BACK TO BEGINNINGS (Shambhala Pocket Classics) [Paperback]

Huanchu Daoren (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shambhala Pocket Classics | Publication Date: June 7, 1994

The secrets of serenity and wisdom in a changing world can be found in these Taoist teachings, written during the late 16th century in the Ming dynasty. The author's reflections are an outgrowth of his upbringing in the science of neo-Confucianism, a lifelong career in public service, and his retirement at age 62 into Taoist apprenticeship.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

About the Author

Huanchu Daoren, which means "A Wayfarer Back to Beginnings," is the Taoist name of Hong Yingming, the author of Back to Beginnings. Daoren, a layperson and Chinese scholar, is believed to have written the book late in his life, in 1600, after the age of 60. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (June 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570620156
• ISBN-13: 978-1570620157
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect slow-down and relax book, May 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to Beginnings (Shambhala Centaur Editions) (Paperback)

This is a "collection of meditations on fundamental things in human life." It consists of short paragraphs detailing a life concept in glorious prose. It often uses allegories, so that one must read the paragraph several times to determine the exact nature of the thought being conveyed. Not a book to read in a hurry! I use the book to de-stress and to help myself focus on the truely important things in life. While I don't completely subscribe to the Taoist way of life, it is very useful to look at my world through their eyes. Although this book was written around 1600, the thoughts contained therein are timeless.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Book, Great Wisdom, June 7, 2004

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: BACK TO BEGINNINGS (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)

When I grow up, I want to be a Taoist sage.

This is a book of detachment from the petty struggles of human society. Huanchu Daoren was reputed to have been a layman past the age of 60- the time of retirement from public affairs and the closing season of life. Yet one gets the sense that he had been preparing himself for this detachment, practicing it as best he could, for all of his life. As he puts it, retire when you are at the height of your career- and count yourself as a survivor. For this is a book on how to live the most simple, pure, and genuine life even when surrounded by power, wealth, and chaos. It shows how to move among the powerful, the vicious, and the ignorant without losing your center. It even points the Way towards clearing your mind in order to find this center. Once found, the sage is imperturbable. Indeed, the sage is the nucleus around which harmony and natural order coalesce in the human realm.

There is an incredible wealth of concentrated wisdom here, verified and filtered by the ages:

When the rich and well established, who should be generous, are instead spiteful and cruel, they make their behavior wretched and base in spite of their wealth and position. When the intellectually brilliant, who should be reserved, instead show off, they are ignorant and foolish in their weakness in spite of their brilliance.

"Always leave some food for the mice; pity the moths and don't light the lamp." Thoughts like these that the ancients had are the living, life-giving mechanism of us humans. Without this, we are no more than statues or manikins.

When enlightened people are so poor that they cannot help others, if they speak a word to awaken the confused or to resolve a problem, there is also boundless merit in that.

4.0 out of 5 stars What is a tao?, January 21, 2012

By 

Wonder Whimsy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Beginnings (Shambhala Centaur Editions) (Paperback)

What is a tao? After many years of treasuring this little edition and skimming it for reflections when life is overwhelming, I'm not sure I could explain "tao" or specific tenets. (That may come easier with "Tao of Pooh" or some heavier text) The book does help anyone who is grasping for some wisdom in coping with... anything. You don't have to be deep or an aspiring Buddhist to find a means of balancing perspective in a world that often looks lop-sided and "unfair". Even in those moments, there is more to be revealed. There is beauty.