# Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (1915-1973) was a British-American writer, speaker, and "philosophical entertainer" who played a pivotal role in introducing Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism to Western audiences. Born in England, Watts joined the Buddhist Lodge in London at age 15 and published his first book on Zen at 21. After immigrating to America, he surprisingly became an Episcopal priest before leaving the church to focus on Eastern philosophy. Based in California, he taught at the American Academy of Asian Studies and gained popularity through KPFA radio broadcasts. Watts wrote over 25 influential books, including "The Way of Zen" and "The Wisdom of Insecurity," helping spark the 1960s counterculture interest in meditation, yoga, and Eastern spirituality. The Los Angeles Times called him "perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West," known for his rare gift of "writing beautifully the un-writable." ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Alan Watts]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Alan Watts]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Don't have a leaky mind]] - [[Sensible people get paid for doing what they enjoy doing]] - [[The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[Alan Watts]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC -->