Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece!
Review: Alan Watts has always had the most amazing ability to speak the unspeakable, and in The Way of Zen you will feel the true essence of Zen as long as you don't get hung up on the words.To get the point, one must read without "reading" because Zen itself can never be put into words. But as you are taken through Zen's conception, birth, growth, and finally into the arts - you will notice that: "this ain't just literature." I have adored Alan's style of writing for over 25 years now, and I must say that this is one his best books, and surely the best ever writen on the subject ( with the one possible exception of D.T. Susuki's writings.) However, I have always found Watts to be more enjoyable, because he understands the western mind and the complications we will inevitably encounter while trying to understand something so completely Chinese as Zen. As you read, you will notice an intimacy develope between author and reader, master and student, or master and master. This book is not only for the serious student of Zen, but for anyone who enjoys eastern thought and "mysticism."
Rating:
Summary: One of the best on Zen
Review: As most of us know, Watts is historically one of the most significant writer's introducing the West to Eastern thought. Although "The Book" may speak to a wider audience, this is the best English book on Eastern thought in terms of accesibility and comprehensiveness. It provides us a nice historical overview of the evolution of this type of consciousness and explains the main messages of various "Eastern" schools of thought in a way that most of us Western minds can comprehend. Because of this, I use this as a book as one of the texts in my class of Eastern philosophy. Another book I use for this class is a book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is an excellent book that provides a nice bridge between Western thought and Eastern thought in a way that students can understand and appreciate. If you are truly interested in Eastern thought, I believe that these two books are two pieces of essential reading.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing book
Review: From the get go, the book was amazing. The first two chapters that talked a lot about differences in Western vs. Eastern thought and language structures were big eye openers. There were a number of profound moments reading the book, such as when he noted contemplating what happens to us after death is like wondering what happens to your fist when you open you hand or what happens to your lap when you stand up. The writing style of the book is highly approachable, I myself a graduate engineering student found it very readible, Watts doesn't try to blow the reader away with his academic prowess but rather keeps it simple and direct, like zen itself.
Rating:
Summary: great history, great philosophy for serious students of Zen
Review: Generally speaking, Watts doesn't appeal to new-age crystal fairies, channelers, and so forth, and if you prefer your Zen texts all poetical and mysterious, then this book isn't for you; but if you want a treatment of Zen as an important, credible and viable philosophical tradition, then you'll like this book. It's not an easy read, but this is good, solid, hardheaded Watts.
Rating:
Summary: The right way
Review: I accidentaly found an old copy of this book. Before that I didn't have a slightest idea about zen, but after reading it I felt like I'd found a new, right way.
Rating: 
Summary: Watts is excellent, but they screwed up the cassette
Review: I have read Alan Watts now for many years. I used to listen to him on PBS in Berkeley. Watts has a fantastic and interesting style of speaking. He has absolute authority, is interesting, witty, funny, has a great speaking voice. This I knew. What I didn't know was that they simply have small sections of actual Alan Watts speaking, other than that they have some "cheesy" eastern-synth style music "droplets", and not meaning to be mean here, a person that is about as interesting as cardboard reading from, presumably Watts book. In other words, instead of spontenaity that Watts always has, this is cement...it is static. It is the anti-zen. Somehow they have made Watts writing (if this IS Watts writing..not quite sure about that) pompous and self important. It really, really, [stinks]. I will search and find some tapes OF Alan Watts, and they can keep the extra stuff...
Rating:
Summary: Basic for understanding of Oriental religions/philosophis
Review: I read this book (several times) more or less the year of it's publication. Now I'm buying a copy for my daughter who'se studying to be a Certified Massage Therapist and needs a useful understanding of the Oriental approach to life, spirituality and healing. I remember it as being not only a comprehensible discussion of Oriental thought, but also that it proved to be remarkably accurate to the spirit of these paths.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating
Review: I usually prefer to download lectures by Alan watts rather than read his books, some of
which seemed to just ramble along. I am not really good at critiques, but I really enjoyed
this book. Easy to read. Some concepts are so foreign to my common sense way of
thinking that it sort of turns my thinking inside-out. The idea makes sense. I cannot find
fault with it. But regrettably, my mind snaps back to its usual way of thinking.
For example: We tend to think of our self as an independent being inside of a separate
world. But actually there exists no separate being or outside world. The two are opposite
ends of a spectrum and reality exists only between the two ends. Sort of seems to be the
main point. That who you think you are is a mental construction, sort of a caricature of
itself. your true self is the entire world. One of my favorite sayings is "everywhere is the
center." Everywhere is everything. you are everything. I am everything and so is my
computer. Our minds create symbols to stand for parts of the world and then we start to
think that the world is made of parts. It seems that liberation comes from dying to your
sense of self. from ceasing trying to grasp at life as though it were something "other" that
could be grasped.
I can remember some magical times in my life when instead of me acting in the world, I
let the world take me by the hand and everything just clicked. I find these things
fascinating, but for some reason impossible to share.
There are some Zen stories which I can't seem to make any sense of, and I dunno, maybe
the point is to watch your mind try to make sense of it. I really am running off at the
mouth now. Oh well. Have you ever been in pain and then stopped to think, am I really
feeling constant pain IN THIS MOMENT? And no, you weren't in this particular
moment. It was an idea that you were carrying along perhaps from one moment of pain to
another. in Zen liberation also means liberation from the idea that there exists some
constant unchanging self that some how is carried from one moment to the next to affect
or be affected by the world. There really is no cause and effect. One just follows the other
like spring following winter. And the burning log does not BECOME the ashes, because
like the previous example there is no "stuff" which was the wood and then is the ashes.
First there is wood and then there are ashes.
I guess zen is a method to get you to stop dreaming and wake up.
Rating:
Summary: Explaining the Unexplainable
Review: I've read a few books on Zen and they all seemed to be a bunch of cutsey phrases. This book, on the other hand, is amazing. I bought it yesterday and my concecption of Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucionism and Hinduism has already radically changed. Before yesterday, Zen to me seemed a bunch of people playing word games and sitting cross-legged avoiding the world. Buddhism seemed hypocritical metaphysics and ethics by special people who spent their lifetime (or many lifetimes) in the absurd pursuit of desiring not to desire. I'll reread this book a few more times and post another review ... but this is one of the best books I've ever read (...P>I've already begun, not to 'convert' to Zen Buddhism, but to incorporate it in my way of thinking. Get this book.
Rating:
Summary: this is the heart of Zen
Review: if you are a seeker and wish to achieve satori; stop seeking and let go of that wish... this book is about dis-learning. YOU cannot learn anything from this great source. Alan Watts says "AWAKENING IS NOT NOT TO KNOW WHAT REALITY IS, AWAKENING IS TO KNOW WHAT REALITY IS NOT" Alan W. Watts says "to Tia, Mark and Richard who will understand it all the better. for not being able to read it" but know that if there's a book about Zen, this is it...
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