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I was a bit suprised when I jumped to this forum and found only Doc's post. Of course, there must always be a first to everything but considering the numerous comments and discourses pertaining to Taoism put forth in many of the other forums, one would think that this forum would be filled with discussions regarding at least some of the massive body of Taoist literature, much of which has been translated into English making it accessible to anyone and not just sinologists. Be that as it may, I would like to suggest a book for those individuals who are interested and wish to delve a bit deeper into the many aspects of Taoism. I chose this particular work for a number of reasons, one being that the text is is a mere 103 pages making it terse enough to not daunt the prospective reader. Secondly, the translator is Thomas Cleary. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Professor Cleary, aside from the fact that he holds a doctorate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and has translated over thirty major works of Taoism and Buddhism, he possesses an unusual innate talent for translating not just the words of the writer but the spirit and intent as well. The book I would suggest to kick off this first entry is Awakening To The Tao [ISBN: 0-87773-447-X]by Liu I-ming who was an 18th century Taoist adept and scholar of Buddhism and Confucianism. The third reason for chosing this work is to provide some insight into how Indian Buddhism (which had already been influenced during it's passage through Tibet) underwent a transformation when it came into contact with indigenous Taoism and Confucianism. Should anyone wish to propose some other Taoist work instead of this one, please do so as this work isn't definitive by any means.
"A parrot can be taught to speak, a monkey can be taught to act; they are able to do these
things not because of their original natures, but because people gradually teach them. What
I realize as I observe this is the Tao of seeking teachers and finding companions." "Ignorant
students follow their own minds and act arbitrarily. Indulging in guesswork, they consider
themselves bright and will not humble themselves. Thus they misapprehend the road ahead.
Though they are said to deceive others, in reality they are deceiving themselves."
Liu I-ming
All
I was a bit suprised when I jumped to this forum and found only Doc's post. Of course, there must always be a first to everything but considering the numerous comments and discourses pertaining to Taoism put forth in many of the other forums, one would think that this forum would be filled with discussions regarding at least some of the massive body of Taoist literature, much of which has been translated into English making it accessible to anyone and not just sinologists. Be that as it may, I would like to suggest a book for those individuals who are interested and wish to delve a bit deeper into the many aspects of Taoism. I chose this particular work for a number of reasons, one being that the text is is a mere 103 pages making it terse enough to not daunt the prospective reader. Secondly, the translator is Thomas Cleary. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Professor Cleary, aside from the fact that he holds a doctorate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and has translated over thirty major works of Taoism and Buddhism, he possesses an unusual innate talent for translating not just the words of the writer but the spirit and intent as well. The book I would suggest to kick off this first entry is Awakening To The Tao [ISBN: 0-87773-447-X]by Liu I-ming who was an 18th century Taoist adept and scholar of Buddhism and Confucianism. The third reason for chosing this work is to provide some insight into how Indian Buddhism (which had already been influenced during it's passage through Tibet) underwent a transformation when it came into contact with indigenous Taoism and Confucianism. Should anyone wish to propose some other Taoist work instead of this one, please do so as this work isn't definitive by any means.
"A parrot can be taught to speak, a monkey can be taught to act; they are able to do these
things not because of their original natures, but because people gradually teach them. What
I realize as I observe this is the Tao of seeking teachers and finding companions." "Ignorant
students follow their own minds and act arbitrarily. Indulging in guesswork, they consider
themselves bright and will not humble themselves. Thus they misapprehend the road ahead.
Though they are said to deceive others, in reality they are deceiving themselves."
Liu I-ming
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