When it was reissued some twenty-four years later, Watts was asked to revise it, but he declined, saying that it would require a rewriting of the book. It is to be treasured however for those who admire Watts and his unique and highly influential body of work because it was his first published book on Zen Buddhism. The Spirit of Zen, written in the early thirties by Watts when he was still a teenager, is not to be mistaken for his strikingly accomplished The Way of Zen, written some years later.
Basically, it's good to have a solid grounding in some of the roots of these practices in order to appreciate how they developed and to avoid seeing them as bits and pieces separate from a whole.Īnyway, I'm hoping to continue my refamiliarization with Zen and Buddhism more generally (and with Watts's work) this year. It's an interesting path and relevant to a lot of subjects that are becoming popularized in the West, such as mindfulness, the KonMari Method, etc. Lots of examples are used, as well as quotes, which are fitting because Zen isn't something that can really be explained but is rather something that is lived, as Watts described. This book gave a good overview of Zen's origins, how it's influenced Eastern society, and of course its basic philosophy. Having said that, it's been several years since I read those (it's time for a revisit), so this was a good refresher on the subject! I'd previously read The Way of Zen, and Tao: The Watercourse Way and this book fits in very well with those two. He has a way of elucidating any subject he puts forth and Zen is one of them, thankfully. Through text and illustrations, the author examines the tea ceremony, ink-drawing, landscaping, and swordsmanship, all Zen-infused aspects of Japanese life they give an understanding not only of Zen, but of Eastern culture in general.Īlan Watts is always a joy to read.
He explains the sacrifices and surrenders, the requisite self-control the baffling set of spiritual exercises known as Koan, which take the form of verbal jigsaw puzzles the importance of mental discipline and the need to recognize the futility of mere intellectual haggling - all necessary steps along the road to Zen. In The Spirit of Zen, Watts describes, in plain language but without robbing the subject of its provocative subtlety, how one can prepare for a life of Zen. This volume still stands as one of the most lucid and concise explanations of the origins and defining principles of Zen, from its beginnings in ancient India and its later transmission to China and Japan, to Watts’s revealing portrait of life in a contemporary Japanese Zen monastery. Alan Watts’s The Spirit of Zen was one of the first books to introduce the basic foundation of Zen Buddhism to English-speaking audiences.
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