"To really do nothing, with perfection, is as difficult as doing everything." --Alan Watts Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion presents 12 powerful essays by Alan Watts, the guru for an entire generation of 20th century thinkers, who continue to be relevant and impactful today. Watts was an engaging speaker and an icon of America's Beat and Counterculture movements whose friends included Aldous Huxley, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, John Cage and Joseph Campbell. This book is a valuable reminder of the peace that can be had by looking inward. Watts explores all aspects of Buddhism--from its roots in ancient India to the explosion of interest in Zen and Tibetan Buddhism taught in the West today. The fascinating topics covered in this book include: Finding a Middle Way: How a spiritual path to awakening is formed not just by avoiding extreme indulgence but also extreme denial The Religion of No-Religion: How Buddhism eschews any particular dogma but instead acts as a guide to understanding oneself Buddhism as Dialogue: How Zen teaches us that we are one with the world and so as we learn to navigate it, we must also learn about ourselves Watts also outlines the differences between Buddhism and other religions, and reviews the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. A new foreword by Mark Watts explains his father's life's work and teachings.

Following Alan Watts' acclaimed book on Zen Buddhism The Way of Zen, he tackles the Chinese philosophy of Tao. The Tao is the way of man's cooperation with the natural course of the natural world. Alan Watts takes the reader through the history of Tao and its interpretations by key thinkers such as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching. Watts goes on to demonstrate how the ancient and timeless Chinese wisdom of Tao promotes the idea of following a life lived according to the natural world and goes against our goal-oriented ideas by allowing time to quiet our minds and observe the world rather than imposing ourselves on it. By taking in some of the lessons of Tao, we can change our attitude to the way we live. Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen. Including an introduction to the Chinese culture that is the foundation of the Tao, this is one of Alan Watts' best-loved works.

The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are explores an unrecognised but mighty taboo - our tacit conspiracy to ignore who, or what, we really are. Alan Watts, key thinker of Western Zen Buddhism, explains how to reconsider our relationship with the world.

We are in urgent need of a sense of our own existence, which is in accord with the physical facts and which overcomes our feeling of alienation from the universe. In The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, Alan Watts asks what causes the illusion of the self as a separate ego which confronts a universe of physical objects that are alien to it. Rather, a person's identity binds them to the physical universe, creating a relationship with their environment and other people. The separation of the self and the physical world leads to the misuse of technology and the attempt to violently subjugate man's natural environment, leading to its destruction.

Watts urges against the idea that we are separate from the world. Nowhere is this idea more apparent than in the concept of cultural taboos. The biggest taboo of all is knowing who we really are behind the mask of our self as presented to the world. Through our focus on ourselves and the world as it affects us, we have developed narrowed perception. Alan Watts tells us how to open our eyes and see ourselves not as coming into the world but from it. In understanding the individual's real place in the universe, Watts presents a critique of Western culture and a healing alternative.

In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Out of Your Mind brings readers, for the first time, six of this legendary thinker's most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind. Offering answers to generations of spiritual seekers, Alan Watts is the voice for all who search for an understanding of their identity and role in the world. For those both new and familiar with Watts, this book invites us to delve into his favourite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness: discover art of the "controlled accident" - what happens when you stop taking your life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity. Embrace chaos to discover your deepest purpose. How do we come to believe "the myth of myself" - that we are skin-encapsulated egos separate from the world around us-and how to transcend that illusion? Find the miracle that occurs when we stop taking life so seriously.

Alan Watts, beloved for bringing a child like wonder to the spiritual journey, once wrote a story for children. The Fish Who Found the Sea brings this delightful and wise teaching parable to life for a new generation. Presented with new art from award-winning illustrator Khoa Le, here is a story as timely as it is entertaining - sharing a key message about getting into harmony with the flow of life. In this tale of a tail, kids will meet a fish with a strangely familiar problem - he’s gotten himself so mixed up that he spends all his time chasing himself in circles! Only the Great Sea knows how to help our poor fish get out of the mess he’s created with his own runaway thoughts. Here is a parable that perfectly captures the wit and wisdom that has made Alan Watts a timeless teacher we will never outgrow.

This book addresses the new possibilities that are becoming available in games technology through the development of programmable hardware. It is helpful for students of game technology and established game programmers and developers who want to update their expertise to the new technology.

Investigating changes in upbringing in the North Caucasus, a region notorious for violent conflict, this book explores the lives of the generation born after the dissolution of the USSR who grew up under conditions of turmoil and rapid social change. It avoids the 'traditional' presentation of the North Caucasus as a locus of violence, and instead presents the life of people in the region through the lens of the young generation growing up there. Using focus groups with teachers and students of different ethnic groups, as well as surveys and essays written by children, the book suggests that while the legacy of conflict plays a role in many children's lives, it is by no means the only factor in their upbringing. It explores how conflict has influenced upbringing, and goes on to consider factors such as the revival of religion, the impact of social and economic upheaval, and the shifting balance between school and parents. As well as revealing the dynamic influences on children's upbringing in the region, the book presents recommendations on how to address some of the challenges that arise. The role of government in education is also evaluated, and prospects for the future are considered. The book is useful for students and scholars of Education, Sociology and Central Asian Studies.

In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Perhaps more than any other teacher in the West, this celebrated author, former Anglican priest, and self-described spiritual entertainer was responsible for igniting the passion of countless wisdom seekers to the spiritual and philosophical delights of India, China, and Japan. With Out of Your Mind, you are invited to immerse yourself in six of this legendary thinker's most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind and expand your awareness and appreciation for the great game unfolding all around us. Distilled from Alan Watts's pinnacle lectures, Out of Your Mind brings you an inspiring new resource that captures the true scope of this brilliant teacher in action. For those both new and familiar with Watts, this book invites us to delve into his favorite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness, including: * The art of the "controlled accident"-what happens when you stop taking your life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity * How we come to believe "the myth of myself"-that we are skin-encapsulated egos separate from the world around us-and how to transcend that illusion * Why we must fully embrace chaos and the void to find our deepest purpose * Unconventional and refreshing insights into the deeper principles of Buddhism, Hinduism, Western philosophy, Christianity, and much more

Investigating changes in upbringing in the North Caucasus, a region notorious for violent conflict, this book explores the lives of the generation born after the dissolution of the USSR who grew up under conditions of turmoil and rapid social change. It avoids the traditional presentation of the North Caucasus as a locus of violence, and instead presents the life of people in the region through the lens of the young generation growing up there.

Using focus groups with teachers and students of different ethnic groups, as well as surveys and essays written by children, the book suggests that while the legacy of conflict plays a role in many children s lives, it is by no means the only factor in their upbringing. It explores how conflict has influenced upbringing, and goes on to consider factors such as the revival of religion, the impact of social and economic upheaval, and the shifting balance between school and parents. As well as revealing the dynamic influences on children s upbringing in the region, the book presents recommendations on how to address some of the challenges that arise. The role of government in education is also evaluated, and prospects for the future are considered. The book is useful for students and scholars of Education, Sociology and Central Asian Studies.

In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography -- long out of print and rare until now -- Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution from a child of religious conservatives in rural England to a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. From early in this intellectual life, Watts shows himself to be a philosophical renegade and wide-ranging autodidact who came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humphreys and D. T. Suzuki. Told in a nonlinear style, "In My Own Way" wonderfully combines Watts' own brand of unconventional philosophy and often hilarious accounts of gurus, celebrities, psychedelic drug experiences, and wry observations of Western culture. A charming foreword written by Watts' father sets the tone of this warm, funny, and beautifully written story of a compelling figure who encouraged readers to "follow your own weird" -- something he always did himself, as his remarkable account of his life shows.

In describing the effects of mescaline, Aldous Huxley's 'The Doors of Perception' literally opened a door. Watts walked through it with this classic account of the levels of insight consciousness-changing drugs can facilitate 'when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding'.

This series of essays represents philosopher Alan Watts' thinking on the confounding problems of our relation to our material environment. In it, Watts argues that modern people confuse symbol with reality, as well as ways of describing and measuring the world with the world itself. Thus we put ourselves into the absurd situation of preferring money to wealth and eating the menu instead of the dinner. With our attention locked on numbers, concepts, and technology, we are increasingly unconscious of nature and of our total dependence on air, water, plants, animals, insects, and bacteria.We have hallucinated the notion that the so-called "external" world is a cluster of "objects" separate from ourselves, that we "encounter" it, that we come into it instead of out of it. Consequently, our species is fouling its own nest and is in imminent danger of self-obliteration. In this classic work, a philosopher best known for his writings and teachings about mysticism and Eastern philosophy gets down to the nitty-gritty problems of economics, technology, clothing, cooking, housing, and the rest of the world around us.

Alan Watts's The Spirit of Zen was one of the first books to introduce the basic foundation of Zen Buddhism to English-speaking audiences. This volume still stands as one of the most lucid and concise explanations of the origins and defining principles of Zen, from its beginnings in ancient India and its later transmission to China and Japan, to Watts's revealing portrait of life in a contemporary Japanese Zen monastery. In The Spirit of Zen, Watts describes, in plain language but without robbing the subject of its provocative subtlety, how one can prepare for a life of Zen. He explains the sacrifices and surrenders, the requisite self-control; the baffling set of spiritual exercises known as Koan, which take the form of verbal jigsaw puzzles; the importance of mental discipline; and the need to recognize the futility of mere intellectual haggling -- all necessary steps along the road to Zen. Through text and illustrations, the author examines the tea ceremony, ink-drawing, landscaping, and swordsmanship, all Zen-infused aspects of Japanese life; they give an understanding not only of Zen, but of Eastern culture in general.

A witty attack on the illusion that the self is a separate ego that confronts a universe of alien physical objects.

From the luminary and prophetic Alan Watts, an invitation to embrace pleasure, play, and connection in our ever-evolving world “If you were God,” asked Alan Watts, “what kind of universe would you create? A perfect one free of suffering and drama? Or one filled with surprise and delight?” From the 1950s to the 1970s, Eastern spiritual philosophies sparked in the West profound new ways of perceiving ourselves, the mysteries of reality, and the unfolding destiny of humanity. And through his live gatherings and radio talks, Alan Watts was at the forefront—igniting astonishing insights into who we are and where we're heading. Based on a legendary series of seminars, Just So illuminates three fascinating domains: money versus real wealth, the spirituality of a deeper materialism, and how technology and spirituality are both guiding us to ever greater interconnection in the universe that we find ourselves in. Along the way, readers will explore many other themes, at turns humorous, prescient, and more relevant today than ever. What unfolds is a liberating view of humanity that arises from possibility and the unpredictable—perfect and “just so,” not in spite of its messy imperfections, but because of them.

Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen. Critics agree that this last work stands as a perfect monument to the life and literature of Alan Watts.