Customer Reviews

The Way of Zen

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Receiving my first copy of The Way of Zen in 1959 set me on the path of exploring both the literature and the practices of Eastern traditions for the next 47 years. My original copy became so well-worn that I recently had to relegate it to archive status and purchase a new working copy. All these years later, this title still remains for me the classic work for Western understanding of Buddhism.

I am amazed at the proliferation of books on the subject to be currently found on Amazon.com. Separating the wheat from the chaff can be a daunting challenge. Many interpretations of the Dharma, especially by Western authors, often seem to be tainted by naive New Age idealism on the one hand, or dry pedantry on the other. Although Watts was academically disciplined, reading the text with appropriate reflection can be simultaneously an intellectual and experiential endeavor (although not in the "how-to" sense). Watts wisely points out, with ample historical support from past Zen masters, that while so-called techniques for enlightenment may serve as transitional supports along the path, they ultimately lead to dead ends.

The Way of Zen, despite some rather petty criticisms by pedants and literalists over the years, has survived as one of the most lucid expositions of Zen specifically and Buddhism in general. Highly recommended...still.

This can be seen as a significant book in the transmission of the dharma to the Western world, even though, or perhaps especially because, it is written by a Westerner. Consistently admired since its first publication in 1957, and reprinted many times, The Way of Zen is that rarest of books, a popular and academic success. You will not read far before seeing why. Watts's style is reasoned and reasonable, clear and authoritative, but without a hint of affectation. Watts knows what he is talking about and to whom he is speaking. Because of his perspective between two worlds, he is, more than almost any other writer on Zen, able to match the ideas of the East to the mind of the West, and in doing so make the broader outlines of Zen as clear as the polished, dustless mirror.

The book is divided into two parts, "Background and History" and Principles and Practice," each with four chapters. There is a bibliography also divided into two parts, the first referring to original sources and second to general works on Zen in European languages. There are 16 pages of Chinese Notes in calligraphy keyed to the text, and an Index.

"The Way" in the title refers to the "watercourse way" from Taoism, a philosophy to which Zen owes much, as Watts makes clear in the first two chapters, "The Philosophy of the Tao" and "The Origins of Buddhism." The first chapter is one of the best on Taoism that I have ever read, replete with insight and wisdom. Throughout, Watts expresses himself in an infectious style, even in the very scholarly chapters on the history of Buddhism where he traces Zen from its origin in India, through the Buddha under the Po tree, to Ch'an in China, and finally into Japan. Parallels between the unforced, natural way of Taoism and the spontaneity of Zen Buddhism are explored in a most convincing and engaging manner. Along the way we learn a little about Hinduism and Confucianism.

The chapters on the principles and practices of Zen, comprising a goodly portion of the book are nothing short of marvelous, full of wit and sly observations, revealing Watts's thorough knowledge of Zen and his deep appreciation. Here are some examples of Watts at work:

Referring obliquely to the rise of communism (a word he never uses in the book) he writes, "When the throne of the Absolute is left vacant, the relative usurps it..." (p. 11) Perhaps Watts is also indicating why he believes that humanism is not a complete answer.

On the cosmology of the Tao: "...the natural universe works mainly according to the principles of growth...If the universe were made, there would of course be someone who knows <how> it is made..." He adds, "...the Tao does not <know> how it produces the universe..." (pp. 16-17)

"Since opposed principles, or ideologies, are irreconcilable, wars fought over principle will be wars of mutual annihilation. But wars fought for simple greed will be far less destructive, because the aggressor will be careful not to destroy what he is fighting to capture." (pp. 29-30)

"Hindu philosophy has not made the mistake of imagining that one can make an informative, factual, and positive statement about the ultimate reality." (p, 34)

"Buddhism has frequently compared the course of time to the apparent motion of a wave, wherein the actual water only moves up and down, creating the illusion of a <piece> of water moving over the surface. It is a similar illusion that there is a constant <self> moving through successive experiences, constituting a link between them in such a way that the youth becomes the man who becomes the graybeard who becomes the corpse." (p. 123)

In his exploration of koans used by the Rinzai School of Zen, it becomes clear that one of the purposes of the koan is to put doubt into the mind of the young aspirant that he knows anything at all. From that redoubtable position, real learning can begin. I was reminded of a saying attributed to baseball's Earl Weaver, the very successful manager of the Baltimore Orioles in their glory years: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Here is a story from the Ch'uan Teng Lu, told by Watts about "a fascinating encounter between Tao-hsin and the sage Fa-yung, who lived in a lonely temple on Mount Niu-t'ou, and was so holy that the birds used to bring him offerings of flowers. As the two men were talking, a wild animal roared close by, and Tao-hsin jumped. Fa-yung commented, <I see it is still with you!>--referring, of course, to the instinctive <passion> (klesa) of fright. Shortly afterwards, while he was for a moment unobserved, Tao-hsin wrote the Chinese character for <Buddha> on the rock where Fa-yung was accustomed to sit. When Fa-yung returned to sit down again, he saw the sacred name and hesitated to sit. <I see,> said Tao-hsin, <it is still with you!> At this remark Fa-yung was fully awakened...and the birds never brought any more flowers." (pp. 89-90).

While this is an excellent introduction to Zen--and more--for the educated person, it is especially a delight for those of you who have already read a few books on Zen. There is no other book that I know of that goes as deeply into Zen as agreeably as does The Way of Zen.

Generally speaking, Watts doesn't appeal to new-age crystal fairies, channelers, and so forth, and if you prefer your Zen texts all poetical and mysterious, then this book isn't for you; but if you want a treatment of Zen as an important, credible and viable philosophical tradition, then you'll like this book. It's not an easy read, but this is good, solid, hardheaded Watts.

Scan the "Eastern Philosophy" racks at your local bookstore and you'll see the problem--books with titles like "The Tao of Love and Relationships" or "The Zen of Career Advancement." Much of the literature on eastern philosophy written by westerners is distorted as it is re-focused through the prism ("prison," some would argue) of western thought and language. Alan Watts appreciates and addresses these difficulties in The Way of Zen, an excellent introduction to the Zen Buddhism. Watts explores Zen's historical background, tracing it from Buddhism's migration from India to China, where it absorbed elements of Confucian and Taoist thought, to its final development in Japan. The second half of the book describes Zen's underlying principles and its practices, such as the absence of "self" and the futility of purpose. Rich in scholarly detail, yet accessible to the lay reader, The Way of Zen, is remarkable in its lucidity. Watts uses analogies and allusions culled from daily life to illustrate Zen principles and does much to clear up western misconceptions about Zen thought. He also warns of the difficulties many westerners face trying to understand Zen. With the English language's clear separation between the observer and the observed, the action and the actor and its rigid division of time into past, present and future, Zen thought often strikes westerners as mystical or moronic. While Watts may champion Zen, he never stoops to mere cheer-leading. Instead he has produced a highly readable book that explains and de-mystifies Zen.

Watts is a scholar, first and foremost, and a brilliant writer. In this book, you'll learn where Zen came from. It has its origins in India, where Buddhism was created, and then became as fresh as a gust of wind on its way through China and Chinese Taoism. Zen reached its full fruition after it arrived in Japan.

The book is separated into two sections. The first tells the history of Zen. The second describes the practice of Zen. But all the while, Watts opens your mind and you get the real FEEL of Zen. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I can tell you that Watts' way of writing works: It will change the way you look at the world. This book is very much worth reading.

I usually prefer to download lectures by Alan watts rather than read his books, some of
which seemed to just ramble along. I am not really good at critiques, but I really enjoyed
this book. Easy to read. Some concepts are so foreign to my common sense way of
thinking that it sort of turns my thinking inside-out. The idea makes sense. I cannot find
fault with it. But regrettably, my mind snaps back to its usual way of thinking.
For example: We tend to think of our self as an independent being inside of a separate
world. But actually there exists no separate being or outside world. The two are opposite
ends of a spectrum and reality exists only between the two ends. Sort of seems to be the
main point. That who you think you are is a mental construction, sort of a caricature of
itself. your true self is the entire world. One of my favorite sayings is "everywhere is the
center." Everywhere is everything. you are everything. I am everything and so is my
computer. Our minds create symbols to stand for parts of the world and then we start to
think that the world is made of parts. It seems that liberation comes from dying to your
sense of self. from ceasing trying to grasp at life as though it were something "other" that
could be grasped.
I can remember some magical times in my life when instead of me acting in the world, I
let the world take me by the hand and everything just clicked. I find these things
fascinating, but for some reason impossible to share.
There are some Zen stories which I can't seem to make any sense of, and I dunno, maybe
the point is to watch your mind try to make sense of it. I really am running off at the
mouth now. Oh well. Have you ever been in pain and then stopped to think, am I really
feeling constant pain IN THIS MOMENT? And no, you weren't in this particular
moment. It was an idea that you were carrying along perhaps from one moment of pain to
another. in Zen liberation also means liberation from the idea that there exists some
constant unchanging self that some how is carried from one moment to the next to affect
or be affected by the world. There really is no cause and effect. One just follows the other
like spring following winter. And the burning log does not BECOME the ashes, because
like the previous example there is no "stuff" which was the wood and then is the ashes.
First there is wood and then there are ashes.
I guess zen is a method to get you to stop dreaming and wake up.

From the get go, the book was amazing. The first two chapters that talked a lot about differences in Western vs. Eastern thought and language structures were big eye openers. There were a number of profound moments reading the book, such as when he noted contemplating what happens to us after death is like wondering what happens to your fist when you open you hand or what happens to your lap when you stand up. The writing style of the book is highly approachable, I myself a graduate engineering student found it very readible, Watts doesn't try to blow the reader away with his academic prowess but rather keeps it simple and direct, like zen itself.

It is unfortunate in my view that the word Zen gets attached to the most frivolous things. You see books with titles such as "The Zen of Motorcycle Repair" or "The Zen of Making Big Fat Wads of Cash". As Lao Tzu says, "Those who speak do not know; those who know do not speak". With that in mind, it's clear that the modern fad of Zen-everything is not really the way of Zen. Which raises the question - what is the way of Zen? Alan Watts recognises the difficulty in explaining the concept of Zen to the West, and freely admits he's not the world's foremost expert on the subject. However humble he may have been, Watts certainly seems to know what he's talking about. "The Way of Zen" traces the origins of this non-religion/philosophy/ideology from ancient China and India, to its uptake in the rest of Asia (notably Japan). There's even a few chapters on Zen in the Arts, discussing the idea of haiku and how it aspires to be Zen-in-motion. Watts is lucid in his approach, and always takes the time to explain even the most perplexing concepts. Overall if you want to get one step closer to understanding the inscrutable Zen, let Watts enlighten you (pun intended).

So, what is a southern Christian man doing with a book about a Buddhist belief system? Well, I needed some perspective. The Christian teaching that is most familiar to me is that which says, "Do your best. Work hard. Don't quit trying." Only, I took this to the extreme. With new ideas coming into my head at a rapid pace I struggled to write them down and struggled even more to put them into action. I know I should be developing my ideas to be published, drawing the picture I have in my head, or even becoming a more proficient cyclist, but when I don't have the time, I get frustrated. The result? A car spinning its tires. "Why haven't I written that yet? Why haven't I learned to paint? Why haven't I competed in a bike race?!" All of these things are goals that I wanted to complete last week not next year. I knew Zen was a way I could learn to be more passive in my thought processes so I read it.

Zen does not look at life as something to be built like a house or attained like a graduate degree, but rather it looks at life as a flower that grows from a tiny seed. This was what I needed to hear. Instead of running and pursuing things now, I let them happen through my daily practices of writing, sketching, and cycling. Growth, inspiration, and achievement happen over time. I also wanted to read this book with my Christian glasses on. I am now interested in Biblical teachings on growth as it relates to the teachings of Zen.

The prolific Alan Watts explains the origin, growth, development, and philosophy of Buddhism in a readable and interesting way. He explains and describes how the scripts of the Pali Cannon are put into practice and the rational behind it, and other concepts, such at the eight paths i.e.,

One of the major authorities on the subject, he can write for the curious layman, student, and academic at once. Watts has an extensive background in the different forms of Buddhism and this is for anyone with an interest in the philosophy of Hinduism, Taoism, Mahayana, Therevada & Zen Buddhism and other branches. Many books in this field are dry and esoteric, but not "The Way of Zen." It was written some time ago, but is relevant today as it was when it was published.