Teachings of the Tao
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- USD 14.99
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- USD 14.99
Publisher Description
"The Tao that can be spoken of is not the real Way," reads a famous line from the Tao-te-ching. But although the Tao cannot be described by words, words can allow us to catch a fleeting glimpse of that mysterious energy of the universe which is the source of life. The readings in this book are a beginner's entrée into the vast treasury of writings from the sacred Chinese tradition, consisting of original translations of excerpts from the Taoist canon. Brief introductions and notes on the translation accompany the selections from the classics; books of devotional and mystical Taoism; texts of internal alchemy; stories of Taoist immortals, magicians, and sorcerers; ethical tracts; chants and rituals; and teachings on meditation and methods of longevity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The greatest strength of this collection is that it goes beyond the well-known texts of the Tao-Te Ching, Chuang-Tzu and Lieh-Tzu to encompass the later Taoist texts featuring the magical, alchemical, devotional and physical facets of Taoism. However, the weakness of the book is that it is too brief. Meant as a companion volume to Wong's The Shambhala Guide to Taoism, this collection can only touch on the complex symbolism of the lesser-known texts. Moreover, Wong's careful elaboration of the textual histories of the Taoist canon becomes bafflingly complicated, only increasing the sense that this little book has taken on a subject too large for its pages. While the translations are elegant and the commentary clear and thoughtful, readers may feel shortchanged by being asked to buy another book to make sense of this one.
