The Wisdom of the Taoists

Book Overview

In Chinese, Tao means simply way or path, and the mysticism of the early Taoists grew out of the longing and search for union with an eternal "Way." To attune oneself to the rhythms of nature rather than to conform to the artificialities of man-made institutions (embodied in the rigid hierarchies of orthodox Confucianism) became the goal of Taoist masters such as Chuang-tz , who refused high office so that he could, like the turtle, "drag his tail in the mud." As the British authority on early Chinese religion, D. Howard Smith, expresses it in his lucid introduction to The Wisdom of the Taoists: "To seek and find that mysterious principle, to discover it within one's inmost being, to observe its workings in the great universe outside, and to become utterly engulfed in its serenity and quietude came to be the supreme goal of the Taoist mystics." In presenting the wide spectrum of Taoist thought and experience, Professor Smith has newly translated excerpts from a variety of mystical writings. He concentrates, however, on the two basic sources of Taoism, the humorous and satirical stories of Chuang-tzu (who lived in the fourth century B. C. in Honan) and the Tao-T -Ching, a classic of mysticism attributed to Lao-tz . Eventually, Taoism broadened into a magical folk religion, but the dedication to the inward path, the emptying of self, and the search for the nameless principle that could be apprehended only in quiet periods of ecstatic vision contributed to the Chinese form of Buddhism known as Ch'an--which we in the West know better by its Japanese name of Zen.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811207773
• ISBN13: 9780811207775
• Release Date: November 1980
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 98 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Neat book

IN MEMORY OF MARIO PONTILLOSince the late 1970's, I have studied Mr. Lee's "Way of the Intercepting fist." This is a neat little book of quotations, really some excellent examples contained with in. Ya, you guessed it, I have a 1st edition 1980 (Mario's)Please don't hesitate to check out my book that I published while in the U.S. Navy in 2003:"Under the Rose: Poetry of Tragedy, Essence, and Romance"

Nice Collection of Parables

This book is not that long, but it includes a number of sayings that I have not found in any other english book. The introduction is very informative and I enjoyed it's discussion of the 'development of taoism' & 'taoist mysticism'. Some of the sayings are obviously from Taoist Classics such as Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, but others are from sources I have yet to discover. All in all I would recommend this book to those who want a read a quote and then think about it... maybe even one a day, but I read lots of them and then reread them and let what was of interest to me emmerge. There are definitely some good quotes, but it is not a story or anything like that.