Essential Alan Watts

by Alan W. Watts

Book Overview

Alan Watts crystallizes his basic philosophies in the last original work...a timeless heritage of simplicity, beauty and wisdom. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890874034
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Celestial Arts
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Content is Excellent, But Title is Misleading

This book focuses on a couple of main themes: the idea of “self” and what that really means; and an exploration into the concepts of god and the cosmos. This book is comprised of lectures Watts gave in 1972. It is great reading, but at 66 pages, it hardly constitutes what I would call the “essential “ Alan Watts.

The Essential Alan Watts

From book's back cover: "For more than twenty years [circa 1977] Alan Watts earned a reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of Eastern philosophies to the West. Beginning at the age of 20, when he wrote The Spirit of Zen, he developed an audience of millions who were enriched by his book, tape recordings, radio, television, and public lectures. Just before his death he completed the project most dear to his heart. In the secluded and relaxed atmosphere aboard his ferryboat SS Vallejo and at his mountain retreat in Druid Heights he recorded the basic tenets of his philosophy. Revised by his son Mark here is the last original work of Alan Watts now combined with several classic pieces previously not available in book form, including the favorites "Work As Play" and "The Trickster Guru." This final volume is an outstanding introduction to Watts for those who do not know him and a valuable legacy for all."

The Essence of Alan Watts, The Year 2000

I have written my review today 4/1/2000. I did not finish my biography review list. I want to make sure that you put me on the biography review list so that people can contact me by my e-mail address. Pease do this for me. Thanks!

The Essence Of Alan Watts, The Year 2000

I already wrote my review; i wanted you to place my name on the WRITER'S REVIEW LIST. I wrote my review, and did the information for the writer's list. BUT, i somehow disconnected myself from you and me before i could enter my writer's review application on my computer. Please enter me on your writer's review list. You have all the information;except, i did not write a biographical paragraph, as was requested. I did correctly send or submit my review of, The Essence of Alan Watts, The Year 2000.

The Essence of Alan Watts, The Year 2000

The content of this book is divided into 10 modes:EGO,GOD,Meditation,Incense,Nothingness,Death,Time,The Nature Of Man,The Cosmic Drama,Philosophical Fantasies. The basic content is that you do not exist as EGO; you are "free" to be a organism/environment,thus releasing you, so to speak, from being "trapped" inside your body as though you were a prisoner. The EGO content, in my opinion, equates to 90% of all of the book. Next, the content, GOD: we can know GOD most profoundly, the most "truly", in not knowing an "image" of GOD, or in not knowing GOD. For WATTS, not knowing GOD, equates to FAITH in the obvious "existence" of GOD. Meditation is to get in touch with yourself through "reality," by closing out all of your active "thoughts." Bottom line: you exist as "reality." FINAL thoughts:Incense connects a person's sense of smell with all of the universe. Nothingness is the "what" that allows something to happen. It is background, and will always be seen as "structure." Death, you are already "dead;" however, you will HAPPEN again. Time is breaking the habit of thinking about yourself in the "past;" and JUMP starting yourself into the "always" now. The Nature of Man is that he is "unhappy" because of the lack of knowlege between WORK and PLAY. They are the same; man looks at them as separate,thus going crazy or almost insane. We ned to get our heads and genitals together/with work and play together: so that we create life as a pleasure or "unified" one. The Cosmic Drama is GOD playing all the acts of the "play" earth. GOD is us; meaning no victims. All horrible "things," pain, human torture,etc. are victimless, because GOD is playing the victims. In the Cosmic Drama we realize that we are GOD. Watts ends with Philosophical Fantasies. Here by three fantasies, Watts ties together the content of the EGO and the final content of the BOOK. (1) Everybody is a constant "reproduction." (2) Every living being thinks it's human:worms,virus,etc. All living beings look at themseles as the center of the universe. (3) How do stars begin? In the third fantasy, Watts unites all of the book. A planet is one star's "way" of becoming another star. A star will in turn explode to form another planet like/earth. All life forms up to the present day on earth, came as a result of the previous star exploding. And where are we today? We are a reproduction of what Watts defined in the chapter of the EGO. Watts says,"if you understand that you are always in the same place, just as every creature thinks it's a human being, and just as every being turns out to be a reproduction, whether it's electronic or biological, then you understand the "nature" of LIFE." And just as planets may be stars' ways of becoming other stars, you're always in the same place. And where is that place? You can ask, if that is so, if the place in which you are now is the place where everything and everybody else really is? However, we pretend there