<p>He shares similarities in philosophy to a Zen/Tao outlook in my opinion, seems to know a bit about both.</p>

<p>i havent heard that he adheres to anything specifically.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-21T04:10:47.593Z
2014-08-21T04:10:47.593Z
A Nonimous
<p>Alan Watts appears to be a renaissance man that is not feeling constrained by any religion or philosophy. You can read general history and maybe get clues to who he was at
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts</a>
here is an excerpt</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a
  British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an
  interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western
  audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938
  and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended
  Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master's
  degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest then left the
  ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty
  of the American Academy of Asian Studies.</p>
  
  <p>Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while
  working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in
  Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects
  important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the
  then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the
  first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West
  (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of
  psychotherapy and not a religion. He also explored human
  consciousness, in the essay "The New Alchemy" (1958), and in the book
  The Joyous Cosmology (1962)."</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not a religion.</strong> </p>

<p>So if this is what he thought, he may have not taken an eastern view of making peace with the eternal within as Buddhism proposes. He may have seen Buddhism as a means to a joyous life. </p>

<p>To me, what I think about Buddhism is inconsequential compared to how I practice Buddhism. Not knowing him personally I would not know if his irreverence was a way past dualities that disguised a heartfelt practice.</p>

<p>It reminds me of the story of the zen master who laughed at 4AM in the morning every morning and awoke the whole sangha. Students would ask him why he was laughing but he would just laugh more. Even approaching his death bed he would not vocalize a reason.</p>

<p>After the master died his students searched through all his papers searching for the reason of his laughter, but no clues. I guess the zen master had the last laugh!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2014-09-09T23:12:31.633Z
2019-03-24T23:15:24.553Z
2019-03-24T23:15:24.553Z
soulsings
<p>I've just <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/2630/157">answered a question</a> referencing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Alan Watts</a>. I'm aware he isn't a straightforward figure though I've always found him provocative and interesting. At one point I though he was a Buddhist having written books such as <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Way_of_Zen.html?id=tmk1XPE31p8C" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Way of Zen</a>. I'm pretty sure that isn't the case now.</p>

<p>So the question is what kind of relationship did Alan Watts have to Buddhism. Was he a practitioner at any point in his life or did he just use the ideas in a kind of heady new age type of mix that he was pushing at the time?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-17T13:01:20.860Z
According to Wiki he was at least in death.
Dawnkeeper
<teachers><beatnik><alan-watts>
Was Alan Watts a Buddhist?
# Was Alan Watts a Buddhist?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-12)

I've just [answered a question](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/2630/157) referencing [Alan Watts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts). I'm aware he isn't a straightforward figure though I've always found him provocative and interesting. At one point I though he was a Buddhist having written books such as [The Way of Zen](http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Way_of_Zen.html?id=tmk1XPE31p8C). I'm pretty sure that isn't the case now.

So the question is what kind of relationship did Alan Watts have to Buddhism. Was he a practitioner at any point in his life or did he just use the ideas in a kind of heady new age type of mix that he was pushing at the time?

**Tags:** teachers, beatnik, alan-watts

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: According to Wiki he was at least in death.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-09-09. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Alan Watts appears to be a renaissance man that is not feeling constrained by any religion or philosophy. You can read general history and maybe get clues to who he was at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts>
here is an excerpt

> "Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a
> British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an
> interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western
> audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938
> and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended
> Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master's
> degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest then left the
> ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty
> of the American Academy of Asian Studies.
>
> Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while
> working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in
> Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects
> important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the
> then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the
> first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West
> (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of
> psychotherapy and not a religion. He also explored human
> consciousness, in the essay "The New Alchemy" (1958), and in the book
> The Joyous Cosmology (1962)."

**Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not a religion.**

So if this is what he thought, he may have not taken an eastern view of making peace with the eternal within as Buddhism proposes. He may have seen Buddhism as a means to a joyous life.

To me, what I think about Buddhism is inconsequential compared to how I practice Buddhism. Not knowing him personally I would not know if his irreverence was a way past dualities that disguised a heartfelt practice.

It reminds me of the story of the zen master who laughed at 4AM in the morning every morning and awoke the whole sangha. Students would ask him why he was laughing but he would just laugh more. Even approaching his death bed he would not vocalize a reason.

After the master died his students searched through all his papers searching for the reason of his laughter, but no clues. I guess the zen master had the last laugh!


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-08-21. Score: 0

He shares similarities in philosophy to a Zen/Tao outlook in my opinion, seems to know a bit about both.

i havent heard that he adheres to anything specifically.


---

