

and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

By: Alan Watts

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This Is It

and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

By: Alan Watts

Six revolutionary essays from "the perfect guide for a course correction in life, away from materialism and its empty promise" (Deepak Chopra), exploring the relationship between spiritual experience and ordinary life—and the need for them to coexist within each of us. With essays on “cosmic consciousness” (including Alan Watts’ account of his own ventures into this inward realm); the paradoxes of self-consciousness; LSD and consciousness; and the false opposition of spirit and matter, This Is It and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience is a truly mind-opening collection.

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160

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307784320

ISBN 13

9780307784322

This is It

Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

By: Alan W Watts

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This is It

Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

By: Alan W Watts

A spiritual polymath, the first and possibly greatest' Deepak Chopra The spiritual is not to be separated from the material, nor the wonderful from the ordinary This remarkable collection of essays from pioneering Zen scholar Alan Watts offer a challenging and comprehensive insight into 'cosmic consciousness'. From the paradoxes of self-consciousness to psychedelics and the connection of spirit and matter, this is a mind-opening exploration into the relationship between spirituality and ordinary life.

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Page Count

100

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

147359085X

ISBN 13

9781473590854

Alan Watts - In the Academy

Essays and Lectures

By: Alan Watts

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Alan Watts - In the Academy

Essays and Lectures

By: Alan Watts

Explores language and mysticism, Buddhism and Zen, Christianity, comparative religion, psychedelics, and psychology and psychotherapy. To commemorate the 2015 centenary of the birth of Alan Watts (19151973), Peter J. Columbus and Donadrian L. Rice have assembled a much-needed collection of Wattss scholarly essays and lectures. Compiled from professional journals, monographs, scholarly books, conferences, and symposia proceedings, the volume sheds valuable light on the developmental arc of Wattss thinking about language and mysticism, Buddhism and Zen, Christianity, comparative religion, psychedelics, and psychology and psychotherapy. This definitive collection challenges Wattss reputation as a popularizer or philosophical entertainer, revealing his concerns to be much more expansive and transdisciplinary than is suggested by the parochial Zen Buddhist label commonly affixed to his writings. The editors authoritative introduction elucidates contemporary perspectives on Wattss life and work, and supports a bold rethinking of his contributions to psychology, philosophy, and religion. This excellent volume is important in establishing Watts as perhaps the most important Western thinker and writer on Eastern religions and philosophy, as well as comparative religions, of the twentieth century. John W. Traphagan, author of Rethinking Autonomy: A Critique of Principlism in Biomedical Ethics

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392

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SUNY Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1438465556

ISBN 13

9781438465555

Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life

Collected Talks: 1960-1969

By: Alan Watts

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Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life

Collected Talks: 1960-1969

By: Alan Watts

Alan Watts introduced millions of Western readers to Zen and other Eastern philosophies. But he is also recognized as a brilliant commentator on Judeo-Christian traditions, as well as a celebrity philosopher who exemplified the ideas — and lifestyle — of the 1960s counterculture. In this compilation of controversial lectures that Watts delivered at American universities throughout the sixties, he challenges readers to reevaluate Western culture's most hallowed constructs. Watts treads the familiar ground of interpreting Eastern traditions, but he also covers new territory, exploring the counterculture's basis in the ancient tribal and shamanic cultures of Asia, Siberia, and the Americas. In the process, he addresses some of the era's most important questions: What is the nature of reality? How does an individual's relationship to society affect this reality? Filled with Watts's playful, provocative style, the talks show the remarkable scope of a philosopher at his prime, exploring and defining the sixties counterculture as only Alan Watts could.

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258

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New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1577319222

ISBN 13

9781577319221

The Way of Zen

By: Alan W Watts

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The Way of Zen

By: Alan W Watts

The perfect guide for a course correction in life' Deepak Chopra If we open our eyes and see clearly it becomes obvious that there is no other time than this instant An insightful exploration into the origins and history of Zen Buddhism from pioneering Zen scholar Alan Watts. With a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, Watts explores the principles of Zen and how it can revolutionize our daily life.

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254

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Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1473590876

ISBN 13

9781473590878

What Is Tao?

By: Alan Watts

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What Is Tao?

By: Alan Watts

Alan Watts — noted author and respected authority on Far Eastern thought — studied Taoism extensively, and in his final years moved to a quiet cabin in the mountains and dedicated himself almost exclusively to meditating and writing on the Tao. This new book gives us an opportunity to not only understand the concept of the Tao but to experience the Tao as a personal practice of liberation from the limitations imposed by the common beliefs within our culture. The philosophy of the Tao offers a way to understand the value of ourselves as free-willed individuals enfolded within the ever-changing patterns of nature. The path of the Tao is perhaps the most puzzling way of liberation to come to us from the Far East in the last century. It is both practical and esoteric, and it has a surprisingly comfortable quality of thought that is often overlooked by Western readers who never venture beyond the unfamiliar quality of the word Tao (pronounced "dow"). But those who do soon discover a way of understanding and living with the world that has profound implications for us today in so-called modern societies. The word Tao means the Way — in the sense of a path, a way to go — but it also means nature, in the sense of one's true nature, and the nature of the universe. Often described as the philosophy of nature, we find the origins of Taoism in the shamanic world of pre-Dynastic China. Living close to the earth, one sees the wisdom of not interfering, and letting things go their way. It is the wisdom of swimming with the current, splitting wood along the grain, and seeking to understand human nature instead of changing it. Every creature finds it's way according to the laws of nature, and each of us has our own inner path — or Tao.

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New World Library

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ISBN 10

1577318161

ISBN 13

9781577318163

The Fish Who Found the Sea

By: Alan Watts

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The Fish Who Found the Sea

By: Alan Watts

A rediscovered treasure for a new generation: the first and only story for children ever written by Alan Watts. Alan Watts, beloved for bringing a childlike wonder to the spiritual journey, once wrote a story for children. The Fish Who Found the Sea brings this delightful and wise parable to life for a new generation. Presented with new art from award-winning illustrator Khoa Le, here is a story as timely as it is entertaining—sharing a key message about getting into harmony with the flow of life. In this tale of a tail, we meet a fish with a curiously familiar problem—he’s gotten himself so mixed up that he spends all his time chasing himself in circles! Only the Great Sea knows how to help our poor fish get out of the mess he’s created with his own runaway thoughts. Here is a parable that perfectly captures the wit and wisdom that have made Alan Watts a timeless teacher we will never outgrow.

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Sounds True

Published Date

ISBN 10

1683642899

ISBN 13

9781683642893

Talking Zen

By: Alan Watts

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Talking Zen

By: Alan Watts

Insightful and entertaining essays spanning 40 years of lectures by Alan Watts on Zen, Taoism, psychedelics, and comparative philosophy. Alan Watts's essays and talks range widely through psychology, art, religion, and politics, but always come home to the Zen core. For those familiar with Alan Watts’s style of presentation, the wonderful, memorable, and prophetic style of his voice is captured in this volume. Talking Zen puts on display Watts’s ability to explore the very subtle philosophies, those common across traditions and those unique to Zen, in ordinary and accessible language. These lectures paved the way for the rise of Zen in the West.

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209

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Shambhala Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

0834844532

ISBN 13

9780834844537

Beyond Theology

The Art of Godmanship

By: Alan Watts

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Beyond Theology

The Art of Godmanship

By: Alan Watts

A radical reinterpretation of Christianity by one of the twentieth century’s leading philosophers Today, Alan Watts is remembered mainly as an eloquent interpreter of Eastern philosophies such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Not everyone knows that Watts was also a formidable scholar of Christianity who worked as an Episcopal chaplain early in his career. He eventually left the church to find his own spiritual path, but his time there fueled a burst of literary creativity that culminated in Beyond Theology, originally published in 1964 and now back in print. In this landmark work, Watts asks whether a “rigorous, imperious, and invincibly self-righteous” religion such as Christianity can stay relevant in our modern, multicultural world. To answer that question, he deconstructs Christianity by using concepts borrowed from psychology, linguistics, science, and Eastern philosophy. In the process, he solves difficult problems of theology, traces the impact of Christianity on Western culture, and points the way to a new form of nondualistic spirituality. Playing the role of a philosophical jester, Watts artfully deploys paradoxes, riddles, and gently subversive humor to overturn conventional wisdom. His intention is not to hold sacred things up to ridicule but rather to expand our definition of the sacred. The ultimate aim is to help us see beyond the external trappings of religion — beyond ritual, myth, doctrine, and theology itself — to experience the divine within ourselves.

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290

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608688240

ISBN 13

9781608688241

Behold the Spirit

A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion

By: Alan Watts

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Behold the Spirit

A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion

By: 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 times. Drawing on his experiences as a former priest, Watts skillfully explains how the intuition of Eastern religion—Zen Buddhism, in particular—can be incorporated into the doctrines of Western Christianity, offering a timeless argument for the place of mystical religion in today’s world.

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289

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307784339

ISBN 13

9780307784339

The Two Hands of God

The Myths of Polarity

By: Alan Watts

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The Two Hands of God

The Myths of Polarity

By: Alan Watts

The forgotten book on world mythology by Alan Watts Alan Watts is today remembered as a trailblazing interpreter of Eastern philosophy, but The Two Hands of God reveals a different side of his multifaceted genius. In this ambitious work, Watts takes readers on a fascinating journey through the mythology of China, Egypt, India, the Middle East, and medieval Europe. His theme is the human experience of polarity, a condition in which opposing qualities define and complement each other. Light cannot exist without darkness, good cannot exist without evil, and male cannot exist without female. Chinese philosophy expresses this idea of universal polarity with the concepts of yin and yang, while other cultures express it through the symbolic language of myth, literature, and art. Watts illustrates the way great sages and artists across time have seen beyond the apparent duality of the universe to find a deeper unity that transcends and embraces everything.

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330

Publisher

New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608686868

ISBN 13

9781608686865

Psychotherapy East & West

By: Alan Watts

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Psychotherapy East & West

By: Alan Watts

Before he became a counterculture hero, Alan Watts was known as an incisive scholar of Eastern and Western psychology and philosophy. In this 1961 classic, Watts demonstrates his deep understanding of both Western psychotherapy and the Eastern spiritual philosophies of Buddhism, Taoism, Vedanta, and Yoga. He examined the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that questioned the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserted that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self. When psychotherapy merely helps us adjust to social norms, Watts argued, it falls short of true liberation, while Eastern philosophy seeks our natural relation to the cosmos.

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210

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New World Library

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608684571

ISBN 13

9781608684571

Buddhism

The Religion of No-Religion

By: Alan Watts,Mark Watts

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Buddhism

The Religion of No-Religion

By: Alan Watts,Mark Watts

Although Alan Watts' famous voice and happy laughter are missing now, his penetrating vision of Buddhism remains, and his lectures become brilliant prose in book form." --Publishers Weekly Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion presents six powerful essays by Alan Watts, the guru for an entire generation of 20th century thinkers, writers and poets. Watts was an engaging speaker and an icon of America's Beat and Counterculture movements. His friends included Aldous Huxley, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, John Cage and Joseph Campbell. In this book, Watts explores all aspects of Buddhism--from its roots in ancient India to the explosion of interest in Zen and Tibetan Buddhist thought in the West. The fascinating topics covered in this book include: Finding a Middle Way: How a spiritual path to awakening is formed not just by avoiding extreme indulgence but extreme denial as well The Religion of No-Religion: How Buddhism eschews any particular dogma and instead acts as a guide to understanding oneself Buddhism as Dialogue: How Zen teaches us that we are one with the world and so as we learn to navigate the world, we must also learn about ourselves Watts traces the early beginnings of Buddhism, outlines the differences between Buddhism and other religions, and reviews the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion is a valuable reminder of the peace to be found by looking inward.

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130

Publisher

Tuttle Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1462923631

ISBN 13

9781462923632

Tao of Philosophy

By: Alan Watts

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Tao of Philosophy

By: Alan Watts

The Tao of Philosophy is a literary adaptation of talks selected to introduce the new "Love of Wisdom" series by Alan Watts to today's audiences. The following chapters provide rich examples of the way in which the philosophy of the Tao is as contemporary today as it was when it flourished in China thousands of years ago. Perhaps most significantly, these selections offer modern society a clearer understanding of what it will take for a successful reintegration of humans in nature.

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117

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Tuttle Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1462916732

ISBN 13

9781462916733

The Modern Mystic

A New Collection of the Early Writings of Alan Watts

By: Alan Watts

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The Modern Mystic

A New Collection of the Early Writings of Alan Watts

By: Alan Watts

Alan Watts became famous as a guru of the San Francisco counter-culture of the 1960s. Through his highly influential books, lectures and broadcasts, he was a pioneer in the introduction of Eastern Wisdom to Westerners. He played a crucial part in the movement towards New Age holistic consciousness, and showed thousands of people new ways of seeing themselves and the world around them. This collection of Alan Watts' writings between 1934 and 1956 includes rare material from British and American journals, many of which no longer exist. Covering a wide range of subjects - Zen, Jung, Krishnamurti, G.K. Chesterton, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Krishna - this book offers a fascinating insight into the spiritual development of one of the most significant and controversial spiritual teachers of our time."--Publisher's description.

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312

Publisher

Element Books, Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

1852301198

ISBN 13

9781852301194

Book's by Alan Watts

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