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The Way of Zen

Author Alan Watts
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Paperback
$18.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
5.2"W x 8"H x 0.6"D  
On sale Jan 26, 1999 | 256 Pages | 9780375705106
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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This is a new edition of Alan Watts's informative study of Zen Buddhism. Written with a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, The Way of Zen has become a classic in the years since its publication. Of equal interest to the serious student, The Way of Zen delves into the origins and history of Zen and explains its principles and practice with superb clarity. Watts saw Zen as "one of the most precious gifts of Asia to the world," and through his erudition and infectious passion he made that gift marvelously accessible.

PRAISE FOR The Way of Zen:

"This is by far the most comprehensive work on Zen that has yet been written by a Westerner."
--The Listener

"No one has given us such a concise...freshly written introduction to the whole history of this Far Eastern development of Buddhist thought as Alan Watts."
--Joseph Campbell

"Mr. Watts's book is certainly the most explicit and orderly account of Zen Buddhism that has appeared in English."
--New Statesman
© Courtesy of Joan and Anne Watts
The philosopher ALAN WATTS (1915‒1973) is best known for popularizing Zen Buddhism in the United States and Europe. During his lifetime he wrote more than twenty-five books, including the bestsellers The Way of Zen and The Wisdom of Insecurity. Born in England, Watts immigrated to the United States in his twenties. His colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England, to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University, to his experimentation with psychedelic drugs, made him an icon of the 1960s counterculture movement. Millions of followers continue to be enlightened by his teachings through his books, which have been published in twenty-six countries, and his lectures, which are found worldwide on the internet. View titles by Alan Watts
“Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’”
—Los Angeles Times

About

This is a new edition of Alan Watts's informative study of Zen Buddhism. Written with a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, The Way of Zen has become a classic in the years since its publication. Of equal interest to the serious student, The Way of Zen delves into the origins and history of Zen and explains its principles and practice with superb clarity. Watts saw Zen as "one of the most precious gifts of Asia to the world," and through his erudition and infectious passion he made that gift marvelously accessible.

PRAISE FOR The Way of Zen:

"This is by far the most comprehensive work on Zen that has yet been written by a Westerner."
--The Listener

"No one has given us such a concise...freshly written introduction to the whole history of this Far Eastern development of Buddhist thought as Alan Watts."
--Joseph Campbell

"Mr. Watts's book is certainly the most explicit and orderly account of Zen Buddhism that has appeared in English."
--New Statesman

Author

© Courtesy of Joan and Anne Watts
The philosopher ALAN WATTS (1915‒1973) is best known for popularizing Zen Buddhism in the United States and Europe. During his lifetime he wrote more than twenty-five books, including the bestsellers The Way of Zen and The Wisdom of Insecurity. Born in England, Watts immigrated to the United States in his twenties. His colorful and controversial life, from his school days in England, to his priesthood in the Anglican Church as chaplain of Northwestern University, to his experimentation with psychedelic drugs, made him an icon of the 1960s counterculture movement. Millions of followers continue to be enlightened by his teachings through his books, which have been published in twenty-six countries, and his lectures, which are found worldwide on the internet. View titles by Alan Watts

Praise

“Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’”
—Los Angeles Times

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