Customer Reviews

The Essential Chuang Tzu

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My, my this is beautiful. For me it lights up everything else I've read in Taoism and Zen. The translators have made careful decisions about how to say certain phrases that come up often. It's as poetic and faithful as Stephen Mitchell's Tao de Ching, but so much more fleshed-out, of course. It's so practical. You need this book!

It has been said that if we want to know "the force that keeps the sky blue, the stars burning, the mountains high and still, the rivers running and the oceans flowing," then we must "remove the veil" that stands between us and the Tao (Deng Ming-Dao, 365 TAO, p. 146). Helpful in that respect, the CHUANG TZU is an anthology of Chinese wisdom stories attributed to Chuang-Chou (369-286 B.C.). Along with Lao Tzu's TAO TE CHING, the CHUANG TZU provides the core teachings of Taoism. Like the TAO TE CHING, the CHUANG TZU is can be read in a single sitting, but offers its reader the challenge of a lifetime to understand. Hamill's translation into colloquial English conveys all the subtlety, paradox, and wisdom of the original. These stories encourage us to first listen with the heart and mind, rather than the ear, and then to stop listening with the heart and mind, and listen with the ch'i, that is, the very energy of our being, instead (p. 25). This book is essential for anyone interested in Taoism.

G. Merritt

This has some great writings from Chuang Tzu, although it can be a bit tough to read, as it dry in spots. Has a lot ancient rhetoric from the times of Chuang Tzu, so an interest in this area would help in keeping the readers attention.