I always thought it was a shame that Alan Watts died at such a young age (58). And how incongruous, I thought, that he should die from alcohol-related health problems. But then again, maybe it’s not so strange!

From an interview with one of Watts’ associates, Gia Fu Feng:

Q. You’ve mentioned Alan Watts several times and I know that you’ve been with him when he was teaching. What was he like to be with?

A. You see Alan Watts was very creative. When he drinks he’s very clever. He was in a class, you know, at night time, he was all drunk. But his lectures were never boring. He was a tremendous entertainer. He said, “I’m an entertainer, I’m no Buddhist philosopher.”

Q. Alan Watts actually died from alcohol, didn’t he?

A. Oh yeah. At that time he drank whisky by the bottle.

Q. But how could that tie in with the Tao?

A. That’s from the Tao! The fact that he drank is totally in tune with the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove-his utter disregard for convention. One of the sages, a famous poet called Liu Ling, had a servant who followed him carrying a jug of wine and a spade. In this way he always had some wine to drink and his servant would be ready to bury him if he dropped dead during a drinking bout! It’s in the Tao. So Alan Watts’ drinking is quite Taoistic.

I stumbled upon this (here) when looking for info regarding his untimely end, expecting further tragedy. And yet — what a terrific story! I need to get myself one of those jug carriers.

Coincidentally I learnt earlier today that a wine jug is called an oenochoe!