The Way of Liberation: Essays and Lectures on the Transformation of the Self

Alan Watts

In ‘The Way of Liberation’, Alan Watts offers a “rich selection of literay works and transcribed lectures”, according to his son Mark Watts. Chapter 1, The Way of Liberation in Zen Buddhism, is an essay written in 1955 which was prior to his extensive work, The Way of Zen. Following this is Play and Survival: Are they in Necessary Contradiction? Watts offers much playful synthesis of philosophical insight and gives us some idea of how his ‘thought evolved through all that followed.’ With Chapter 3, The Relevance of Oriental Philosophy, Watts discusses the fundamental questions posed by Eastern Religions to Westerners of Christian background. After ‘Suspension of Judgement’, we get an interesting section on Chuang-tzu, a Chinese philosopher who Watts states is “one of the only philosophers from the whole of antiquity who has any real humour, and therefore, he is an immensely encouraging person to read.” The book ends with ‘The Practice of Meditation’ which is delightfully written in his own calligraphy and stands as a fantastic essay for beginners. Quotes from mindful individuals like Bodhidharma, Mumonkan, Rinzai Roku, and Zenrin Ruiju give this book high markings. Much talk on Buddhism, Christianity, and the essence of liberation in the faiths. Mark Watts gives a special thanks to Rebecca Shrophire George Ingles. Dedicated ‘to our fathers and our mothers.’

status	Copy #1 (7467): in
genre	Spirituality » Buddhism
publisher	Weatherhill
publish date	1983
popularity	checked out 6 time(s)