Customer Reviews

Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters

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While the Tao Te Ching is considered to be the foundation work of Taoism, I find the Chuang Tsu to be much more accessible. At over 2000 years old, this book addresses the human condition in a way that holds meaning even today. It is filled with tales that entertain on the surface while lodging deeply into your consciousness to chip away at your cultural conditioning. Save yourself a trip across the world looking for a guru . . . buy this book instead and take it along for a hike in natural surroundings. When you settle down in a comfortable spot, read the Chuang Tsu and see if it doesn't speak to you.

Next to Lao Tsu, who wrote the Tao Teh Ching (at least its attributed to him), Chuang Tsu is probably the best known Taoist. This audiobook is based on the translation of his writings by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. The narrator, Chungliang Al Huang, is a well known tai chi teacher and contemporary writer on Taoism. Born in China, he speaks with an accent, but his English is easily understood. He prefaces each passage with some of the original Chinese, which gives the listener a certain flavor of the language. At the end of the book, he explains some of the difficulties in translation. Chinese characters, for example, are not simply letters or words but also images, so it's not a simple matter to translate them into other languages. Chuang Tsu was an irreverent and humorous character. He teaches with stories and anecdotes, similar to some Zen stories (Zen was greatly influenced by Taoism). Some of the meanings are quite obscure; it's best to simply read (or listen) and not try to understand everything logically. As Chuang Tsu says, "When there is questioning, there is something beyond the question. Why is this? The sage keeps his wisdom to himself while ordinary men flaunt their knowledge in loud discussion. So I say, `Those who dispute do not see.'" For those who are interested in learning more about Chuang Tsu, I'd recommend getting both the book and this abridged audiotape.

As a reader of the original translation by Gia-Fu Feng since publication in 1974, I can offer that this book is an enlightened, fulfilling and wholly heartening look at the times and spiritualism both Chuang Tsu and we live in. I recommend it highly for those whose spirit looks beyond our contemporary travails and limited perspective.

....and another able translation by these poetic and grounded authors, this time of the wisdom of Lao Tzu's greatest student.