The Way of Zen

by Alan Watts

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Watts traces Zen Buddhism's emergence from the synthesis of Indian Mahayana Buddhism with Chinese Taoism, then examines its distinctive principles and practice in Japanese culture. Drawing extensively on D. T. Suzuki's scholarship while working to surpass it, Watts presents Zen as a direct pointing to the non-dualistic nature of mind.

Published:: 1957
Pages:: 236

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In the Conversation

In this collection, The Way of Zen references 3 other books and is cited by 1 other book.

It draws on The Tao Te Ching, Beyond Good and Evil and The Republic.

It’s picked up by Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game.

Scroll down to read the exact passages where other authors reference this book and what they say about it.

What The Way of Zen Draws On

The books Watts references and why each one mattered to the argument.

The Tao Te Ching is foundational to Part One; Watts argues Zen's 'flavor' is as Taoist as it is Buddhist, and Lao Tzu's teachings on wu-wei and the watercourse way run through the book

References

The Tao Te Ching

by Lao Tzu

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Watts engages Nietzsche's critique of Western moral dualism as a parallel to Zen's dissolution of the subject-object split, citing Beyond Good and Evil's project of going beyond conventional moral categories

References

Beyond Good and Evil

by Friedrich Nietzsche

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Watts contrasts Zen's non-dual awareness with the rationalist tradition launched by Plato's Republic, arguing that Western philosophy's privileging of abstract ideas is precisely what Zen aims to dissolve

References

The Republic

by Plato

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What Other Authors Say About It

The exact passages where other authors bring up “The Way of Zen” and what they take from it.

Parent's integration of Eastern contemplative practice with Western sport psychology builds on Alan Watts's accessible presentation of Zen philosophy for Western audiences

Cited in

Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game

by Dr. Joseph Parent

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Intellectual Lineage

How ideas flow through the citation network. Ancestors are books this title builds on; descendants are books that build on it.

Builds on

Directly cites

The Tao Te Ching

Beyond Good and Evil

The Republic

Influenced

Directly cited by

Zen Golf: Mastering the Ment...

Unexpected Connections

Books from completely different categories that share citation overlap with this one. These are the reads you would not find by browsing a single shelf.