Customer Review
- Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2013he takes you on a dazzling tour of the ideas behind zen buddhism from hinduism, original (theravada) buddhism, and general mahayana. then he introduces you to zen and how those concepts developed into zen proper. after that he gives you a great overview of zen and it's concepts and then a bit on practice and finally the arts of zen. it is well written, fun and informative. had me laughing out loud a few times, both his fun writing and the crazy antics of ancient zen masters conveyed through quotes of the old texts. he really seems to understand zen and it's functioning.
everything is perfect but he alludes to some things which are not accurate.
He, at points, implies that zen is about being spontaneous and that's about it. he really lays into it and gives numerous examples about monks and their teachers and how they, more or less, compete to see who can be the most spontaneous. this is where you have to be careful.
in my training in zen and readings of the ancient masters it is about reaching enlightenment. being spontaneous is part of it but it's both a practice to keep the mind in the right state and an effect of achieving such zen states of mind, it is not the goal. the masters, according to watts, praise their students for displaying spontaneity, when in reality they praise only the students whose spontaneity shows an understanding of zen enlightenment. in fact there are numerous stories where a student attempts to fake the spontaneity that shows understanding and the master sees right through it even though the students actions or words were certainly very spontaneous! spontaneity without understanding is no different than any other spontaneous person or idea, what makes it zen is enlightenment!
He also in so many words seems to imply that koan study is simply a release feeling. This implies it is basically pointless. In reality it is supposed to lead to a fantastic vision of non duality in a flash of wisdom called "kensho".
there are also a couple of points where he basically alludes to the idea that zen is taoism with a buddhist coat. this is absolutely true for certain sects and versions of zen, but there are also many that are very much buddhism with only a sprinkling of inevitable taoism (inevitable since it took root in a taoist environment). he is not wrong or anything here, i just wanted to make that clear for people who don't know this because he doesn't really specify which schools are mostly taoist and which are mostly buddhist. he just states spots where there is clear taoist influence and leaves it at that which, if read incorrectly, would imply that the entire thing is as such. zen shouldn't be written off as just a version of taoism, even if it sometimes, in some schools was just that, there are many types that are very much independent from taoism and maintain the spirit of even the older forms of buddhism.
but who knows? maybe i read him wrong? even so, assuming i am wrong, this stands as a warning that it should not be misread in this way as much as a warning that, if he did mean it that way, that one should know that it is incorrect!
So in the end this book is a solid, albeit extremely broad overview on zen but kills its own value by making uninformed assumptions about zen.
Watts was a religion enthusiast. He got into zen, then left zen study to ordain as a christian priest, then later in life studied and wrote much on taoism. He was also very into hinduism and vedanta.
It gives next to zero explanation on the actual practice of zen such as shikantaza or koan study and in the hands of someone uneducated on zen this book could be a serious hindrance.
I recommend "three pillars of zen" by phillip kapleau to actually understand zen in practice. And "the art of just sitting" and "sitting with koans" both compilations of writings by various authors ancient and modern edited by john daido loori to understand the two most common practices in zen.
And since this is a beloved classic, let the angry comments begin!
