Embarking on the Way: A Guide to Western Taoism

by Solala Towler

Written in simple and non-scholarly fashion, Embarking On the Way is designed to present the fascinating world of Taoist philosophy and practice to Western readers. It encompasses a wide range of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0964991225
• ISBN13: 9780964991224
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Abode of the Eternal Tao
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Good Primer on Western Taoism

As you might surmise by the title, this book is a primer on Taoism as it is evolving in the West. Like Buddhism which has changed with each culture into which it has spread, Taoism too is changing as it puts roots into Western soil. As the editor of The Empty Vessel, Towler has a unique perspective on Western Taoism as he meets and interviews students and Masters of this path. The book covers "Taoism 101", historical Taoism, concepts such as wu wei, yin/yang, and topics such as Qigong (no exercises given), traditional Chinese medicine, meditation, and Taoist sex practices. While some reviewers here seem to object highly to the last topic, sex was not prohibited anywhere in the Tao Te Ching last time I looked and it is only one chapter on a valid topic of interest to many Westerners who are unlikely to become wandering celibates. Readers who do not believe in the importance of sexuality in Taoism should either skip this chapter or read Cleary's translations of texts from the Huang-Lao school of Taoism contained in "The Taoist Classics Vol 1" on specific sex practices that are encouraged for health. As in any primer of 162 pages attempting to cover such a huge topic, some chapters are shallow but the book is nicely informative overall and has a reasonably large bibliography. Although there are some guided meditations, there are no Qigong exercises, no specific herbalism, no specific sexual practices; the reader is going to need to do more research into what interests them. This is not really a "how-to" book. The serious student would do well to go to the sources of Taoist philosophy (Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, Lieh-tzu, etc) as well as the modern teachers, while remembering that "Knowing others is wisdom, knowing the self is enlightnment". This is a good place to start.

Stellar book

This book could have saved me a lot of time had I bought it a long time ago. The author has done is research.

Excellent way to dive into the Dao (Tao)!

Solala has perhaps the most unique perspective on the Tao of any westerner, as he is the publisher of The Empty Vessel, A Journal of Contemporary Taoism. He interviews them all, sees them all, has a chance to compare them all. So his viewpoint is extemely valuable to westerners trying to figure out where to go in a rather vast and diverse field. I am not surprised that a chinese reader didn't like the book, because it isn't aimed at someone who grew up witih ideas about taoism. It is a great book for westerners, and I use it in my introductory courses on Taoism as essential background reading (I am a professor of Tao Arts and Sciences at Great Western University).

The perfect introduction to Taoism for the western audience.

I highly recommend Embarking On The Way for anyone wanting to enter into Eastern Philosophy but find it hard to begin somewhere that is contempory for the Western Mind. I recommend it to all my clients who want to get a flavor of the many cultural aspects there are to Taoism and how it affects the day to day life of ordinary folks. Each chapter is a gem! Thanks for a great book!

The perfect introduction to Taoism for the western audience.

I highly recommend Embarking On The Way for anyone wanting to enter into Eastern Philosophy but find it hard to begin somewhere that is contempory for the Western Mind. I recommend it to all my clients who want to get a flavor of the many cultural aspects there are to Taoism and how it affects the day to day life of ordinary folks. Each chapter is a gem!