Alan Watts

Zen as a fusion of Buddhism & Tao

In this episode, I'm going to talk about Alan Watts.

Alan Watts was a spiritual teacher in the 20th century, active mostly in the US, though I believe he came from the UK originally. Although he spent some time in Christianity, Alan Watts is known as a Zen teacher. And really for me, above all other Western Zen masters, it was Alan Watts who really introduced me to Zen, who made Zen accessible to a Western mind like my own.

He wrote many beautiful books, quite short – which is always a good sign – and very accessible, easy to comprehend. And one book in particular comes to mind now, though I forget the title of it. But really, it was covering the foundation of Zen. And it was from this book that I understood Zen to be a fusion: a fusion of Buddhism with Taoism. This is an aspect that Alan Watts emphasised in the particular book. And I thank him for it.

It made me realise how a fusion of two things can often produce something more beautiful, more profound, deeper. It's rather like a mixed race child. Often they are the most beautiful, something very new. And so it was when Zen came into being. And realising this through reading Alan Watts' words, really awoke Zen in me. 

This fusion of the Buddhist teachings – which emphasised meditation, enlightenment, the need to understand one's own psychology, 

All of this, Buddhism is grateful. The Buddha's teachings are probably the most profound psychological teachings yet. And yet, much of the Buddhist's teachings were rather prescriptive. They enumerated things: the four noble truths, the three refuges, the eightfold path. and so on. He tried to provide a complete roadmap, a map to one's own psychology, and a route, a path to enlightenment – beautiful teachings, important teachings.

And then there's Taoism. which is more mystical. The opening line of the Dao De Qing says it all really: That which can be spoken of is not the Tao. So Taoism really carries this essential element of the mystical, and indicates again and again that truth cannot be found in words, cannot be conveyed in words.

And it's the fusion of these two: the directed, meditative, psychological approach of Buddhism; and the non-doing, the importance of action through inaction. Taoism is not such a directed discipline. It's a mystical understanding that goes beyond words. And in the fusion of these two great rivers of truth, Buddhism and Taoism, Zen was born. And it does indeed go to even deeper places than either of the two rivers from which it came.

And it was Alan Watts that made this clear to me. and with the understanding of Zen that I gained through reading Alan Watts, my own path was hugely enriched. So a big thank you to Alan Watts.