Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master

by Ming-Dao Deng and Deng Ming-Dao

Book Overview

For the first time in one volume--an extraordinary spiritual odyssey of the making of the Taoist master Kwan Saihung. Born into a wealthy family in a remote province of China, Kwan defies his parents' wishes and enters into the rigorous and mysterious discipline of Taoist practice. Renamed Little Butterfly by his Taoist masters, he survives the upheaval of the Japanese occupation, and the later the Chinese Revolution, all the while becoming adept...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062502190
• ISBN13: 9780062502193
• Release Date: October 1993
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Tao of a Taoist

Master Deng wrote this bio chronicle how an American born Chinese in San Francisco learned his Tao from a Kung Fu Master in philosophy and practice. His kung fu fighting action was so vivid that you can almost hear and see the action. He completely inherited his Master and share with the English non Chinese readers. This book is good for the general public especially for the politicians in Washington. Misguided and misunderstanding on Chinese philosophy may trigger confrontation in might is right. Tai Chi will borrow your might and turn it back against you. Learning Chinese philosophy is the beginning of wisdom!

The secret life of a Taoist master

This one volume collection contains all three novels of the Taoist master Kwan Saihung: 1) _The Wandering Taoist_ I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly this text flows, but then perhaps I should have expected this from a work so full of the true essence of the Tao. Primarily, this is the story of the education of a Taoist adept and renunciate from willful child to a master who is fully in harmony with heaven and earth. Secondarily, it is a glimpse into the intact monastic community of the Haushan mountains- before its dissolution in the post-Imperial chaos of the 20th century. There is more than a little Taoist wisdom interwoven into the story. Indeed, it is a fine teaching aid. You get a sense of the careful guiding and molding of young Kwan Saihung by the Grand Master. Basic Taoist ethics, meditation, internal alchemy, healing, martial arts, divination, astral travel- are all touched upon. You get a sense of both the mundane and tedious groundwork of monastic life, as well as, the ego-shattering elements of crisis and initiation. The advice concerning the purging of one's ming huan (karma) is especially refreshing in today's world. You came into this world with problems and dilemmas to be met and mastered. You are to burn away all your attachments and worldly goals, purge desire, and satisfy the thirst for knowledge (the exact opposite of the teachings of modern materialism.) You never refuse experience, and you overcome all obstacles that such experience presents. In this way you can leave this word fulfilled and pass to a higher plane. Saihung's anger at the Japanese invasion of the 30's- and his decision to leave the order and fight as a "wandering Taoist"- is more than a little appropriate in today's world. After years of soul-numbing combat he returned to the monastery. He had come to realize the ultimate corruption of the outer world and the meaninglessness of war. He came to realize that humanity had to work out their own destiny- including war- and that no Taoist (or even the Jade Emperor) could do it for them. 2) _Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel_ While reading this second book in the author's _Chronicles of the Tao Trilogy_ it repeatedly occurred to me that it lacked the depth and meaning of the first volume. It seemed to have degenerated to a martial arts morality play. However, having finished reading the last section, I now see that I was wrong. This is even more powerful than the first book, for it is a tale of slipping from the Path of the Tao having once touched upon it. It is a story of striving, falling, and re-ascending. The book starts with some excellent discussions on the nature of Taoism and the Tao. But after that it quickly switches to a description of martial arts training and how it intersects with the spiritual lives of the monks of Huanchan. Indeed, the pride of some of the monks, even the Grand Master, at meeting and defeating any and all challengers seemed very... questionable. Then Sa

Front row seat to the best Taoist story in town

Taoism is one of those subjects that seems to become more difficult to grasp the more you study it. While there are many good academic, philosophical, and religious books on the subject, there is no substitute for actually applying Taoism to your own life. But if there was a book that came close to being such a substitute, it would be something like /Chronicles of Tao/.This beautifully written book follows the life of Kwan Saihung, from his childhood beginnings with his rich and powerful family, to his dabbling and eventual immersion in Taoism. Deng Ming-Dao weaves the story in an expert fashion, and everything flows rather smoothly. This book is like a river, zigging and zagging through the events of Saihung's life. Every now and then, while following Saihung and his exploration of what it means to be a Taoist, the reader catches brief glimpses of the backdrop of events in China, such as the invasion by Japan. These tidbits provide good cultural background and are seamlessly woven into the story.There are, of course, elements of the mystical and magical in this book. These add flavor to the story, and remind us that here is more to Taoism than sitting around and pondering riddles and the Yin-Yang symbol. Even if you don't believe that the Grand Master could truly light sticks of incense across the room simply with a hand gesture, you will be too busy enjoying the rest of /Chronicles/ to even care.The long and short of it is that this is one of the best Taoism-related books I've ever read. And even if you're not all that interested in Eastern thought, there is much to enjoy here - after all, the story is a delight to read regardless of your philosophical or religious views. Short of hopping the next plane to China and secluding yourself in a cave or temple, this is a great way to get a taste for living, breathing Taoism.

A powerful book about finding ones-self on our path in life.

A very powerful book. This book has affected me in my life. It has shown me that there are now ordinary moments in life. Life is not what it appears to be. "Reality" is what you make of it. I would recommend this book to any one that enjoys metaphysics or Eastern Philosophy.

A book to read and reread many times...

I read Deng Ming Dao's "Chronicles of Tao" many years ago under it's original form of 3 different books. Because of the way my life was at that time, I found it to be a wonderful adventure story. Deng Ming Dao is a master story teller and Kwan Saihung is a facinating subject. Later, after a major spiritual awakening, I reread it and found something deeper: the story of a man's spiritual journey through the practice of Taoism. Later still, I discovered Tai Chi and Qigong and upon another reading of "Chronicles of Tao", I found a lot of information about Taoist Qigong and health practices that I had missed in previous readings. Then one day I saw an ad in "QI" Magazine that Master Kwan Saihung was giving a seminar on Taoist Health Practices in St. Paul, Minnesota. I was literally on a plane bound for St. Paul 2 weeks later to meet this "Wandering Taoist". That first seminar was the first of many lessons with Master Kwan who is alive and well and still teaching in New England. He is the Master teacher I was searching for for many years and Deng Ming Tao's excellent book, "Chronicles of Tao" led me to my Master. Which brings to mind an old Chinese saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Marilynn Seits cmr@cmrrecords.com

A spiritual adventure culminating in self-assessment!

An exceptional book which I have read twice and would very much like to read again. The book outlines the biographical history of Mr. Kwan. Selected at an early age, somewhat reluctantly, to begin study with a Taoist Grandmaster, we follow the developement of the young boy from a warrior clan family. His rejection of past to become a renunciate studying The Way. Difficulty, uncertainty and self-doubt must be overcome. The way cannot be learned but must be experienced. Mr. Kwan's experiences take him from esoteric battles of mind and spirit, to combat martial arts, war and death. All are part of The Way. We follow the magical, and often sad, life of old China, to its death at the hands of commercialism. The death of traditional Taoism but not of Tao. Mr. Kwan is taught that in order to reach the highest levels of enlightenment and to escape the eternal wheel of death and reincarnation one must fulfill one's destiny. First, however, one must find out what one's destiny is. Mr. Kwan has to seek his destiny not on Mt. Haushan, not in China, but in the West, dealing with all of the upheaval, confusion and prejudice inorder to achieve the ultimate human goal. This book is well written and prompts the reader to undergo a serious amount of self-assessment.