Chapter Twenty-One – The Life of Alan Watts
From Ferryboat Vallejo to Druid Heights 1964 -1969
‘Beyond Theology: The Art of Godmanship’ was delivered to Watts’ publishers, Pantheon, in 1964. The book is a plea for the modernization of Christianity, since previously, Watts, felt “ my discussions did not take proper account of the whole aspect of Christianity which is uncompromising, ornery, militant, rigorous, imperious and invincibly self-righteous”.
Watts' popularity grew with the counter culture, although his reputation among ‘serious’ people continued to falter. As Theodore Roszak, emeritus professor of History at California State University and author of ‘The Making of a Counter Culture’, wrote
“ (Watts) has approached his task with an impish willingness to be catchy and cute, and play at philosophy as if it was an enjoyable game. It is a style easily mistaken for flippancy and it has exposed him to a deal of rather arrogant criticism: on the one hand from elitist Zen devotees who have found him too discursive for their mystic tastes (I recall one such telling me smugly “Watts has never experienced Satori”) and on the other hand from professional philosophers who have been inclined to ridicule him for his popularizing bent, as being, in the words of one academic, “The Norman Vincent Peale of Zen””. (Peale was the author of the Ur-self help text, ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’.)
In 1966, possibly Watts most accomplished and penetrating book, ‘The Book (on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are” was published. Watts claims that it is a translation of Vedanta ideas, but any established authority on Vedanta may find only a limited amount that they will recognize. Like ‘The Wisdom of Insecurity’ it is brief –only six chapters – but a great deal is packed between the covers. And it is provocatively titled - since the literal translation of The Bible, is of course, ‘The Book’ (or ‘The Books’)
By 1967, the year of the ‘summer of love’, Watts, according to Gary Snyder, had become a full-scale flower child. Now he had long flowing hair, a beard, and various kinds of kimonos, gowns or chasubles. He was never to be seen in trousers, shirts and ties any more.
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