Alan Watts was an interesting guy; he said a lot of things like: "What's up is not necessarily up and what's down is not necessarily down, it all depends if you're standing on your head or not."
He had a ragged smile and raspy 20th century one-pack-a-day cigarette voice blessed by a proper English accent. Definitely a man of his time, sexist/racist by today's standards but liberal in his time.
While in his 20's, Watts had practiced Zen from a Japaneses teacher; after several months of being challenged in solving a koan, a riddle given to him by the Buddhist Monk, Watts said 'fuck it' and quit. What a day that must have been for Watts, for he had claimed himself as a Buddhist since he had been 15, and now, in his early 20's, challenged by the very faith he professed to be, he quit.
Fortunately for us all, Watts went on to bring Zen to America. He never claimed to be a guru or saint, only a man who didn't know up from down, but did no heaven from hell. His watered-down version of Zen is everywhere in the Western world today, from crossed-legged meditations in Christian churches to heated Yoga mats in health spas, the ways of the Buddha are as American as apple pie and hot dogs.
Thank You Alan Watts.
