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Born in England in 1915, Alan Watts attended
King's College School Canterbury, served on the
Council of the World Congress of Faiths (1936-38),
and came to the United States in 1938. He held
a Master's Degree in Theology from Seabury-Western
Theological Seminary and an Honarary DD from the
University of of Vermont in recognition of his
work in the field of comparative religions. Alan
Watts become widely recognized for his Zen writings
and for The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing
Who You Are.
He died in 1973 at his home in California (the
Vallejo), and is survived by his second wife and
seven children. For more than forty years, Alan
Watts earned a reputation as a foremost interpreter
of Eastern philosophies for the West. Beginning
at age sixteen, when he wrote essay for the journal
of the Buddhist Lodge in London, he developed
an audience of millions who were enriched through
his books, tape recordings, radio, television,
and public lectures.
In all Watts wrote more than twenty-five books
and recorded hundreds of lecture and seminars,
all building toward a personal philosophy that
he shared in complete candor and joy with his
readers and listeners throughout the world. His
overall works have presented a model of individuality
and self-expression that can be matched by few
philosophers. His life and work reflect an astonishing
adventure: he was an editor, Anglican priets,
graduate dean, broadcaster, author, lecturer,
and entertainer. He has fascinations for archery,
calligraphy, cooking, chanting, and dancing, and
still was completely comfortable hiking alone
in the wilderness. He held fellowships from Harvard
University and the Bollingen Foundation, and was
Episcopal Chaplain at Northwestern University
during the Second World War. He became professor
and dean of the American Academy of Asian Studies
in San Francisco, made the television series "Eastern
Wisdom and Modern Life" for National Educational
Television, and served as a visiting consultant
for psychiatric institutions and hospitals, and
for the United States Air Force. In the mid-sixties
he traveled widely with his students in Japan,
and visited Burma, Ceylon, and India. Alan Watts
passed away in his sleep in the early hours of
November 16, 1973.
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