From tyagi@bjt.net Wed Dec 18 16:10:55 1996 Return-Path: tyagi@bjt.net Received: from kudonet.com (kudonet.com [165.227.52.1]) by bitsy.hollyfeld.org (8.7.4/8.7.3) with SMTP id QAA25994 for ; Wed, 18 Dec 1996 16:10:51 -0500 Received: by kudonet.com (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id LAA10467; Wed, 18 Dec 1996 11:59:49 -0800 Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 11:59:49 -0800 Message-Id: <199612181959.LAA10467@kudonet.com> To: tyagi@hollyfeld.org Subject: Zen/9612.alwatts.gb From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva) Reply-To: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva) Status: O >Path: kudonet.com!news.scruz.net!noos.hooked.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news1.best.com!nntp1.best.com!usenet >From: george@apan.org.this-text-foils-spam-bots (George Byrd) >Newsgroups: talk.religion.buddhism >Subject: Re: Alan Watts >Date: Tue, 17 Dec 1996 04:14:33 GMT >Organization: AIDS Prevention Action Network (APAN), Inc. >Lines: 87 >Message-ID: <5956ij$434@nntp1.best.com> >References: <32AAF045.1C0B@kjemi.unit.no> <32AC9F93.43B5@mit.edu> <58maeg$lao@lana.zippo.com> >Reply-To: george@apan.org.junk-this-for-email-address >NNTP-Posting-Host: jt4rigs.vip.best.com >X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.0.82 In , 11 Dec 1996 04:46:08 -0800, On "Re: Alan Watts", wrote: >In article <32AC9F93.43B5@mit.edu>, rick says... >> >>Svein Jarle Horn wrote: >>> ...how did Alan Watts die? (I mean, he wasn't that >>> old...) IIRC, it was Nov. 16, 1973. According to his autobiography, _In_My_Own_Way_, he was born "at Rowan Tree Cottage in Holbrook Lane, in the village of Chilsehurst, Kent, England, almost due south of Greenwich, on the morning of January 6, 1915, at about twenty minutes after six, with the Sun in Capricorn, conjuncted with Mars and Mercury and in trine to a Moon in Virgo with Saggitarius rising, and under bombardment in the midst of the First World War." That would make him almost 59 y.o. when his wife Jano was unable to awaken him that November '73 morning in their cottage on Mt. Tam. According to Henry Jacobs, who was present at dinner the previous evening, A.W. spent some time before retiring laughing and playing with a big red balloon, which floated up to the ceiling. A.W. had just returned from conducting a series of seminars, and said that he had just given his best ever seminar. >>A combination of factors: failure of the heart to pump blood, >>failure of the brain to maintain body functions such as heart, >>lungs, and central nervous system. >>That's how we all die - his particular condition? I don't know. According to _Zen_Effects_, A.W.'s biography by Monica Furlong, published in the 1980s, he died in his sleep, probably of a heart attack. This account is confirmed by many of his friends & colleagues. >>Yes, he writes wonderfully. And spoke perhaps even more wonderfully. There are archives of hundreds of seminars he recorded on the Nagra that Henry "Sandy" Jacobs gave him in the 1960s. Luckily these R-to-R masters were not lost in the Pt. Reyes fire of '95 which destroyed Jacobs home and recording studio. For more information about recordings of A. W., see Henry Jacobs' MEA homepage at . Alan Watts also founded the Electronic University in the years prior to his death. A.W.'s son Mark is still operating E.U., and also has published considerable of A.W.'s early, previously unpublished work. See for details. >It is perhaps worth noting that Mr. Watts' death may well have had >something to do with the long term excessive use of alcohol. Yet >certainly his writings have done a great deal to spread the Dharma. >Maybe one should view him as a wounded healer or a Bodhisattva on >crutches. A.W. was not a stone buddha. His alcohol and tobacco consumption were real, but no more so than his teachings. IIRC he was given the title "Great Dharma Gate" by Richard Baker (later Roshi) at ceremonies following his death, at Green Gulch Zen Center near Stinson Beach and Mt. Tam, CA. >May Alan Watts have a favorable rebirth! There was an interesting story on this "rebirth" matter, related in the last chapter of Furlong's bio. I'll not spoil Furlong's story by relating it here. But pay particular attention to thunderstorms and beautiful redheaded women if you believe in literal rebirth. Hope this information helps. George -- Opinions above are NOT those of APAN, Inc. Opinions above are NOT legal advice. "I know a Zen Master, Joshu Sasaki, who has let it be known that the best form of meditation is to stand up with your hands on your hips and roar with laughter for ten minutes every morning." << Alan Watts, Prologue to _In_My_Own_Way_ >>