IFRAME	https
https	www
www	googletagmanager
googletagmanager	com
com	ns
ns	html
html	id
id	GTM
GTM	MHVZTPR
MHVZTPR	CLOSE
CLOSE	PhilosophySciencePsychologySocietyCulture
PhilosophySciencePsychologySocietyCulture	EssaysVideosAudio
EssaysVideosAudio	Popular
Popular	About
About	DonateNewsletter
DonateNewsletter	Menu
Menu	DonateNewsletter
DonateNewsletter	SIGN
SIGN	IN
IN	Off
Off	beat
beat	Zen
Zen	Aeon
Aeon	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	Half
Half	monk
monk	and
and	half
half	racecourse
racecourse	operator
operator	Illustration
Illustration	by
by	Stephen
Stephen	Collins
Collins	i
i	Off
Off	beat
beat	Zen
Zen	How
How	I
I	found
found	my
my	way
way	out
out	of
of	depression
depression	thanks
thanks	to
to	the
the	writings
writings	of
of	the
the	English
English	priest
priest	who
who	brought
brought	Buddhism
Buddhism	to
to	the
the	West
West	by
by	Tim
Tim	Lott
Lott	BIO
BIO	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	Half
Half	monk
monk	and
and	half
half	racecourse
racecourse	operator
operator	Illustration
Illustration	by
by	Stephen
Stephen	Collins
Collins	Tim
Tim	Lottis
Lottis	the
the	author
author	of
of	The
The	Scent
Scent	of
of	Dried
Dried	Roses
Roses	Penguin
Penguin	Modern
Modern	Classics
Classics	and
and	Under
Under	the
the	Same
Same	Stars
Stars	Simon
Simon	and
and	Schuster
Schuster	Edited
Edited	byLizzie
byLizzie	Kirkwood
Kirkwood	words
words	commentsSave
commentsSave	curio
curio	logo
logo	Listen
Listen	here
here	Brought
Brought	to
to	you
you	by
by	Curio
Curio	an
an	Aeon
Aeon	partner
partner	Listen
Listen	to
to	more
more	Aeon
Aeon	Essays
Essays	here
here	Syndicate
Syndicate	this
this	Essay
Essay	Comments
Comments	Email
Email	Save
Save	Tweet
Tweet	Share
Share	Love
Love	Aeon
Aeon	Support
Support	our
our	work
work	Donate
Donate	Ever
Ever	since
since	I
I	was
was	a
a	child
child	I
I	have
have	been
been	acutely
acutely	sensitive
sensitive	to
to	the
the	idea
idea	in
in	the
the	way
way	that
that	other
other	people
people	seem
seem	to
to	feel
feel	only
only	after
after	bereavement
bereavement	or
or	some
some	shocking
shocking	unexpected
unexpected	event
event	that
that	the
the	human
human	intellect
intellect	is
is	unable
unable	finally
finally	to
to	make
make	sense
sense	of
of	the
the	world
world	everything
everything	is
is	contradiction
contradiction	and
and	paradox
paradox	and
and	no
no	one
one	really
really	knows
knows	much
much	for
for	sure
sure	however
however	loudly
loudly	they
they	profess
profess	to
to	the
the	contrary
contrary	It
It	is
is	an
an	uncomfortable
uncomfortable	mindset
mindset	and
and	as
as	a
a	result
result	I
I	have
have	always
always	felt
felt	the
the	need
need	to
to	build
build	a
a	conceptual
conceptual	box
box	in
in	my
my	mind
mind	big
big	enough
enough	to
to	fit
fit	the
the	world
world	into
into	Most
Most	people
people	seem
seem	to
to	have
have	a
a	talent
talent	for
for	denying
denying	or
or	ignoring
ignoring	life
life	s
s	contradictions
contradictions	as
as	the
the	demands
demands	of
of	work
work	and
and	life
life	take
take	them
them	over
over	Or
Or	they
they	fall
fall	for
for	an
an	ideology
ideology	perhaps
perhaps	religious
religious	or
or	political
political	that
that	appears
appears	to
to	render
render	the
the	world
world	a
a	comprehensible
comprehensible	place
place	I
I	have
have	never
never	been
been	able
able	to
to	support
support	either
either	strategy
strategy	A
A	sense
sense	of
of	encroaching
encroaching	mental
mental	chaos
chaos	was
was	always
always	skulking
skulking	at
at	the
the	edges
edges	of
of	my
my	life
life	Which
Which	is
is	perhaps
perhaps	why
why	I
I	fell
fell	into
into	an
an	acute
acute	depression
depression	at
at	the
the	age
age	of
of	and
and	didn
didn	t
t	recover
recover	for
for	several
several	years
years	The
The	consequence
consequence	of
of	this
this	was
was	my
my	first
first	book
book	a
a	memoir
memoir	called
called	The
The	Scent
Scent	of
of	Dried
Dried	Roses
Roses	While
While	I
I	was
was	researching
researching	it
it	I
I	read
read	the
the	work
work	of
of	the
the	psychologist
psychologist	Dorothy
Dorothy	Rowe
Rowe	a
a	quiet
quiet	almost
almost	secret
secret	follower
follower	of
of	Buddhist
Buddhist	philosophy
philosophy	Secret
Secret	because
because	Rowe
Rowe	knew
knew	what
what	the
the	term
term	Buddhist
Buddhist	implied
implied	to
to	the
the	popular
popular	imagination
imagination	as
as	it
it	did
did	to
to	me
me	magical
magical	thinking
thinking	Tibetan
Tibetan	bell
bell	ringing
ringing	and
and	sticking
sticking	gold
gold	flakes
flakes	on
on	statues
statues	of
of	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	Truth
Truth	is
is	not
not	to
to	be
be	found
found	by
by	picking
picking	everything
everything	to
to	pieces
pieces	like
like	a
a	spoilt
spoilt	child
child	It
It	was
was	through
through	Rowe
Rowe	s
s	writing
writing	that
that	I
I	first
first	came
came	across
across	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	and
and	he
he	sounded
sounded	like
like	an
an	unlikely
unlikely	philosopher
philosopher	His
His	name
name	evoked
evoked	the
the	image
image	of
of	a
a	paper
paper	goods
goods	sales
sales	rep
rep	on
on	a
a	small
small	regional
regional	industrial
industrial	estate
estate	But
But	through
through	Watts
Watts	and
and	his
his	writing
writing	I
I	was
was	exposed
exposed	directly
directly	to
to	the
the	ideas
ideas	of
of	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	I
I	was
was	suspicious
suspicious	at
at	first
first	perceiving
perceiving	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	to
to	be
be	a
a	religion
religion	rather
rather	than
than	a
a	philosophy
philosophy	I
I	wasn
wasn	t
t	interested
interested	in
in	the
the	Four
Four	Noble
Noble	Truths
Truths	or
or	the
the	Eightfold
Eightfold	Path
Path	and
and	I
I	certainly
certainly	didn
didn	t
t	believe
believe	in
in	karma
karma	or
or	reincarnation
reincarnation	All
All	the
the	same
same	I
I	read
read	a
a	couple
couple	of
of	Watts
Watts	s
s	books
books	They
They	made
made	a
a	significant
significant	impact
impact	on
on	me
me	The
The	Meaning
Meaning	of
of	Happiness
Happiness	and
and	The
The	Wisdom
Wisdom	of
of	Insecurity
Insecurity	are
are	striking
striking	primers
primers	to
to	his
his	work
work	and
and	they
they	underlined
underlined	what
what	Rowe
Rowe	was
was	already
already	teaching
teaching	me
me	that
that	life
life	had
had	no
no	intrinsic
intrinsic	meaning
meaning	any
any	more
more	than
than	a
a	piece
piece	of
of	music
music	had
had	an
an	intrinsic
intrinsic	point
point	Life
Life	was
was	in
in	Zen
Zen	parlance
parlance	yugen
yugen	a
a	kind
kind	of
of	elevated
elevated	purposelessness
purposelessness	Watts
Watts	like
like	Rowe
Rowe	showed
showed	me
me	how
how	we
we	construct
construct	our
our	own
own	meanings
meanings	about
about	life
life	That
That	nothing
nothing	is
is	a
a	given
given	and
and	since
since	everything
everything	is
is	uncertain
uncertain	we
we	must
must	put
put	together
together	a
a	world
world	view
view	that
that	might
might	fit
fit	roughly
roughly	with
with	the
the	facts
facts	but
but	is
is	never
never	anything
anything	other
other	than
than	a
a	guess
guess	a
a	working
working	fiction
fiction	This
This	too
too	is
is	a
a	typical
typical	Zen
Zen	understanding
understanding	that
that	life
life	cannot
cannot	be
be	described
described	only
only	experienced
experienced	Trying
Trying	to
to	see
see	all
all	of
of	life
life	is
is	like
like	trying
trying	to
to	explore
explore	a
a	vast
vast	cave
cave	with
with	a
a	box
box	of
of	matches
matches	Impressed
Impressed	though
though	I
I	was
was	I
I	more
more	or
or	less
less	forgot
forgot	about
about	Watts
Watts	after
after	I
I	finished
finished	his
his	books
books	and
and	pursued
pursued	my
my	career
career	as
as	a
a	fiction
fiction	writer
writer	I
I	was
was	weary
weary	of
of	introspection
introspection	Then
Then	years
years	later
later	a
a	bad
bad	spell
spell	in
in	my
my	life
life	propelled
propelled	me
me	back
back	into
into	a
a	chasm
chasm	In
In	three
three	close
close	friends
friends	died
died	in
in	sudden
sudden	succession
succession	One
One	died
died	in
in	front
front	of
of	my
my	eyes
eyes	Another
Another	was
was	murdered
murdered	A
A	third
third	succumbed
succumbed	to
to	cancer
cancer	My
My	depression
depression	and
and	that
that	original
original	sense
sense	of
of	meaninglessness
meaninglessness	resurfaced
resurfaced	I
I	turned
turned	to
to	Watts
Watts	again
again	This
This	time
time	it
it	was
was	as
as	if
if	I
I	was
was	reading
reading	for
for	dear
dear	life
life	No
No	time
time	for
for	received
received	wisdom
wisdom	a
a	young
young	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	L
L	and
and	friends
friends	reading
reading	haiku
haiku	poems
poems	written
written	for
for	a
a	contest
contest	Photo
Photo	by
by	Nat
Nat	Farbman
Farbman	Time
Time	Life
Life	Pictures
Pictures	Getty
Getty	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	had
had	been
been	prolific
prolific	in
in	his
his	years
years	He
He	died
died	in
in	after
after	producing
producing	not
not	only
only	books
books	but
but	also
also	scores
scores	of
of	lectures
lectures	all
all	of
of	which
which	were
were	available
available	online
online	They
They	had
had	intriguing
intriguing	titles
titles	such
such	as
as	On
On	Being
Being	Vague
Vague	Death
Death	Nothingness
Nothingness	and
and	Omnipotence
Omnipotence	I
I	stopped
stopped	writing
writing	novels
novels	and
and	worked
worked	my
my	way
way	through
through	every
every	one
one	of
of	them
them	instead
instead	I
I	found
found	a
a	DVD
DVD	of
of	an
an	animation
animation	of
of	Watts
Watts	by
by	Trey
Trey	Parker
Parker	and
and	Matt
Matt	Stone
Stone	of
of	South
South	Park
Park	fame
fame	I
I	discovered
discovered	that
that	Van
Van	Morrison
Morrison	had
had	written
written	a
a	song
song	about
about	him
him	and
and	that
that	Johnny
Johnny	Depp
Depp	was
was	a
a	follower
follower	But
But	he
he	remained
remained	largely
largely	unknown
unknown	in
in	Britain
Britain	even
even	though
though	he
he	was
was	English
English	albeit
albeit	an
an	expatriate
expatriate	Watts
Watts	was
was	born
born	in
in	in
in	Chislehurst
Chislehurst	Kent
Kent	His
His	father
father	had
had	been
been	a
a	sales
sales	rep
rep	for
for	the
the	Michelin
Michelin	tyre
tyre	company
company	and
and	his
his	mother
mother	was
was	a
a	housewife
housewife	whose
whose	father
father	had
had	been
been	a
a	missionary
missionary	In
In	later
later	life
life	Watts
Watts	wrote
wrote	of
of	mystical
mystical	visions
visions	he
he	d
d	had
had	after
after	suffering
suffering	fever
fever	as
as	a
a	child
child	During
During	school
school	holidays
holidays	while
while	he
he	was
was	a
a	scholar
scholar	at
at	King
King	s
s	School
School	in
in	Cambridge
Cambridge	he
he	went
went	on
on	trips
trips	with
with	the
the	Buddhism
Buddhism	enthusiast
enthusiast	Francis
Francis	Croshaw
Croshaw	who
who	first
first	developed
developed	his
his	interest
interest	in
in	Eastern
Eastern	religion
religion	With
With	penetrating
penetrating	eyes
eyes	like
like	Aleister
Aleister	Crowley
Crowley	s
s	he
he	described
described	himself
himself	as
as	a
a	spiritual
spiritual	entertainer
entertainer	By
By	the
the	age
age	of
of	Watts
Watts	was
was	the
the	secretary
secretary	of
of	the
the	London
London	Buddhist
Buddhist	Lodge
Lodge	which
which	was
was	run
run	by
by	the
the	barrister
barrister	Christmas
Christmas	Humphreys
Humphreys	But
But	Watts
Watts	spoiled
spoiled	his
his	chances
chances	of
of	a
a	scholarship
scholarship	to
to	Oxford
Oxford	because
because	one
one	examination
examination	essay
essay	was
was	judged
judged	presumptuous
presumptuous	and
and	capricious
capricious	And
And	despite
despite	his
his	obviously
obviously	brilliant
brilliant	mind
mind	Watts
Watts	never
never	achieved
achieved	a
a	British
British	university
university	degree
degree	This
This	perhaps
perhaps	is
is	another
another	of
of	his
his	qualities
qualities	that
that	chimes
chimes	with
with	my
my	own
own	spirit
spirit	I
I	too
too	left
left	school
school	with
with	only
only	two
two	A
A	levels
levels	and
and	am
am	like
like	Watts
Watts	an
an	autodidact
autodidact	As
As	a
a	young
young	man
man	Watts
Watts	worked
worked	in
in	a
a	printing
printing	house
house	and
and	then
then	a
a	bank
bank	During
During	this
this	time
time	he
he	hooked
hooked	up
up	with
with	the
the	Serbian
Serbian	rascal
rascal	guru
guru	Dimitrije
Dimitrije	Mitrinović
Mitrinović	a
a	follower
follower	of
of	the
the	Armenian
Armenian	spiritual
spiritual	teacher
teacher	GI
GI	Gurdjieff
Gurdjieff	and
and	the
the	Russian
Russian	esotericist
esotericist	PD
PD	Ouspensky
Ouspensky	who
who	became
became	a
a	major
major	influence
influence	on
on	his
his	thinking
thinking	At
At	the
the	age
age	of
of	in
in	he
he	attended
attended	the
the	World
World	Congress
Congress	of
of	Faiths
Faiths	at
at	the
the	University
University	of
of	London
London	There
There	he
he	heard
heard	the
the	renowned
renowned	Zen
Zen	scholar
scholar	DT
DT	Suzuki
Suzuki	speak
speak	and
and	was
was	introduced
introduced	to
to	him
him	Later
Later	that
that	year
year	Watts
Watts	published
published	his
his	first
first	book
book	The
The	Spirit
Spirit	of
of	Zen
Zen	That
That	same
same	year
year	he
he	met
met	the
the	American
American	heiress
heiress	Eleanor
Eleanor	Everett
Everett	whose
whose	mother
mother	was
was	involved
involved	with
with	a
a	traditional
traditional	Zen
Zen	Buddhist
Buddhist	circle
circle	in
in	New
New	York
York	He
He	married
married	Eleanor
Eleanor	in
in	and
and	they
they	moved
moved	to
to	America
America	where
where	he
he	trained
trained	as
as	an
an	Episcopal
Episcopal	priest
priest	before
before	leaving
leaving	the
the	ministry
ministry	in
in	thus
thus	separating
separating	once
once	and
and	for
for	all
all	from
from	his
his	Christian
Christian	roots
roots	From
From	then
then	on
on	he
he	concentrated
concentrated	on
on	the
the	study
study	and
and	communication
communication	of
of	Eastern
Eastern	philosophical
philosophical	ideas
ideas	to
to	Western
Western	audiences
audiences	I
I	felt
felt	powerfully
powerfully	attracted
attracted	to
to	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	Not
Not	only
only	to
to	his
his	ideas
ideas	but
but	to
to	him
him	personally
personally	Watts
Watts	was
was	no
no	dry
dry	academic
academic	philosopher
philosopher	With
With	eyes
eyes	hooded
hooded	and
and	penetrating
penetrating	like
like	Aleister
Aleister	Crowley
Crowley	s
s	he
he	was
was	a
a	jester
jester	as
as	well
well	as
as	a
a	thinker
thinker	describing
describing	himself
himself	as
as	a
a	spiritual
spiritual	entertainer
entertainer	Aldous
Aldous	Huxley
Huxley	described
described	him
him	as
as	a
a	curious
curious	man
man	Half
Half	monk
monk	and
and	half
half	racecourse
racecourse	operator
operator	Watts
Watts	wholeheartedly
wholeheartedly	agreed
agreed	with
with	Huxley
Huxley	s
s	characterisation
characterisation	He
He	carried
carried	a
a	silver
silver	cane
cane	for
for	pure
pure	swank
swank	he
he	hung
hung	out
out	with
with	Ken
Ken	Kesey
Kesey	and
and	Jack
Jack	Kerouac
Kerouac	he
he	is
is	even
even	parodied
parodied	in
in	On
On	the
the	Road
Road	as
as	Arthur
Arthur	Whale
Whale	His
His	English
English	public
public	school
school	educated
educated	voice
voice	was
was	rich
rich	and
and	deep
deep	like
like	a
a	prophet
prophet	s
s	and
and	his
his	laugh
laugh	juicy
juicy	and
and	contagious
contagious	But
But	it
it	was
was	his
his	thinking
thinking	that
that	most
most	excited
excited	me
me	He
He	was
was	if
if	not
not	the
the	earliest
earliest	then
then	certainly
certainly	the
the	foremost
foremost	translator
translator	of
of	Eastern
Eastern	philosophical
philosophical	ideas
ideas	to
to	the
the	West
West	In
In	some
some	ways
ways	his
his	interpretations
interpretations	were
were	radical
radical	for
for	instance
instance	he
he	dismissed
dismissed	the
the	core
core	Zen
Zen	idea
idea	of
of	zazen
zazen	which
which	meant
meant	spending
spending	hours
hours	seated
seated	in
in	contemplative
contemplative	meditation
meditation	as
as	unnecessary
unnecessary	A
A	cat
cat	sits
sits	until
until	it
it	is
is	tired
tired	of
of	sitting
sitting	then
then	gets
gets	up
up	stretches
stretches	and
and	walks
walks	away
away	was
was	his
his	forgiving
forgiving	interpretation
interpretation	of
of	zazen
zazen	Slightly
Slightly	less
less	forgiving
forgiving	was
was	his
his	comment
comment	on
on	Western
Western	Zen
Zen	enthusiasts
enthusiasts	whom
whom	he
he	mocked
mocked	as
as	The
The	uptight
uptight	school
school	who
who	seem
seem	to
to	believe
believe	that
that	Zen
Zen	is
is	essentially
essentially	sitting
sitting	on
on	your
your	ass
ass	for
for	interminable
interminable	hours
hours	It
It	was
was	a
a	great
great	relief
relief	to
to	read
read	this
this	for
for	someone
someone	like
like	me
me	who
who	found
found	the
the	idea
idea	of
of	excessive
excessive	meditation
meditation	as
as	unhealthy
unhealthy	as
as	the
the	idea
idea	of
of	excessive
excessive	masturbation
masturbation	Watts
Watts	also
also	rejected
rejected	the
the	conventional
conventional	ideas
ideas	of
of	reincarnation
reincarnation	and
and	the
the	popular
popular	understanding
understanding	of
of	karma
karma	as
as	a
a	system
system	of
of	rewards
rewards	and
and	punishments
punishments	carried
carried	out
out	lifetime
lifetime	after
after	lifetime
lifetime	It
It	was
was	this
this	radical
radical	approach
approach	that
that	made
made	his
his	ideas
ideas	so
so	fresh
fresh	he
he	had
had	no
no	time
time	for
for	received
received	wisdom
wisdom	even
even	from
from	those
those	who
who	claimed
claimed	to
to	know
know	Zen
Zen	inside
inside	out
out	The
The	idea
idea	of
of	walking
walking	around
around	with
with	a
a	metaphorical
metaphorical	stick
stick	to
to	whack
whack	yourself
yourself	with
with	is
is	foreign
foreign	to
to	a
a	Zen
Zen	master
master	Many
Many	Zen
Zen	ideas
ideas	have
have	become
become	debased
debased	into
into	new
new	age
age	philosophy
philosophy	basely
basely	transmuted
transmuted	into
into	wishful
wishful	thinking
thinking	quasi
quasi	religious
religious	mumbo
mumbo	jumbo
jumbo	and
and	the
the	narcissistic
narcissistic	fantasies
fantasies	of
of	the
the	me
me	generation
generation	But
But	before
before	the
the	beatniks
beatniks	and
and	the
the	hippies
hippies	got
got	hold
hold	of
of	it
it	Zen
Zen	philosophy
philosophy	as
as	described
described	by
by	Watts
Watts	was
was	hard
hard	edged
edged	practical
practical	logical
logical	and
and	in
in	some
some	ways
ways	oddly
oddly	English
English	in
in	tone
tone	as
as	it
it	had
had	deep
deep	strands
strands	of
of	scepticism
scepticism	and
and	humour
humour	You
You	ll
ll	never
never	see
see	Christian
Christian	saints
saints	laughing
laughing	But
But	most
most	of
of	the
the	great
great	sages
sages	of
of	Zen
Zen	have
have	smiles
smiles	on
on	their
their	faces
faces	as
as	does
does	Buddha
Buddha	Zen
Zen	and
and	Taoism
Taoism	are
are	more
more	akin
akin	to
to	psychotherapy
psychotherapy	than
than	to
to	religion
religion	as
as	Watts
Watts	explained
explained	in
in	his
his	book
book	Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy	East
East	and
and	West
West	They
They	are
are	about
about	finding
finding	a
a	way
way	to
to	maintain
maintain	a
a	healthy
healthy	personality
personality	in
in	a
a	culture
culture	that
that	tends
tends	to
to	tangle
tangle	you
you	up
up	in
in	a
a	lot
lot	of
of	unconscious
unconscious	logical
logical	binds
binds	On
On	the
the	one
one	hand
hand	you
you	are
are	told
told	to
to	be
be	free
free	and
and	on
on	the
the	other
other	that
that	you
you	should
should	follow
follow	the
the	demands
demands	of
of	the
the	community
community	Another
Another	example
example	is
is	the
the	instruction
instruction	that
that	you
you	must
must	be
be	spontaneous
spontaneous	These
These	kinds
kinds	of
of	snags
snags	or
or	double
double	binds
binds	according
according	to
to	Zen
Zen	writings
writings	produce
produce	inner
inner	tension
tension	frustration
frustration	and
and	neurosis
neurosis	what
what	Buddhism
Buddhism	calls
calls	dukkha
dukkha	Watts
Watts	saw
saw	his
his	job
job	via
via	Zen
Zen	philosophy
philosophy	to
to	teach
teach	you
you	to
to	think
think	clearly
clearly	so
so	that
that	you
you	could
could	see
see	through
through	conventional
conventional	thinking
thinking	to
to	a
a	place
place	where
where	your
your	mind
mind	could
could	be
be	at
at	peace
peace	inside
inside	a
a	culture
culture	that
that	could
could	have
have	been
been	designed
designed	to
to	generate
generate	anxiety
anxiety	But
But	although
although	he
he	was
was	an
an	entertaining
entertaining	writer
writer	who
who	presented
presented	his
his	ideas
ideas	with
with	a
a	brilliant
brilliant	clarity
clarity	Watts
Watts	had
had	a
a	difficult
difficult	job
job	on
on	his
his	hands
hands	mainly
mainly	because
because	Zen
Zen	and
and	Taoism
Taoism	are
are	so
so	fundamentally
fundamentally	counter
counter	intuitive
intuitive	to
to	the
the	Western
Western	mind
mind	Western
Western	philosophers
philosophers	and
and	laymen
laymen	find
find	Eastern
Eastern	thinkers
thinkers	frustrating
frustrating	because
because	Buddhist
Buddhist	sages
sages	don
don	t
t	have
have	the
the	same
same	emphasis
emphasis	on
on	the
the	power
power	of
of	language
language	reason
reason	and
and	logic
logic	to
to	transform
transform	the
the	self
self	or
or	to
to	know
know	in
in	the
the	way
way	Westerners
Westerners	think
think	of
of	the
the	word
word	The
The	riddles
riddles	or
or	koans
koans	that
that	Zen
Zen	thinkers
thinkers	speak
speak	in
in	are
are	intended
intended	to
to	trip
trip	you
you	up
up	and
and	make
make	you
you	realise
realise	how
how	inadequate
inadequate	words
words	either
either	spoken
spoken	or
or	inner
inner	dialogue
dialogue	are
are	in
in	making
making	sense
sense	Zen
Zen	emphasises
emphasises	intuition
intuition	and
and	mushin
mushin	that
that	is
is	an
an	empty
empty	mind
mind	over
over	planning
planning	and
and	thought
thought	The
The	ideal
ideal	is
is	that
that	your
your	mind
mind	can
can	be
be	unblocked
unblocked	from
from	maya
maya	which
which	means
means	both
both	illusion
illusion	and
and	play
play	and
and	thus
thus	acquire
acquire	a
a	kind
kind	of
of	resonance
resonance	or
or	instant
instant	reflection
reflection	or
or	munen
munen	which
which	translates
translates	awkwardly
awkwardly	as
as	now
now	mind
mind	heart
heart	This
This	makes
makes	it
it	alien
alien	to
to	Western
Western	philosophical
philosophical	traditions
traditions	which
which	tend
tend	to
to	distrust
distrust	spontaneity
spontaneity	since
since	it
it	supposedly
supposedly	clears
clears	the
the	way
way	for
for	the
the	dominance
dominance	of
of	brute
brute	animal
animal	instincts
instincts	and
and	dangerous
dangerous	passions
passions	But
But	the
the	idea
idea	of
of	walking
walking	around
around	with
with	a
a	metaphorical
metaphorical	big
big	stick
stick	with
with	which
which	to
to	whack
whack	yourself
yourself	if
if	you
you	make
make	a
a	mistake
mistake	or
or	get
get	carried
carried	away
away	by
by	your
your	emotions
emotions	is
is	foreign
foreign	to
to	a
a	Zen
Zen	master
master	Zen
Zen	after
after	all
all	was
was	used
used	by
by	the
the	Samurai
Samurai	warriors
warriors	who
who	had
had	to
to	strike
strike	immediately
immediately	without
without	reflection
reflection	or
or	die
die	Intuition
Intuition	in
in	a
a	healthy
healthy	soul
soul	is
is	more
more	important
important	than
than	conscious
conscious	reflection
reflection	Millions
Millions	of
of	years
years	of
of	evolution
evolution	have
have	made
made	the
the	human
human	unconscious
unconscious	wise
wise	not
not	reckless
reckless	You
You	can
can	find
find	similar
similar	ideas
ideas	in
in	modern
modern	books
books	such
such	as
as	Blink
Blink	by
by	Malcolm
Malcolm	Gladwell
Gladwell	which
which	emphasises
emphasises	the
the	value
value	of
of	gut
gut	reactions
reactions	Zen
Zen	started
started	as
as	a
a	reaction
reaction	against
against	the
the	highly
highly	conventionalised
conventionalised	and
and	ritualised
ritualised	Japanese
Japanese	society
society	from
from	which
which	it
it	emerged
emerged	This
This	must
must	have
have	struck
struck	a
a	chord
chord	with
with	Watts
Watts	who
who	grew
grew	up
up	at
at	a
a	time
time	when
when	British
British	society
society	hidebound
hidebound	introverted
introverted	and
and	conventional
conventional	was
was	not
not	so
so	different
different	from
from	the
the	self
self	controlled
controlled	uptight
uptight	world
world	of
of	the
the	Japanese
Japanese	In
In	such
such	a
a	society
society	spontaneous
spontaneous	behaviour
behaviour	becomes
becomes	impossible
impossible	The
The	word
word	Zen
Zen	is
is	a
a	Japanese
Japanese	way
way	of
of	pronouncing
pronouncing	chan
chan	which
which	is
is	the
the	Chinese
Chinese	way
way	of
of	pronouncing
pronouncing	the
the	Indian
Indian	Sanskrit
Sanskrit	dhyana
dhyana	or
or	sunya
sunya	meaning
meaning	emptiness
emptiness	or
or	void
void	This
This	is
is	the
the	basis
basis	of
of	Zen
Zen	itself
itself	that
that	all
all	life
life	and
and	existence
existence	is
is	based
based	on
on	a
a	kind
kind	of
of	dynamic
dynamic	emptiness
emptiness	a
a	view
view	now
now	supported
supported	by
by	modern
modern	science
science	which
which	sees
sees	phenomena
phenomena	at
at	a
a	subatomic
subatomic	level
level	popping
popping	in
in	and
and	out
out	of
of	existence
existence	in
in	a
a	quantum
quantum	froth
froth	In
In	this
this	view
view	there
there	is
is	no
no	stuff
stuff	no
no	difference
difference	between
between	matter
matter	and
and	energy
energy	Look
Look	at
at	anything
anything	closely
closely	enough
enough	even
even	a
a	rock
rock	or
or	a
a	table
table	and
and	you
you	will
will	see
see	that
that	it
it	is
is	an
an	event
event	not
not	a
a	thing
thing	Every
Every	thing
thing	is
is	in
in	truth
truth	happening
happening	This
This	too
too	accords
accords	with
with	modern
modern	scientific
scientific	knowledge
knowledge	Furthermore
Furthermore	there
there	is
is	not
not	a
a	multiplicity
multiplicity	of
of	events
events	There
There	is
is	just
just	one
one	event
event	with
with	multiple
multiple	aspects
aspects	unfolding
unfolding	We
We	are
are	not
not	just
just	separate
separate	egos
egos	locked
locked	in
in	bags
bags	of
of	skin
skin	We
We	come
come	out
out	of
of	the
the	world
world	not
not	into
into	it
it	We
We	are
are	each
each	expressions
expressions	of
of	the
the	world
world	not
not	strangers
strangers	in
in	a
a	strange
strange	land
land	flukes
flukes	of
of	consciousness
consciousness	in
in	a
a	blind
blind	stupid
stupid	universe
universe	as
as	evolutionary
evolutionary	science
science	teaches
teaches	us
us	IFRAME
IFRAME	https
https	www
www	youtube
youtube	com
com	embed
embed	aufuwMiKmE
aufuwMiKmE	The
The	emphasis
emphasis	on
on	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	is
is	perhaps
perhaps	Zen
Zen	s
s	most
most	distinctive
distinctive	characteristic
characteristic	In
In	our
our	Western
Western	relationship
relationship	with
with	time
time	in
in	which
which	we
we	compulsively
compulsively	pick
pick	over
over	the
the	past
past	in
in	order
order	to
to	learn
learn	lessons
lessons	from
from	it
it	and
and	then
then	project
project	into
into	a
a	hypothetical
hypothetical	future
future	in
in	which
which	those
those	lessons
lessons	can
can	be
be	applied
applied	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	has
has	been
been	compressed
compressed	to
to	a
a	tiny
tiny	sliver
sliver	on
on	the
the	clock
clock	face
face	between
between	a
a	vast
vast	past
past	and
and	an
an	infinite
infinite	future
future	Zen
Zen	more
more	than
than	anything
anything	else
else	is
is	about
about	reclaiming
reclaiming	and
and	expanding
expanding	the
the	present
present	moment
moment	It
It	tries
tries	to
to	have
have	you
you	understand
understand	without
without	arguing
arguing	the
the	point
point	that
that	there
there	is
is	no
no	purpose
purpose	in
in	getting
getting	anywhere
anywhere	if
if	when
when	you
you	get
get	there
there	all
all	you
you	do
do	is
is	think
think	about
about	getting
getting	to
to	some
some	other
other	future
future	moment
moment	Life
Life	exists
exists	in
in	the
the	present
present	or
or	nowhere
nowhere	at
at	all
all	and
and	if
if	you
you	cannot
cannot	grasp
grasp	that
that	you
you	are
are	simply
simply	living
living	a
a	fantasy
fantasy	For
For	all
all	Zen
Zen	writers
writers	life
life	is
is	as
as	it
it	was
was	for
for	Shakespeare
Shakespeare	akin
akin	to
to	a
a	dream
dream	transitory
transitory	and
and	insubstantial
insubstantial	There
There	is
is	no
no	rock
rock	of
of	ages
ages	cleft
cleft	for
for	thee
thee	There
There	is
is	no
no	security
security	Looking
Looking	for
for	security
security	Watts
Watts	said
said	is
is	like
like	jumping
jumping	off
off	a
a	cliff
cliff	while
while	holding
holding	on
on	to
to	a
a	rock
rock	for
for	safety
safety	an
an	absurd
absurd	illusion
illusion	Everything
Everything	passes
passes	and
and	you
you	must
must	die
die	Don
Don	t
t	waste
waste	your
your	time
time	thinking
thinking	otherwise
otherwise	Neither
Neither	Buddha
Buddha	nor
nor	his
his	Zen
Zen	followers
followers	had
had	time
time	for
for	any
any	notion
notion	of
of	an
an	afterlife
afterlife	The
The	doctrine
doctrine	of
of	reincarnation
reincarnation	can
can	be
be	more
more	accurately
accurately	thought
thought	about
about	as
as	a
a	constant
constant	rebirth
rebirth	of
of	death
death	throughout
throughout	life
life	and
and	the
the	continual
continual	coming
coming	and
and	going
going	of
of	universal
universal	energy
energy	of
of	which
which	we
we	are
are	all
all	part
part	before
before	and
and	after
after	death
death	Another
Another	challenge
challenge	for
for	Western
Western	thinkers
thinkers	when
when	struggling
struggling	with
with	Zen
Zen	is
is	that
that	unlike
unlike	Western
Western	religion
religion	and
and	philosophy
philosophy	it
it	has
has	no
no	particular
particular	moral
moral	code
code	The
The	Noble
Noble	Truths
Truths	are
are	not
not	moral
moral	teachings
teachings	Zen
Zen	unlike
unlike	Mahayana
Mahayana	Buddhism
Buddhism	with
with	its
its	Eightfold
Eightfold	Path
Path	makes
makes	no
no	judgment
judgment	about
about	good
good	or
or	bad
bad	except
except	to
to	say
say	that
that	they
they	are
are	both
both	necessary
necessary	to
to	make
make	the
the	universe
universe	dynamic
dynamic	Like
Like	the
the	Greek
Greek	philosopher
philosopher	Heraclitus
Heraclitus	said
said	there
there	is
is	no
no	idea
idea	of
of	good
good	out
out	to
to	destroy
destroy	evil
evil	or
or	vice
vice	versa
versa	Evil
Evil	cannot
cannot	be
be	destroyed
destroyed	any
any	more
more	than
than	good
good	can
can	because
because	they
they	are
are	polar
polar	opposites
opposites	of
of	the
the	same
same	thing
thing	like
like	poles
poles	of
of	a
a	magnet
magnet	Destruction
Destruction	is
is	as
as	necessary
necessary	as
as	creation
creation	Chaos
Chaos	must
must	exist
exist	if
if	we
we	are
are	to
to	know
know	what
what	order
order	is
is	Both
Both	aspects
aspects	of
of	reality
reality	in
in	tension
tension	with
with	one
one	another
another	are
are	necessary
necessary	to
to	keep
keep	the
the	whole
whole	game
game	going
going	the
the	unity
unity	of
of	opposites
opposites	This
This	can
can	lead
lead	to
to	some
some	fairly
fairly	shocking
shocking	moral
moral	reasoning
reasoning	When
When	the
the	American
American	composer
composer	and
and	Zen
Zen	follower
follower	John
John	Cage
Cage	was
was	asked
asked	Don
Don	t
t	you
you	think
think	there
there	s
s	too
too	much
much	suffering
suffering	in
in	the
the	world
world	he
he	answered
answered	I
I	think
think	there
there	s
s	just
just	the
the	right
right	amount
amount	This
This	encapsulates
encapsulates	and
and	yet
yet	somewhat
somewhat	satirises
satirises	the
the	Zen
Zen	world
world	view
view	that
that	the
the	dark
dark	and
and	the
the	light
light	the
the	negative
negative	and
and	the
the	positive
positive	the
the	yin
yin	and
and	the
the	yang
yang	are
are	all
all	necessary
necessary	parts
parts	of
of	the
the	overall
overall	whole
whole	Behind
Behind	this
this	thinking
thinking	is
is	the
the	idea
idea	that
that	for
for	the
the	accomplished
accomplished	follower
follower	of
of	Zen
Zen	moralists
moralists	are
are	dangerous
dangerous	because
because	they
they	will
will	destroy
destroy	everything
everything	in
in	pursuit
pursuit	of
of	their
their	vision
vision	of
of	the
the	good
good	Straightforward
Straightforward	greed
greed	might
might	result
result	in
in	the
the	destruction
destruction	of
of	the
the	local
local	village
village	to
to	get
get	their
their	wealth
wealth	and
and	their
their	women
women	but
but	that
that	won
won	t
t	be
be	too
too	bad
bad	because
because	it
it	will
will	preserve
preserve	the
the	wealth
wealth	and
and	the
the	women
women	A
A	cutting
cutting	up
up	attitude
attitude	to
to	life
life	gives
gives	us
us	dead
dead	knowledge
knowledge	not
not	live
live	knowledge
knowledge	However
However	if
if	you
you	are
are	on
on	a
a	moral
moral	crusade
crusade	you
you	will
will	destroy
destroy	everything
everything	in
in	your
your	wake
wake	And
And	who
who	can
can	deny
deny	that
that	the
the	history
history	of
of	the
the	th
th	century
century	bears
bears	out
out	this
this	view
view	with
with	Nazi
Nazi	and
and	Communist
Communist	ideologies
ideologies	causing
causing	such
such	havoc
havoc	After
After	all
all	Hitler
Hitler	was
was	an
an	idealist
idealist	too
too	So
So	Confucius
Confucius	who
who	was
was	not
not	admittedly
admittedly	part
part	of
of	the
the	Zen
Zen	tradition
tradition	though
though	he
he	influenced
influenced	it
it	puts
puts	the
the	greatest
greatest	value
value	not
not	on
on	absolute
absolute	good
good	but
but	on
on	human
human	heartedness
heartedness	or
or	jen
jen	If
If	you
you	are
are	human
human	hearted
hearted	you
you	are
are	unlikely
unlikely	to
to	want
want	to
to	do
do	any
any	great
great	ill
ill	even
even	without
without	a
a	great
great	moral
moral	vision
vision	to
to	guide
guide	you
you	And
And	even
even	if
if	you
you	do
do	the
the	damage
damage	you
you	cause
cause	will
will	be
be	limited
limited	by
by	your
your	own
own	self
self	interest
interest	This
This	lack
lack	of
of	a
a	clear
clear	moral
moral	code
code	is
is	perhaps
perhaps	why
why	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	a
a	philosophy
philosophy	wholly
wholly	appropriate
appropriate	for
for	the
the	young
young	or
or	immature
immature	mind
mind	In
In	the
the	s
s	Watts
Watts	critiqued
critiqued	the
the	Beatnik
Beatnik	appropriation
appropriation	of
of	Zen
Zen	in
in	his
his	book
book	Beat
Beat	Zen
Zen	Square
Square	Zen
Zen	and
and	Zen
Zen	The
The	apparent
apparent	fatalism
fatalism	of
of	Zen
Zen	seemed
seemed	to
to	open
open	the
the	door
door	for
for	an
an	individual
individual	to
to	do
do	whatever
whatever	they
they	like
like	Watts
Watts	thought
thought	the
the	Beats
Beats	were
were	childish
childish	although
although	he
he	did
did	suggest
suggest	that
that	their
their	behaviour
behaviour	also
also	revealed
revealed	a
a	clever
clever	paradox
paradox	that
that	absolute
absolute	fatalism
fatalism	implies
implies	absolute
absolute	freedom
freedom	Again
Again	you
you	can
can	look
look	at
at	it
it	both
both	ways
ways	In
In	fact
fact	Zen
Zen	isn
isn	t
t	fatalistic
fatalistic	Rather
Rather	it
it	accepts
accepts	something
something	that
that	Western
Western	philosophy
philosophy	finds
finds	hard
hard	to
to	grasp
grasp	that
that	two
two	contradictory
contradictory	truths
truths	are
are	possible
possible	at
at	the
the	same
same	time
time	It
It	just
just	depends
depends	on
on	which
which	way
way	you
you	look
look	at
at	it
it	The
The	world
world	is
is	not
not	a
a	logically
logically	consistent
consistent	one
one	but
but	a
a	profoundly
profoundly	paradoxical
paradoxical	one
one	Again
Again	this
this	is
is	illustrated
illustrated	in
in	science
science	which
which	shows
shows	that
that	two
two	things
things	can
can	be
be	one
one	at
at	the
the	same
same	time
time	light
light	for
for	instance
instance	acts
acts	as
as	both
both	a
a	particle
particle	and
and	a
a	wave
wave	The
The	Zen
Zen	masters
masters	say
say	the
the	same
same	thing
thing	about
about	human
human	life
life	Perhaps
Perhaps	you
you	are
are	doing
doing	it
it	Perhaps
Perhaps	it
it	is
is	doing
doing	you
you	There
There	is
is	no
no	way
way	of
of	knowing
knowing	which
which	is
is	which
which	It
It	is
is	like
like	a
a	formal
formal	dance
dance	so
so	deft
deft	that
that	you
you	cannot
cannot	tell
tell	who
who	is
is	leading
leading	and
and	who
who	is
is	following
following	While
While	it
it	is
is	refreshing
refreshing	that
that	Zen
Zen	philosophy
philosophy	is
is	supported
supported	in
in	many
many	ways
ways	by
by	present
present	scientific
scientific	knowledge
knowledge	it
it	is
is	also
also	a
a	critique
critique	of
of	scientific
scientific	thought
thought	The
The	scientific
scientific	tradition
tradition	requires
requires	things
things	up
up	to
to	be
be	cut
cut	up
up	both
both	mentally
mentally	and
and	physically
physically	into
into	smaller
smaller	and
and	small
small	pieces
pieces	to
to	investigate
investigate	them
them	It
It	suggests
suggests	that
that	the
the	only
only	kind
kind	of
of	knowledge
knowledge	is
is	empirical
empirical	and
and	that
that	the
the	rigid
rigid	laws
laws	of
of	scientific
scientific	method
method	are
are	the
the	only
only	kind
kind	that
that	are
are	valid
valid	Zen
Zen	implies
implies	that
that	this
this	is
is	like
like	throwing
throwing	the
the	baby
baby	out
out	with
with	the
the	bathwater
bathwater	scientific
scientific	thinking
thinking	might
might	be
be	immensely
immensely	useful
useful	but
but	it
it	also
also	does
does	violence
violence	to
to	a
a	meaningful
meaningful	conception
conception	of
of	life
life	It
It	tends
tends	to
to	screen
screen	out
out	the
the	essential
essential	connectedness
connectedness	of
of	things
things	We
We	live
live	in
in	an
an	imprecise
imprecise	world
world	Nature
Nature	is
is	extraordinarily
extraordinarily	vague
vague	Science
Science	promotes
promotes	the
the	idea
idea	of
of	hard
hard	clear
clear	brute
brute	facts
facts	but
but	some
some	facts
facts	are
are	soft
soft	A
A	cutting
cutting	up
up	attitude
attitude	to
to	life
life	gives
gives	us
us	dead
dead	knowledge
knowledge	not
not	live
live	knowledge
knowledge	The
The	fundamental
fundamental	nature
nature	of
of	the
the	world
world	is
is	not
not	something
something	you
you	can
can	get
get	too
too	precise
precise	about
about	The
The	basis
basis	of
of	one
one	s
s	life
life	and
and	thought
thought	must
must	always
always	remain
remain	undefined
undefined	Some
Some	ideas
ideas	such
such	as
as	the
the	Tao
Tao	the
the	way
way	of
of	things
things	come
come	to
to	us
us	we
we	can
can	t
t	just
just	go
go	out
out	and
and	get
get	them
them	They
They	are
are	mysterious
mysterious	and
and	unknown
unknown	This
This	kind
kind	of
of	thinking
thinking	is
is	anathema
anathema	to
to	the
the	modern
modern	scientist
scientist	who
who	thinks
thinks	that
that	everything
everything	can
can	be
be	known
known	and
and	finally
finally	will
will	be
be	known
known	But
But	Watts
Watts	argued
argued	it
it	is
is	impossible
impossible	to
to	appreciate
appreciate	the
the	universe
universe	unless
unless	you
you	know
know	when
when	to
to	stop
stop	investigating
investigating	Truth
Truth	is
is	not
not	to
to	be
be	found
found	by
by	picking
picking	everything
everything	to
to	pieces
pieces	like
like	a
a	spoilt
spoilt	child
child	It
It	is
is	impossible
impossible	of
of	course
course	to
to	summarise
summarise	Zen
Zen	in
in	a
a	few
few	thousand
thousand	words
words	In
In	fact
fact	it
it	doesn
doesn	t
t	ask
ask	to
to	be
be	summarised
summarised	The
The	first
first	principle
principle	of
of	Zen
Zen	voiced
voiced	by
by	the
the	philosopher
philosopher	Lao
Lao	Tzu
Tzu	is
is	Those
Those	who
who	know
know	don
don	t
t	say
say	and
and	those
those	who
who	say
say	don
don	t
t	know
know	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	proselytising
proselytising	quite
quite	the
the	reverse
reverse	It
It	asks
asks	you
you	to
to	come
come	to
to	it
it	in
in	supplication
supplication	and
and	to
to	tease
tease	it
it	out
out	Another
Another	Zen
Zen	saying
saying	is
is	He
He	who
who	seeks
seeks	to
to	persuade
persuade	does
does	not
not	convince
convince	But
But	it
it	convinced
convinced	me
me	After
After	spending
spending	nearly
nearly	two
two	years
years	studying
studying	Zen
Zen	Taoism
Taoism	and
and	the
the	works
works	of
of	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	I
I	think
think	I
I	genuinely
genuinely	achieved
achieved	a
a	sort
sort	of
of	satori
satori	a
a	freedom
freedom	from
from	the
the	inner
inner	weights
weights	and
and	contradictions
contradictions	of
of	ordinary
ordinary	life
life	When
When	a
a	student
student	asked
asked	Watts
Watts	what
what	enlightenment
enlightenment	felt
felt	like
like	he
he	said
said	if
if	felt
felt	very
very	ordinary
ordinary	but
but	like
like	walking
walking	slightly
slightly	in
in	the
the	air
air	an
an	inch
inch	above
above	the
the	ground
ground	And
And	that
that	is
is	exactly
exactly	how
how	I
I	felt
felt	every
every	day
day	I
I	don
don	t
t	know
know	how
how	long
long	the
the	experience
experience	lasted
lasted	Perhaps
Perhaps	as
as	long
long	as
as	a
a	year
year	perhaps
perhaps	even
even	longer
longer	All
All	that
that	time
time	Watts
Watts	and
and	the
the	Zen
Zen	idea
idea	were
were	there
there	in
in	my
my	head
head	informing
informing	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	and
and	actions
actions	The
The	background
background	noise
noise	the
the	static
static	of
of	worry
worry	and
and	gabble
gabble	that
that	informed
informed	my
my	old
old	life
life	had
had	disappeared
disappeared	My
My	head
head	was
was	clear
clear	The
The	philosophy
philosophy	entirely
entirely	permeated
permeated	me
me	My
My	life
life	was
was	truly
truly	more
more	joyful
joyful	than
than	it
it	had
had	ever
ever	been
been	Nothing
Nothing	bothered
bothered	me
me	I
I	felt
felt	full
full	of
of	energy
energy	and
and	optimism
optimism	Then
Then	one
one	day
day	I
I	lost
lost	the
the	vision
vision	I
I	don
don	t
t	know
know	how
how	it
it	happened
happened	A
A	period
period	of
of	stress
stress	and
and	clinical
clinical	depression
depression	took
took	me
me	under
under	and
and	when
when	I
I	surfaced
surfaced	again
again	Watts
Watts	and
and	the
the	Tao
Tao	had
had	left
left	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	I
I	was
was	alone
alone	again
again	puzzled
puzzled	and
and	conflicted
conflicted	I
I	knew
knew	the
the	words
words	but
but	I
I	couldn
couldn	t
t	hear
hear	the
the	music
music	anymore
anymore	The
The	old
old	thoughts
thoughts	and
and	habits
habits	I
I	had
had	been
been	conditioned
conditioned	into
into	since
since	birth
birth	reasserted
reasserted	themselves
themselves	Once
Once	more
more	I
I	worried
worried	about
about	things
things	pointlessly
pointlessly	and
and	got
got	lost
lost	in
in	the
the	past
past	and
and	the
the	future
future	instead
instead	of
of	existing
existing	in
in	the
the	dynamic
dynamic	present
present	But
But	then
then	I
I	shouldn
shouldn	t
t	have
have	been
been	surprised
surprised	What
What	Alan
Alan	Watts
Watts	taught
taught	above
above	all
all	else
else	is
is	that
that	everything
everything	is
is	transitory
transitory	Everything
Everything	comes
comes	and
and	goes
goes	Watts
Watts	himself
himself	did
did	not
not	exist
exist	in
in	a
a	perpetual
perpetual	state
state	of
of	spiritual
spiritual	bliss
bliss	He
He	died
died	an
an	alcoholic
alcoholic	He
He	had
had	been
been	a
a	lifelong
lifelong	heavy
heavy	drinker
drinker	His
His	later
later	life
life	was
was	not
not	easy
easy	in
in	the
the	last
last	years
years	he
he	cut
cut	a
a	Dickensian
Dickensian	figure
figure	working
working	desperately
desperately	to
to	support
support	his
his	seven
seven	children
children	and
and	presumably
presumably	his
his	two
two	ex
ex	wives
wives	by
by	the
the	time
time	he
he	died
died	he
he	was
was	on
on	a
a	third
third	But
But	he
he	was
was	by
by	no
no	accounts
accounts	an
an	unhappy
unhappy	drunk
drunk	He
He	never
never	expressed
expressed	guilt
guilt	or
or	regret
regret	about
about	his
his	drinking
drinking	and
and	smoking
smoking	and
and	never
never	missed
missed	a
a	lecture
lecture	or
or	a
a	writing
writing	deadline
deadline	If
If	Watts
Watts	s
s	own
own	example
example	is
is	to
to	be
be	taken
taken	into
into	account
account	being
being	enlightened
enlightened	doesn
doesn	t
t	always
always	make
make	you
you	happy
happy	Yet
Yet	it
it	is
is	still
still	something
something	worth
worth	attaining
attaining	It
It	brings
brings	clarity
clarity	and
and	peace
peace	even
even	if
if	it
it	doesn
doesn	t
t	protect
protect	you
you	from
from	all
all	of
of	life
life	s
s	vicissitudes
vicissitudes	My
My	personal
personal	enlightenment
enlightenment	came
came	and
and	went
went	but
but	I
I	hope
hope	it
it	might
might	return
return	Perhaps
Perhaps	this
this	article
article	will
will	be
be	the
the	first
first	step
step	in
in	that
that	direction
direction	It
It	feels
feels	like
like	it
it	is
is	It
It	might
might	be
be	in
in	my
my	hands
hands	or
or	it
it	might
might	not
not	But
But	if
if	I
I	can
can	find
find	the
the	path
path	again
again	then
then	I
I	will
will	stay
stay	on
on	it
it	until
until	I
I	lose
lose	it
it	And
And	as
as	the
the	Zen
Zen	saying
saying	instructs
instructs	if
if	I
I	see
see	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	I
I	will
will	kill
kill	him
him	Because
Because	the
the	moment
moment	you
you	start
start	thinking
thinking	of
of	yourself
yourself	as
as	enlightened
enlightened	you
you	are
are	not
not	twitter
twitter	timlottwriter
timlottwriter	Consciousness
Consciousness	and
and	altered
altered	statesPhilosophy
statesPhilosophy	of
of	religionSpiritualityValues
religionSpiritualityValues	and
and	beliefsWellbeing
beliefsWellbeing	September
September	Syndicate
Syndicate	this
this	Essay
Essay	Aeon
Aeon	is
is	not
not	for
for	profit
profit	and
and	free
free	for
for	everyone
everyone	Make
Make	a
a	donation
donation	Get
Get	Aeon
Aeon	straight
straight	to
to	your
your	inbox
inbox	Join
Join	our
our	newsletter
newsletter	This
This	paradoxical
paradoxical	life
life	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Logic
Logic	and
and	probability
probability	This
This	paradoxical
paradoxical	life
life	When
When	logic
logic	fails
fails	to
to	make
make	sense
sense	of
of	a
a	world
world	noisy
noisy	with
with	inconsistency
inconsistency	paraconsistent
paraconsistent	logics
logics	hold
hold	out
out	im
im	possible
possible	solutions
solutions	Zach
Zach	Weber
Weber	The
The	meaning
meaning	of
of	anger
anger	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Mood
Mood	and
and	emotion
emotion	The
The	meaning
meaning	of
of	anger
anger	Is
Is	anger
anger	like
like	energy
energy	forever
forever	changing
changing	form
form	but
but	never
never	dissipating
dissipating	or
or	part
part	of
of	our
our	repertoire
repertoire	of
of	desires
desires	the
the	cry
cry	of
of	a
a	need
need	unmet
unmet	Josh
Josh	Cohen
Cohen	The
The	end
end	of
of	travel
travel	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Travel
Travel	The
The	end
end	of
of	travel
travel	Driven
Driven	by
by	the
the	need
need	for
for	a
a	storied
storied	life
life	I
I	relished
relished	the
the	opportunity
opportunity	for
for	endless
endless	travel
travel	Is
Is	that
that	a
a	moment
moment	in
in	time
time	now
now	over
over	Henry
Henry	Wismayer
Wismayer	Stoics
Stoics	as
as	activists
activists	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Ethics
Ethics	Stoics
Stoics	as
as	activists
activists	You
You	might
might	think
think	of
of	it
it	as
as	a
a	philosophy
philosophy	for
for	turning
turning	away
away	from
from	the
the	world
world	but
but	ancient
ancient	Stoics
Stoics	took
took	a
a	stand
stand	against
against	tyranny
tyranny	Massimo
Massimo	Pigliucci
Pigliucci	How
How	to
to	pray
pray	to
to	a
a	dead
dead	God
God	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Philosophy
Philosophy	of
of	religion
religion	How
How	to
to	pray
pray	to
to	a
a	dead
dead	God
God	The
The	modern
modern	world
world	is
is	disenchanted
disenchanted	God
God	remains
remains	dead
dead	But
But	our
our	need
need	for
for	transcendence
transcendence	lives
lives	on
on	How
How	should
should	we
we	fulfil
fulfil	it
it	Ed
Ed	Simon
Simon	What
What	Big
Big	History
History	misses
misses	Aeon
Aeon	Save
Save	essay
essay	Global
Global	history
history	What
What	Big
Big	History
History	misses
misses	Sweeping
Sweeping	the
the	human
human	story
story	into
into	a
a	cosmic
cosmic	tale
tale	is
is	a
a	thrill
thrill	but
but	we
we	should
should	be
be	wary
wary	about
about	what
what	is
is	overlooked
overlooked	in
in	the
the	grandeur
grandeur	Ian
Ian	Hesketh
Hesketh	EssaysIdeasVideos
EssaysIdeasVideos	AboutContact
AboutContact	RSS
RSS	FeedDonateCommunity
FeedDonateCommunity	Guidelines
Guidelines	Follow
Follow	Aeon
Aeon	Sign
Sign	up
up	to
to	our
our	newsletter
newsletter	Updates
Updates	on
on	everything
everything	new
new	at
at	Aeon
Aeon	Daily
Daily	Weekly
Weekly	BUTTON
BUTTON	Subscribe
Subscribe	See
See	our
our	newsletter
newsletter	privacy
privacy	policy
policy	here
here	Aeon
Aeon	Media
Media	Group
Group	Ltd
Ltd	Privacy
Privacy	Policy
Policy	Terms
Terms	of
of	Use