The Spirit of Zen, by Alan Watts
Very early Watts on Zen; somewhat dated, but endearing
(Review posted 29 Jan 2005 20:31:07)

Not everyone is crazy about Alan Watts' popularization of Zen. Some people think he misrepresents it or waters it down, that Watts' Zen is a sort of hippy New Age thing that doesn't reflect the reality of the Asian traditions behind it and the experiences of the real practitioners. On the other hand there are lots of people (including me) who might never have heard of Zen except for Watts and the popularization that he was part of. When I was a kid my Dad had various Watts books lying around the house (along with Reps' "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" and other classics), and I was fascinated by them.

"The Spirit of Zen" is Watt's very first book on Zen (or, I think, anything else). He wrote it in the mid-1930's (a long time ago!) after hearing a lecture by, and later interacting with, D. T. Suzuki, and studying the available academic literature. It's a rather superficial book, without much of the humor and insight that enliven his later works on Zen, and with a certain naive "West bad, East good" feel to it (probably reflecting where Watts was in his life at the time).

This should certainly not be the only, or even the first, book that anyone reads about Zen. But as a bit of history, a snapshot of an early stage in the introduction of Zen to a popular western audience, it's worth the read. (It's also short.) And to anyone who has either a rational or a sentimental fondness for Watts, it's a rather endearing glimpse of the early stages of his understanding.