Watts Alan - The Collected Letters of Alan Watts

First of all, we wish to thank our editor, Jason Gardner, and publisher, New World Library, for having faith in us that we could, in fact, pull off this monumental project. There were hundreds of letters to sort through and to decide which might be most interesting and afford a window into the heart and soul of our father, Alan Wilson Watts.

There were others who helped along the way, either with encouragement, help in the organization of files, the scanning and transcription of often barely readable copies of letters into Word format, and putting up with us while we spent long hours on the project, which took almost two years to complete.

Included first and foremost are our spouses, Johnny Hale (Joans) and Mark Kupke (Annes). Laura Watts Georgiades (Joans daughter) and Scarlett Daley for transcription and editing of letters, and Talitha Stills, who in 1992 helped organize the very disorderly and damaged literary files of Alans papers we inherited when Alans widow, Mary Jane Watts, died.

We also thank Gary Snyder for his permission to gain access to Alans letters in Garys collection at UC Davis Library, and we thank Syracuse University Library for allowing us access to the Jean Burden Collection and UCLA Library for letters in the Henry Miller Collection. We wish also to thank the Rev. Richard Adams, Carlton Gamer, and Paula McGuire for helping us remember things of the past. We are grateful to the California Institute of Integral Studies, which accepted the more than eight hundred volumes comprising Alans library, making these books available to future generations of students and researchers.

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CONTENTS

Copyright 2017 by Joan Watts and Anne Watts

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

First printing, December 2017

ISBN 978-1-60868-415-1

Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-416-8

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to Alans children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all future descendants, and to Alans many followers, past, present, and future, so that they will see the man as he was, an extraordinary teacher subject to human frailties.

In Memoriam

Richard Buchan Watts

February 4, 1955July 30, 2017

As this book went to press, we learned of Richards death.

He is the first of Alans progeny to pass on.

May he rest in peace.

J OAN W ATTS grew up in the United States and England, attending private schools, and then studied art at various institutions in the United States. She also studied sumi-e (Japanese ink painting) for two years in Japan. Her art has won awards in juried shows and hangs in many private collections.

In addition to her art career, she spent twenty-five years as a successful fund-raiser in the nonprofit world. She retired in her fifties and moved to Montana, where for twenty years she was an occasional fishing guide and operated a bed-and-breakfast that catered to fly fishers from around the world. After retiring (again), she began, along with her sister Anne, editing her fathers letters for publication and resumed her painting.

She is the mother of five successful, happy children and nine grandchildren. She lives in Livingston, Montana, with her husband, Johnny (Montana) Hale, a musician, songwriter, and retired motion pictureindustry technician.

Most of her life decisions have been influenced in one way or another by her father, Alan Watts.

A NNE W ATTS s philosophies were also strongly shaped by her experience as the daughter of Alan Watts. Anne is a certified hypnotherapist and an educator and counselor in the areas of human sexuality, sexual abuse, family stress, self-esteem, healing the inner child, and financial and aging issues. Since 1985, she has facilitated hundreds of workshops in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, England, and Germany with the Human Awareness Institute, work she is deeply passionate about. Since 2008, she has also been a regular faculty member at Esalen Institute.

Anne is the proud mother of two children, Myra Krien and Michael Andrews, and three grandsons, Max Krien, Oliver Andrews, and Eli Andrews. She lives in Santa Rosa, California, in a deeply loving relationship with her husband, Mark Kupke, who has been her partner since 1984.

Alan Watts. It is amazing to us what mentioning this name at a social gathering will often evoke. Overwhelmingly, the reaction is Youve got to be kidding! Hes your father? His books changed my life! Other reactions have included such statements as May I kiss your feet? Can I touch you? or You seem too normal to be his daughter! Alan Watts, philosopher and interpreter of Eastern philosophy and religions and Christian doctrine, had for years answered the big questions Why are we here? and What is the meaning of our existence? His explanations resonated with people of all walks of life and beliefs. It has been over forty years since his death, and yet his writings and lectures are more popular than ever worldwide. Glance through YouTube to view him lecturing or Google his name, and you will find many sites with information about him. Wikipedia has a long synopsis of his philosophical beliefs, personal life, accomplishments, and bibliography, as do many other sites. His books are published in more than twenty-seven countries and in many languages including Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. There are at least five Facebook pages dedicated to discussions about his life and writings. Amazingly, there are murals that bear his portrait on public buildings in at least three countries.