This Is It

In 1936, when he was only 21, Watts became editor of the journal Buddhism in England. In its pages, he advised readers to adopt a Zen attitude and take things as they come. He urged a "not only but also" approach to life, recognizing that opposites can't exist without each other. In antipuritanical essays, he pleaded for bringing sexual enjoyment and a sense of humor back into spirituality. If Watts's youthful writings are often stilted and lack the inner voice of authority that made his later works so popular, they nevertheless contain much of interest to students of Eastern wisdom. His absolute pacifism, spelled out uncompromisingly in one essay, led him to flee London for the U.S. His Jungian interpretations breathe new meaning into the symbols of the lotus, wind, water and fire. A forthcoming volume will cover writings from this period that ran in other journals.