Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women Second Edition [Paperback]

Thomas Cleary (Editor, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 1996

Immortal Sisters presents life stories and teachings of distinguished female Taoist adepts who lived from the third to twelfth centuries. Among them is the poet and mystic Sun Bu-er, who passed into folklore as one of the famous Seven Immortals and appears as a character in countless popular novels of China. These accomplished women, renowned in their own day and in history, represent a uniquely female heritage of spiritual mastery. Through poems, stories, teachings, and commentaries, Immortal Sisters sheds light on the spiritual methods taught and practiced by these women and illustrates the importance of the feminine in Taoism.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

About the Author

Thomas Cleary is highly regarded as one of the greatest contemporary translators of Asian texts. Among his translations are many classic texts of Buddhism, Taoism, and I Ching studies, including The Essential Tao, Awakening to the Tao, and The Buddhist I Ching. His works have been retranslated into German, Italian, French, Turkish, Hebrew, Spanish, Czech, Thai, Indonesian, Mandarin, and other modern languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (November 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432224
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432224
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Taoism

More About the Author

Thomas Cleary is the preeminent translator of classic Eastern texts, including The Essential Tao, The Essential Confucius, The Secret of the Golden Flower, and the bestselling The Art of War.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ancient guide for woman taoist alchemy, March 24, 1999

By 

Dantao "hum" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women Second Edition (Paperback)

Cleary again has done an incredible job of translating from the writing of a modern taoist master Cheng Yinling who was the head of the China Taoist Association. Master Cheng's wrote the comentary based on the ancinet text of several woman taoist masters who gave very detail instruction in the image rich langauge of taoist oral tradition. Cleary is able to tease out some of the more unique terminology like the spirit water as salivia. Having read the original Chinese text, I have to say that Cleary did a great translation job once again.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rarer than one bird singing, more beautiful than its song, December 10, 2002

By 

lisbeth (Loveland, CO, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women Second Edition (Paperback)

The poetry of Sappho has been read as THE example of women from ancient times, but this text shows us that the rarest of the jewels come from the Eastern civilization. These works are like a Chinese brush painter's stroke; from the heart of the spirit to the characters on the page. Each stroke reads as if it is found in a great brushpainter's' tradition of "having the bamboo completed in your chest" -- or seeing with one's inner eye and then simply writing what one sees.

What an exceptional find for students of daoism who are interested in learning the true beauty and wonderful myth of the Taoist Immortals and their jouneys! The Immortals include women but seldom do we get the chance to learn of them -- or in this case -- read their actual "bamboos of the chest."

Yes, Cleary follows his tradition of translating rare and visionary material, but since I have yet to master the language, I cannot say how true his translations are to the original words. This poetry is as simple as a final brushstroke in the holy spot on a sheet of rice paper. But these interpretations are filtered by what men perceive in these women's writing, and how their lives shape this text.

I wait to hear the translations from wonderful contemporary daoist women like we find in the mastery of Eva Wong. Clearly, the author notes that few works were written for both women and men. These ancient women were clear that much of the poetry was written for women only.

Do not hesitate to purchase a copy of this amazing gift to the world of beauty. Each page is fresh with new readings and is a staple of my bedside library. The works shape meaning into paths I follow and into the nature I seek as I live in solitude on the side of a mountain.

In the busy city, in a quick moment on that bus in rush hour, or during a break in your day of dealing with "reality" -- this amazing little text will spill over to give you the visions of the immortals and the sanctity of the women who penned each verse.

Nothing can be better for your quest of "having the bamboo completed in your chest."

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure for Female Taoist Alchemists, October 29, 2004

By 

Laura De Giorgio "hypnotherapist" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women Second Edition (Paperback)

Immortal Sisters presents life stories and teachings of distinguished female Taoist adepts who lived from the third up to the twelfth century.

Through poems, stories, teachings and commentaries, Immortal Sisters sheds light on the spiritual methods taught and practiced by these women.

The book is about Taoist Alchemy and it uses the symbolism from the Taoist Alchemy. As such, it would appeal the most to female practitioners of Taoist Alchemy.

The poems themselves contain instructions for practice, but even with the commentaries included, but again, they will make most sense only to the practitioner of Taoist Alchemy.