Customer Reviews

Beyond the Gods: Buddhist and Taoist Mysticism

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This is an old classic that has often been overlooked and underestimated.

There are many books written by new-agers, and orientalists, that merely regurgitate half understood information from the mysterious East. This book is refreshingly different.

The author spent decades immersed in the spiritual communities and practices. He has first hand knowledge and experience, and has come to understand the real meaning of the teachings. In doing so, he has discovered that it is really all about the nature of himself, reality, and the mind.

On the one hand, his recollections of unique experiences among the monks and teachers in pre-Communist China are gems of historical importance. On the other hand, his insights after long practice illuminate truths that reach far beyond the idiosyncracies of culture, into the very nature of the human relationship with reality.

I recommend it to anyone who may ponder the nature of reality, as well as those with an interest in a vivid view of a China that ceased to exist decades ago.