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Product Description
Product Description
While many know that Taosim is somehow connected to Buddhism, but they may not understand it's far-reaching influence on Eastern philosophy today. Without Taoism, many believe Buddhism would never have caught on--concepts of simplicity and balance come to us from the mixing of Chinese Taoism and Buddhism. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Taoism continues this tradition in helping people understand the history of Taoism, the interpretations of the Tao te Ching and how to Taoism touches our daily life.
About the Author
Zen Master Bon Yeon (Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz) received Transmission in April 2000. She is a Guiding Teacher of Cambridge Zen Center, where she was Abbot for four years and where she lived for ten years. A student of Zen Master Seung Sahn since 1982, she has practiced extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She also studied Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition in Nepal, and was a Vipassana student for three years. She is an editor of The Whole World Is A Single Flower by Zen Master Seung Sahn.
Brandon Toropov is a Boston-based writer who has appeared on more than 100 local and national broadcast programs. He is the author of several Complete Idiot's Guides®.
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Customer Reviews
Readers already well read in Taoism should not fail to read Shippers classic 'The Taoist Body' which will turn many a misconception of Taoism on its head and open a deep understanding of this endlessly rewarding subject.
While the back cover was probably written by the publisher and not the authors (it even mentions "ying-yang" instead of the correct "yin-yang"), the material inside the book is what counts. But because of the faults I mentioned with the material inside, I found myself taking everything else I read in the book with a grain of salt because I was unsure of its accuracy. And while it does provide some information on the history of taoism, chinese dynasties, and taoist religion, I'm concerned that this book would mislead those new to taoism.
If you are new to taoism and would like to learn more, I recommend picking up a good translation of the Tao Te Ching and starting there. "Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Translation" by Jonathan Star is my personal favorite translation because it includes a verbatim, word-for-word translation of the text. Also recommended is the translation by Brian Browne Walker.
This /Idiot's Guide/ also has chapters on Taoist thoughts on nature, skill, and life and death. These chapters illuminate the Taoist perspective on many aspects of life, and do so a lot more effectively than a list of dry, fixed "shall" and "shall not" items would be able to. The book also includes some thought-provoking overviews of the links between Taoism and Christianity, modern physics, popular culture (i.e. The Matrix), and so forth.
This book is not page after page of dogmatic rules on how you should or should not think, or should or should not live. Anyone looking for such things will be disappointed with /The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism/, and indeed Taoism itself. The authors went to great lengths to provide a cohesive intro to the history of Taoism, as well as the core ideas that make it a viable philosophy (or religion) to this day. I think the main goal when writing this book was to get the reader to actively *think* about life, and how traditional Taoist perspectives match up with the experiences of daily life.
If you're up to the challenge of genuinely thinking about Taoism, and how it can be applied to all aspects of the world, this book will definitely satisfy you. As the authors say in their introduction, "Think of /The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism/ as a flashlight; judge its effectiveness by what it helps you see more clearly as you make your own way along the path."
It's a good introduction to ancient Chinese philosophy, the context of Zhuangzi and Laozi. The philosophy isn't watered down too much, and fortunately (thanks no doubt to Chad Hansen's contribution) it's not mixed in with unrelated stuff from the Upanishads or anything like that.
There is a misprint on the back, "ying-yang" which must be slang for the padding surrounding one's gluteus maximus; inside the book the spelling is correct. The explanation of yin-yang is also correct and simple.
I would've wanted a lot more information on religious Taoism: information about modern movements and so on. Which deities are most commonly worshipped in Taiwan, which in Hong Kong, which in Beijing? And, how are they worshipped? I'd like information about Taoist pilgrimages, Taoist sacred places, and so on. The book doesn't touch any of that: minus one star.
Also, the bit on quantum physics could be greatly, greatly improved. Maybe they could've asked a few grad students at a physics dep't for commentary? It would have greatly helped: minus one star.
However, I just couldn't give the book 3 stars; the chapters on politics and ecology were surprisingly good, the internet links are too helpful, and as I said earlier the explanation of ancient Chinese philosophy was too good. So, maybe there's a little grade inflation here.
In sum, it's a good introduction to Taoism, and it'll prepare you to move on to deeper stuff, and help you find it.
If, like, you're already a Taoist immortal or something, this book isn't for you, and you can't really criticize it for that. I'd expect you to realize that already.
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