Define Of Books The Essential Tao
| Title | : | The Essential Tao |
| Author | : | Thomas Cleary |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 168 pages |
| Published | : | 2000 (first published 1991) |
| Categories | : | Philosophy. Nonfiction. Religion. Taoism. Spirituality. Classics. Poetry |
Thomas Cleary
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 168 pages Rating: 4.12 | 757 Users | 29 Reviews
Commentary During Books The Essential Tao
The four stars are for the translation. Ranking the Tao Te Ching or Chuang Tzu is a fairly hilarious idea, equivalent to rating the New Testament. No book of any sort is more important to my way of thinking and, to the extent I can stay centered and uncentered, acting, in the world. Taoism is grounded in notions of flow, of the generative emptiness at the center of all things, and the Tao Te Ching particularly emphasizes the implications for political and social life.For Americans, the main point is to embrace yin energy. We ain't good at it.
Anyway, I'm in the process of reading my way through Cleary's collected translations of the key texts of both the Taoist and (the closely related) Buddhist traditions. A Harvard professor who knows the traditions and the cloud of commentaries surrounding the key texts inside and out, Cleary has given us a set of gifts of inestimable value. If you follow my reviews, you'll be hearing about the specifics regularly over the next few years (provided I don't get hit by a bus and all).
In the case of these texts, his translation places a very heavy emphasis on what I'd call the Confucian dimension of the text: the readings and interpretations that foreground the implications for those in public life. This is a part of what they're about and anyone translating the Chinese characters is going to have to make choices. Cleary's are useful and defensible, but I prefer Stephen Mitchell's less scholarly, more poetic, and more inward translation of the Tao Te Ching. Cleary's not a poet and that's okay, but if you stick with his version, you'll have trouble understanding why I love and honor this book as deeply as I do.
List Books To The Essential Tao
| Original Title: | The Essential Tao: An Initiation into the Heart of Taoism through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-Tzu |
| ISBN: | 0641535414 (ISBN13: 9780641535413) |
Rating Of Books The Essential Tao
Ratings: 4.12 From 757 Users | 29 ReviewsAssessment Of Books The Essential Tao
My problem with the Tao Te Ching and the Teachings of Chang Tzu is that they are too esoteric. I started reading with the expectation that they might have some unique wisdom, but they are too hard to understand for me. There are too many poorly defined terms like "being", "the Way", etc.In fact, I felt like much of either of the two ancient texts in this book were alluding to philosophical issues in a very crude way, philsophical issues that I am already familiar with. So these texts are only
A good look at the fundamental teachings of Taoism. This book really makes you think about life.
Lots of great wisdom here. Especially for the Western mind.
The four stars are for the translation. Ranking the Tao Te Ching or Chuang Tzu is a fairly hilarious idea, equivalent to rating the New Testament. No book of any sort is more important to my way of thinking and, to the extent I can stay centered and uncentered, acting, in the world. Taoism is grounded in notions of flow, of the generative emptiness at the center of all things, and the Tao Te Ching particularly emphasizes the implications for political and social life.For Americans, the main
On the top 10 list of best philosophy works of all time in my opinion. Deep insights into the origin of life the universe, humankind , the human condition, values, and principles to life by and even more. I can read the same passage numerous times and get a different meaning depending on my own perspective at the time. A philosophy must.
I've been reading the Tao Te Ching in daily installments from Daily Lit. It's something totally different from what I normally read. The Tao Te Ching consists of 81 short poems, which you can read here. It was written about 2,500 years ago by Lao Tzu and is the basis for the philosophical school of Taoism. Most of the themes in the Tao Te Ching are about living life simply and doing away with material things. 'He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who
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