By Thomas Cleary
From the time of its earliest sages in prehistoric China, Taoism has regarded to the underlying method of all issues (the Tao) as a consultant to options and activities. For the Taoists, the styles of nature published the solutions to their private non secular questions and supplied the foundation for his or her precise teachings. Over the centuries, Taoism has blossomed right into a profound culture with a number of forms—all united by means of a unmarried, center philosophy of radical simplicity and normal residing. this present day, Taoism is most generally identified in the course of the Tao-te Ching, but its corpus of literature is vast—ranging from philosophical dialogues and essays to wonderful fables, legends, proverbs, and extra. This compact choice of Taoism’s maximum masterpieces introduces its such a lot basic teachings and divulges the basic spirit of Tao.
The Taoism Reader includes:
• Tao-te Ching: the foundational resource of Taoist concept through the mythical Lao Tzu
• Chuang-tzu: philosophical dialogues from one in all Taoism’s most renowned sages
• Huai-nan-tzu: teachings from the time of the Han dynasty on political views, usual technological know-how, and Taoist psychology
• Wen-tzu: documents of extra sayings by means of Lao Tzu at the artwork of living
• stories of internal which means: fables, tales, and jokes from the Lieh-tzu and others at the subtleties of Taoist philosophy
• Sayings of Ancestor Lü: teachings from Lü Yen, a seminal determine within the founding of the entire truth tuition of Taoism and grasp synthesizer of China’s vintage religious traditions