The Way of Zen by Alan W. Watts Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Way of Zen
Book Review: An oldie but a goodie
Summary: 4 Stars
This book originally came out back in the fifties, a little before I was born. Mao had not taken China yet so "old" China still had a stong flavor and culture of Taoism and Buddhism. Watts takes us through his impressions of why this China was uniquely qualified to give Zen to the world and how Japan could render it to its present form. While old in style the presentation is timeless. The history and trends that make Zen what it is are laid out for all of us to understand. The second half of the book is particularly helpful for understanding what Zen is. The first half is more or less history. For those who love the art that was inspired by Zen, the last few chapters are wonderful. Taken for what it is, this book has more useful and concise information that most other Zen sources for we western types.Book Review: Didn't like it too much... for now, at least
Summary: 3 Stars
I give this book 3 stars b/c it was well written, and probably a good tome depending on what you are looking for. However, for me, I guess it was just the wrong book at the wrong time. I found it to be way too dry.... dare I say a bit boring, and I thought it sucked some of the fun and the life out of the subject matter. When you spend countless pages trying to logically explain how the universe can be looked at as a unified whole, it's just taking things a bit too far. Now, I guess that since this book is geared toward the logical Western mind, it makes sense to focus on logical arguments, I just felt that this book was overwrought intellectually, without enough consideration paid to the intuitive side of things. I would have rather had a bit more left to the imagination, especially given the subject matter.
At the same time, I recognize that this is meant as an academic work, so I guess it doesn't make sense to expect the tone to be more juicy. And, to be fair, I stopped reading about halfway through, so take my review with a grain of salt. Perhaps one day Ill come back to this book when the time is right for me, but for now I didn't feel like finishing it just for the sake of finishing it.
Book Review: Empty & Marvelous
Summary: 5 Stars
This book consists of two parts. Part I is history and Part 2 contains Zen principles and practice. This book is perfect for any"one" who is interested in Zen but is not quite sure they want to buy a Zen book that is 1000 pages long. This book is highly condensed and very easy to read and understand. The history of Buddhism is exceptionally well done since the key to understanding Zen is to understand the evolution of Buddhism. The key to understanding Chinese culture as well as their language is to understand the "I Ching" or mental power and "The Tao" or intuition/suchness/naturalness. The Tao is the opposite of "Confucianism" or logic.
Buddha "the enlightened one" History covers the spread and evolution of this "thought system" from India to China to Japan.
Early "Indian" Buddhism is a lengthy path to non-duality and can take many lives.
Zen Buddhism is the direct path and can be "experienced" now; which is why it is so difficult for westerners to understand what Zen is. Ask a Zen Master a question and the answer will not make sense. The Zen Master points to the non dual answer which can seem like madness to us who dwell in the Hell of a dual world.
A Zen Buddhist Master sees no contrast, no division, no symbols, no past and no future. The Zen Buddha only sees the NOW since everything else is an illusion. The Zen Buddha generates no karma......no bad karma AND no Good karma.......no inner world and no outer world. The Zen Buddha has balanced the mind. Once the mind is balanced, Reality is experienced. From the source of this eastern thought system, every"thing" is experienced as ONE. One Mind.
Any attempt to "grasp" the Mind is an attempt to "cling" to the ego and is doomed to frustration.
From the Lankavatara Sutra: For the Mind "is beyond all philosophical views, is apart from discrimination, it is not attainable, nor is it ever born: I say there is nothing but Mind. it is not existence and non-existence; it is indeed beyond existence and non-existence...Out of Mind spring innumerable things, conditioned by discrimination (i.e., classification) and habit energy; these things people accept as the external world.... What appears to be external does not exist in reality; it is Mind that is seen in multiplicity; the body, property and abode-all these, I say, are nothing but Mind."
While my goal in reading this book was to learn what is Zen. While this book contains no Zen or Buddha exercises, I did experience a glimpse of reality. While reading about the pure non-dualistic thought system of "The Tao", I was for a brief moment able to reach the state of non-dualistic reality and did not mediate to achieve it. It happened spontaneously. The best "I" can describe in words is that it was like looking out of a window for the first time.
From the Zen Master Lien-teng Hui-yao, "Only when you have no thing in your mind and no mind in things are you vacant and spiritual, empty and marvelous."
Book Review: Engaging
Summary: 4 Stars
Not only is this a great introduction into Zen (and larger philosophical problems), but also a competent critique of contemporary Zen Buddhism in Japan (of course by contemporary, I mean circa 1957). This work presents Zen as a specific historical hybrid of two similar cultural trajectories (Buddhism and Taoism). It is scholarly (including Chinese notes of the specific technical words/ideas and important passages and quotes) which allows Watts to be both an advocate for and a critic of this system of thought - at once shows the usefulness and also the contradictions inherent in Zen as a system or practice. It is never about finding a "new" system but about learning how to see one's own system as a construct that smooths over the randomness with the semblance of coherent consistency.Book Review: Explaining The Unexplainable
Summary: 5 Stars
Explaining Zen to a Western monotheistic and Christian audience is no easy task but Alan Watts did one hell of a job! I've read and re-read this masterpeice of a book many times! Don't be fooled by commercial ripoff titles such as "The Zen Of Career Advancement" or "Get Rich Through Meditation". Zen is not about self-improvement and there is nothing to be gained by reading this book. I speak only for my own experiences but studying Zen Buddhism is really a journey of self exploration. Finding yourself through Zen Buddhist Practices is really understanding yourself before you were disciplined, educated, scolded and civilized. You don't need to join a monastery. Mahayana Buddhism is really about becoming enlightened while living in the real world. If you're interested in starting such a journey or are just curious about Zen there is no better place to start than "The Way Of Zen".