Customer Reviews

Scholar Warrior: An Introduction to the Tao in Everyday Life

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a remarkably comprehensive guide for the modern practicing Taoist. It stands alone among the numerous volumes published on this pragmatic religion/philosophy for this very reason: it is not just another commentary on the works of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, but rather a treatise on how the actual living philosophy has been applied to daily life for over 2500 years. Deng Ming Dao has accomplished a bit of a miracle here, for he has synthesized an admittedly confusing tangle of ancient Chinese Taoist traditions (many of them contradictory) and has presented the essence of the ancient wisdom and practices for the contemporary reader. Deng, like most Taoists, is a realist: he urges the practitioner to attain a level of absolute and "effortless" mastery (Wu Wei) in whatever endeavor he/she undertakes in this life ON THIS PHYSICAL PLANE. This is accomplished through persistent practice and daily focus...Taoism is NOT about "going with the flow", but rather about following the path of the heart without giving in to societal pressures or feelings of doubt. The Way has typically been walked by the "rugged individualists" of the world, NOT those who follow the herd. This is the uncompromising quest for perfection, and this perfection can only be attained if the individual is healthy in mind, body, and spirit, all of which Deng sees as being totally interdependent: one with a sick body can not have a healthy mind and one with an underdeveloped mind can not benefit from a healthy body. Hence, the intellectual must not have disdain for physical workouts and the athlete must not shun books. Indeed, roughly half of the book concerns itself with physical health: herbology and qigong breathing/stretching exercises are lucidly described. In regard to herbal remedies, Deng stresses prevention of maladies through the use of herbs as opposed to their uses as cures for diseases (in which case, he tells us, we must naturally turn to the aid of licensed physicians). I should note here that you will probably need to order many of the herbs that Deng reccommends through mail order if you do not live in an area with a "Chinatown" (addresses for mail order herb outfits are provided). The Way of the scholar warrior is a difficult one and it is not for everybody, but for those who wish to "be all that they can be" and who are willing to "just do it" (isn't this the whole essence of the Tao Te Ching?), I highly reccommend this book as a ready guide.

Yes. I'm a Taoist, at 13 years of age. I buy every book I see on this subject, and I bought this one. And let me tell you, it was a good decision. It's very interesting from a philosophical standpoint as well as spiritual and a religious standpoint. Deng-Ming Dao uses simple language and mixes in with complex and abstract concepts, making a fascinating and compelling book in Taoism.

The book starts off with an introduction giving the reader the basics of the concepts and ideas that s/he will learn in the book. Even the introduction is intriguing! After the reader has read the introduction, s/he gets into the nitty-gritty, the history of the Scholar Warrior! This chapter is probably the most interesting chapter in the entire book. It tells of how old Chinese men used to strive for the elite status of the Scholar Warrior. Much like Japan's Samurai, Scholar Warriors were the elite class of society. They were the `perfect' ones. And that is what Deng-Ming Dao is trying to help us readers to learn, to be the elite. The next 3 chapters are spent on T'ai C'hi, which I'm not happy about because Deng-Ming Dao should know that the only way to learn T'ai C'hi and C'hi K'ung (Qi Gong) is with a teacher or through videos, because you can't be looking at the book while doing it. There is also a section on healthy foods you can prepare. The second half of the book is spent on the philosophy of Taoism. I guess you could say this section puts the Scholar in Scholar Warrior. This second section is very interesting and was the part I spend most of my time looking over when I look back at this book. The ending drops in to more deep `mind stuff', and that didn't interest me too much, but anyway, it's a fun set up!

The one think I noticed about this book is that it's not a book centered primarily on Taoism. It's more a mixture of Taoism, Martial Arts, and Alternative Medicine. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I just wanted to point that out for all you people who think this is just some Taoism book.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

A.A.

Are you an aspiring Taoist who just can't seem to get past the horrors of bad translation and esoteric texts filled with unexplained terms? If so, this is the book for you. Filled with helpful tips on exercise, diet, and the underlying themes of this wonderful belief system, it is truly one of the most informative books on the subject I have ever had the pleasure to read.

Deng Ming Dao provides a very thorough overview of the history, general techniques and theory of many aspects of Taoism. The sections on Qigong and meditation are excellent and there is lots of food for thought here. The recipes are rather humourous in my opinion but it does bring up the important aspect of healthy eating is balanced eating.

I believe there are better historical accounts (see Grigg's "Tao of Zen") but overall this book is very informative. I really like the quiet tone and ego-less method of trying to convey the information.

Whether you are seeking a new path in life or simply want to learn about the history and practice of Taoism in a not-quite-textbook context, this is the book for you. Written with sensitivity, grace, and insight, this is a book to read and read again.

Here's one person writing about Taoism who doesn't try to make it all "sweetess and light." Almost all the way through Deng is completely credible. The stretching and qigong exercises are great, too. More info on meditation would have helped, but that's the book's only shortcoming.

This book won't please the heads-in-the-clouds New Agers, but so what?

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to apply the principles of taoism to their daily lives. Deng Ming-Dao is an amazing writer/teacher and comes across as a close friend without ever sounding condescending. This book has become a very valuable resource for me, and I can't recommend it enough.

EDIT/Update (3/2007): It has since been told to me that Ming-Dao's teacher is a fraud, so I suppose take the information in this book with a large grain of salt.

This author is one of the more credible authors whom write about Taoism. Many whom call themselves masters are not. He does not try to mix christianity or his own ego into his writings and many of the other so-called "Taoist Masters" do. This is one of the best and most accurate of the taoist books

When it comes to this book, I am a bit conflicted. On the one hand, /Scholar Warrior/ is a very well-constructed, illustrated guide to various aspects of Taoist life and philosophy. On the other hand, some of the guidelines Deng Ming-Dao presents as "essential" to this way of life not only run contradictory to the Taoist ideal of wu-wei (non-action), but also contrary to a number of ideas the author himself states are important.

In /Scholar Warrior/, the reader is told both that the Taoist does not strive forcefully and instead flows naturally with life (wu-wei). Yet, there is much detail on how to meticulously plan the stages of your life from the present until the day you die. There's also a great deal of advice on striving to eliminate your "fatal flaw" - yet, if such a "flaw" exists, is it not a natural part of yourself and thus, a manifestation of the perfect Tao? I suppose the idea here is that all this advice is presented as a guide to the "natural" way that others have discovered - but isn't one of the core ideas behind Taoism that each must find their own unique way on the Way? This book seems too heavily centered on goals, which strikes me as very un-Taoist.

There's a lot of good information in this book, but there is also a lot that is simply not very usable. The sections on herbology, meditation, and the philosophies of Taoism seem very well done. However, a tremendous amount of space in the book is spent on Qigong, for example. The illustrations and descriptions are quite good, but this ignores a fundamental problem: you can't learn Qigong by gawking at illustrations in a book, and there's far too many steps involved to remember them with any effectiveness. So despite the quality of these parts of the book, they are ultimately not very useful.

I don't really mean to bash this book so much - there is a lot of good information in it, and it can inspire you to explore different branches of the Taoist path in more detail. The breadth and depth of this work is admirable, it's just a shame that a lot of it is very contradictory or not all that useful in the end. I'm glad I bought /Schollar Warrior/ though, and for one simple reason: it has inspired me to think more carefully about what my own path means for me. In that regard, it was a worthwhile purchase. Just be sure to approach this book with an eye out for contradictions, so you can figure out what the right direction is for *you*

This book gives an excellent introduction to the Taoist-martial art way of life and includes the Three Treasures, proper diet, life-theory, and Taoist health excercises. This is a companion book to the semi-fictional 'The Wandering Taoist' series, also by Deng Ming-Dao