Walking the Way
81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
Walking the Way affirms that, like yin and yang, the flowing spontaneity of Tao and the precise simplicity of Zen find perfect balance with one another. Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum brings the two traditions together in a unique presentation that elicits Zen insights from his fresh interpretation of verses from the Taoist classic, the Tao Te Ching. Personal anecdotes illustrate the dynamic potential of Rosenbaum's approach, skillfully revealing Zen within the Tao and the Tao of Zen. Not only does the author reveal the elegance of each tradition, he shows how their interrelatedness does, in fact, have import on our meditative practices and on our day-to-day lives. Parenting, meditating, dealing with setbacks and illnesses--Walking the Way shows us how to live well in the midst of many complex demands, finding harmony and equilibrium between honing in and letting go, balance between being ourselves and selflessly serving others.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drawing on his experience as a Zen practitioner and qigong teacher, psychologist Rosenbaum reflects on the Tao Te Ching, written in the sixth century B.C.E. This founding text of Taoism, the author writes, "is not a how to' manual; it is an invitation for us to practice finding our Way." The "original self" is a key theme as Rosenbaum explores each of the 81 verses, which he compiled from multiple translations; each section is followed by a brief, candid anecdote. Topics include silence, emptiness, effort, and empathy. Rosenbaum's concept is ambitious; however, acute observations are mixed with rambling, clich d, or dubious generalizations ("When you have no unfinished business, dying is not so big a deal"). Terms are sometimes used too vaguely, and the author addresses a "we" with pronouncements that not all readers may consider applicable ("We fear if we don't have enough money, fame, and power, we'll be vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life"). More "fragments of Zen" amid ruminations than "Zen encounters," the book makes explicit at its conclusion the author's attraction to the "effortless effort" of Taoism's Way to balance the "striving" that can sometimes emerge in the practice of Buddhism.
