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Title	:	The Essential Tao
Author	:	Thomas Cleary
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 168 pages
Published	:	2000 (first published 1991)
Categories	:	Philosophy. Nonfiction. Religion. Taoism. Spirituality. Classics. Poetry

The Essential Tao

Thomas Cleary

Hardcover | Pages: 168 pages

Rating: 4.12 | 757 Users | 29 Reviews

Commentary Toward Books The Essential Tao

The four stars are for the translation. Ranking the Tao Te Ching or Chuang Tzu is a fairly hilarious idea, equivalent to rating the New Testament. No book of any sort is more important to my way of thinking and, to the extent I can stay centered and uncentered, acting, in the world. Taoism is grounded in notions of flow, of the generative emptiness at the center of all things, and the Tao Te Ching particularly emphasizes the implications for political and social life.

For Americans, the main point is to embrace yin energy. We ain't good at it.

Anyway, I'm in the process of reading my way through Cleary's collected translations of the key texts of both the Taoist and (the closely related) Buddhist traditions. A Harvard professor who knows the traditions and the cloud of commentaries surrounding the key texts inside and out, Cleary has given us a set of gifts of inestimable value. If you follow my reviews, you'll be hearing about the specifics regularly over the next few years (provided I don't get hit by a bus and all).

In the case of these texts, his translation places a very heavy emphasis on what I'd call the Confucian dimension of the text: the readings and interpretations that foreground the implications for those in public life. This is a part of what they're about and anyone translating the Chinese characters is going to have to make choices. Cleary's are useful and defensible, but I prefer Stephen Mitchell's less scholarly, more poetic, and more inward translation of the Tao Te Ching. Cleary's not a poet and that's okay, but if you stick with his version, you'll have trouble understanding why I love and honor this book as deeply as I do.

Itemize Books In Favor Of The Essential Tao

Original Title:	The Essential Tao: An Initiation into the Heart of Taoism through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-Tzu
ISBN:	0641535414 (ISBN13: 9780641535413)

Rating Appertaining To Books The Essential Tao

Ratings: 4.12 From 757 Users | 29 Reviews

Piece Appertaining To Books The Essential Tao

Love this combo as presented by Cleary. I find value in the many versions of these classic texts.

Cleary is the preeminent translator of Chinese thought. He does a predictably excellent job making this classic retain the musical reading style of the original Chinese, as well as convey the simple, yet profound, philosophy.

This book is great as it has both the Tao Te Ching and the teachings of Chuang Tzu in the same publication. If you're interested in learning more about Tao or exploring it for the first time, this would be a book I would recommend.

Published in 1992, the world needs this book . . . . ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

General Notes: This book was sweet because as a newcomer to eastern thought it had both the Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. (Chuang Tzu stuff is harder to find in libraries, sometimes.) I didn't realize how important Chuang Tzu was until I used this book to check him out. This Thomas Cleary translation seems weak for the Tao Te Ching, but good for Chuang Tzu. Also, it will be impossible to understand Chuang Tzu if you haven't read Lao-Tzu first. And even then it is still sometimes hard to understand

I have read several translations of Tao Te Ching and this was the least accessible of them. I like the format of the volume, beginning with Tao Te Ching and proceeding through Chuang Tzu to a helpful historical essay and a (not-so-helpful) commentary in the end, but the execution of the format did not impress me. I would recommend looking elsewhere for those seeking an introduction to the principles of Taoism.

Beautiful words, but hard-to-understand meaning. The language of this book is not straightforward, therefore, you have to contemplate the words before you understand its meaning. If you're seeking instant practical understanding of Tao, i do not recommend this book. But, if you love to interpret poetry, maybe you'll appreciate this book.