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    The Way of Zen
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    The Way of Zen
    Unavailable
    The Way of Zen
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Way of Zen

    Written by Alan W. Watts

    Narrated by Sean Runnette

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Discover how the understanding and practice of Zen can bring peace and enlightenment into your daily life in this classic work. Narrated by Ralph Blum, this audio program presents readings of carefully chosen selections from Alan Watts's classic bestseller, illuminated by rare recordings of the author personally commenting and elaborating on the key concepts and ideas of his seminal work including:• The history of Zen• The principles and practice of Zen• The tradition of Za-Zen (meditation) and the Koan• The integration of Zen into every aspect of lifeTHE WAY OF ZEN presents an understandable, inspirational, and spiritually rewarding exploration of Zen Buddhism—a way of liberation—that may be one of the most precious gifts of Asia to the world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJan 27, 2015
    ISBN9781427263193
    Unavailable
    The Way of Zen
    Author

    Alan W. Watts

    Alan Watts, who held both a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity, is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. Standing apart, however, from sectarian membership, he earned the reputation of being one of the most original and “unrutted” philosophers of the past century. He was the author of some twenty books on the philosophy and psychology of religion, including The Way of Zen; The Wisdom of Insecurity; Nature, Man and Woman; The Book; Beyond Theology; In My Own Way; and Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown. He died in 1973.

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    Reviews for The Way of Zen

    4.5/5

    32 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book explains Zen in a very simplistic way and covers its evolution as well as different forms. I enjoyed listening to this book
    • 4/5
      The book was a pleasant and formal summary of Alan watts' view on zen. It was also a elaborate history of zen I enjoyed the philosophical aspect though the historical part did not do as much justice for me.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book on Zen and what makes it a unique form of Buddhism. Also great practical advice on how to live life.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The Way of Zen, by Alan W. Watts is a scholarly popularization of Zen Buddhism, written in 1957. It has the bibliography, notes and index of a scholarly book, but the looser style of a book written for real people. In the author's opinion, Zen cannot be understood in a purely literary or scholarly method. The author is, therefore, a participant observer. He attempts to put it within a context understandable by the Western mind, I think he is successful in that attempt.The book is divided into 2 parts. The first part gives us the context for Zen. The background and history includes information on how the Eastern mind-set differs from the Western mind-set and how this informs the study of Zen. He discusses the Chinese tradition of Tao (the Way), Buddhism in general, and how they joined to create Zen. The second part of the book is about Zen principles and practices; empty mind, still body, contemplating koans (sayings), and creating art in stillness.In the beginning, Watts reminds us how much our conventions and mind-sets informs our understanding. When we say the word fist, it is a noun, a thing. It is not a part of our body or an action we have chosen to take. Thus we can ask “what happens to my fist [noun-object] when I open my hand?”(p.5). Because our conventions are different from Asian conventions it is difficult to study Zen using translated Asian texts. We are missing the context. “... so that one who thinks in Chinese has little difficulty in seeing that objects are also events, that our world is a collection of processes rather than entities.” (p.5) It then takes pages of examples, explanations, quotations and analysis to get the feel of Tao and wu-wei. Wu is non or not, wei is action, doing, striving, busyness or grasping. Other concepts from the Tao are also expressed. The next chapters deal with India's religious background, Buddhism, how Buddhism changed when it became accepted in China, and the beginning of Ch'an (China) and Zen (Japan).The book goes gingerly, step-by-step along the path of understanding, yet it never condescends. In Watt's words, the difference between Zen and other meditation traditions of Buddhism is the feeling that “awakening” is quite natural and possible to attain in this lifetime, at any moment. Your regular family life and duties can continue to be fulfilled while you experience the “thunderous silence” of enlightenment.The second part of the book, the principles and practices of Zen are understandable because of the context explained in the first part of the book.I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this old friend for this review.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A very good historical overview of the development of Zen Buddhism. It is not so much a description of beliefs and practices for someone who wishes to practice Zen Buddhism as it is a scholarly description of thos beliefs and practices. So if you are looking for a handbook to Zen, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in the place of Zen in the history of other forms of Buddhism, this is an excellent, readable study.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I'm not a huge Watts fan - too esoteric for me. But this is a great introduction into Eastern Philosophy. I keep rereading this one, just to rermind myself of its profound insights.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Great information. A labor to read. The audio version makes this a little better.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Even though Watts was very early on the Zen bandwagon, he recogized that Americans needed a)a good historical introduction to the subject and b)a way to bring that history into their context. He does both.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      A very difficult book. Alan Watts is clearly convinced that Zen is a great truth and superior in many ways to western thought, but he is not convincing. Much of the problem is tendentiousness. Western thought is said to be limited by mind body dualism, and Zen liberated by using the ""peripheral vision of the mind"" to grasp essential truths about existence. But is western thought limited by the envisioning of a world separate from the self, or emboldened to manipulate that world rather than allowing it to simply exist? The historical summary of thought is confusing, and the repetition of the koans of Zen teaching simply mysterious. Is it really useful to have sitting meditation when monks are beaten to stay awake, or is it, as Watts admits, a response to the constraints of oriental politeness? I plan to revisit this book another time, since the simplicity of the doctrine and its lack of a god-centered view of reality is appealing, but I have not yet been able to separate the sensation of satori from terminal boredom.
    • 3/5
      Watts comes off as a bit of a snob, ironically, but he's very smart, and the book is clear. It's almost as if acquiring knowledge of Zen made him feel superior--a bit un-Zen-like.