Born in Chislehurst, situated in south-east London, Watts moved to the United States in 1938. After studying Zen philosophy in New York, he went on to gain a master's degree in theology at the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Illinois. In 1945, he began a career as an Episcopal priest but abandoned this vocation in search of more knowledge of Eastern traditions. By 1950, he had relocated to California to attend the American Academy of Asian Studies. He would remain in the state by and large until his death in 1973.