There are countless Alan Watts courses, tutorials, articles available online, but for some, having a book is still a necessity to learn. This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
- The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1989)
- The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety (2011)
- The Way of Zen (1999)
- Become What You Are (2003)
- The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East (2018)
- Out of Your Mind: Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek (2017)
- This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience (1973)
- Nature, Man and Woman (1991)
- In My Own Way: An Autobiography (2007)
- Tao: The Watercourse Way (1977)
- Psychotherapy East & West (2017)
- Does It Matter?: Essays on Man s Relation to Materiality (2007)
- Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation (2002)
- The Collected Letters of Alan Watts (2018)
The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1989)
In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are.
The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety (2011)
We live in an age of unprecedented anxiety. Spending all our time trying to anticipate and plan for the future and to lamenting the past, we forget to embrace the here and now. We are so concerned with tomorrow that we forget to enjoy today. Drawing from Eastern philosophy and religion, Alan Watts shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not—and cannot—know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing.
The Way of Zen (1999)
In his definitive introduction to Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts explains the principles and practices of this ancient religion to Western readers. With a rare combination of freshness and lucidity, he delves into the origins and history of Zen to explain what it means for the world today with incredible clarity.
Become What You Are (2003)
"Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal. For the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever. . . .
The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East (2018)
Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something.
Out of Your Mind: Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek (2017)
In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind.
This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience (1973)
Six revolutionary essays exploring the relationship between spiritual experience and ordinary life—and the need for them to coexist within each of us.
Nature, Man and Woman (1991)
In Nature, Man and Woman, philosopher Alan Watts reexamines humanity’s place in the natural world—and the relation between body and spirit—in the light of Chinese Taoism. Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas—that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuali…
In My Own Way: An Autobiography (2007)
In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography — long out of print and rare until now — Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution from a child of religious conservatives in rural England to a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves.
Tao: The Watercourse Way (1977)
Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen.
Psychotherapy East & West (2017)
Before he became a counterculture hero, Alan Watts was known as an incisive scholar of Eastern and Western psychology and philosophy. In this 1961 classic, Watts demonstrates his deep understanding of both Western psychotherapy and the Eastern spiritual philosophies of Buddhism, Taoism, Vedanta, and Yoga. He examined the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that questioned the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans.
Does It Matter?: Essays on Man s Relation to Materiality (2007)
Rare Book
Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation (2002)
Mark Watts compiled this book from his father’s extensive journals and audiotapes of famous lectures he delivered across the country. In three parts, Alan Watts — the author of The Way of Zen and The Joyous Cosmology — explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.
The Collected Letters of Alan Watts (2018)
Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings.
Best Alan Watts Books You Must Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some alan watts books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Talking Zen: Reflections on Mind, Myth, and the Magic of Life
Author(s): Alan Watts; Mark Watts
ID: 3303795, Publisher: Shambhala, Year: 2022, Size: 1 Mb, Format: epub
The Way of Zen
Author(s): Alan W Watts
ID: 3114225, Publisher: Rider, Year: 2021, Size: 15 Mb, Format: epub
There Is Never Anything But the Present: And Other Inspiring Words of Wisdom
Author(s): Alan Watts
ID: 3611288, Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Year: 2021, Size: 17 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are really record-breakers according to The Wall Street Journal, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.