What Is Tao? [Paperback]

Alan W. Watts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2000

In his later years, Alan Watts, noted author and respected authority on Zen and Eastern thought, turned his attention to Taoism. In this book, he draws on his own study and practice to give readers an overview of the concept of the Tao and guidance for experiencing it themselves. What Is Tao? explores the wisdom of understanding the way things are and letting life unfold without interference.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (September 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157731168X
• ISBN-13: 978-1577311683
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Taoism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Content Is OK, But Basic And Minimal, March 2, 2001

By 

Peter Fennessy (Bloomfield Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Is Tao? (Paperback)

This is a very little book, about enough for one chapter in a normal book. It's pleasant reading, unchallenging, accurate and interesting enough, with a few insights here or there, but there's not much to it. The material is mined posthumously from tapes of Watt's talks and from his apparently very extensive work on Taoism, but one wonders why the editors have come up with so little. The first two-thirds of the book might be useful to someone almost totally unacquainted with eastern thought. The last third gets into a demonstration of how to consult the I Ching and tries in a muddled sort of way to defend such consultation by contrasting western linear thought with the eastern organic approach. This tactic seems to me to confuse the issue rather than clarify. I've appreciated other works of Watts, but got nothing out of this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drawn from Alan Watts' lectures and seminars, readers will enjoy this brief, interesting introduction to Taoism..., January 14, 2010

By 

R. Neil Scott "Writer, Professor & User Servi... (Murfreesboro, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Is Tao? (Paperback)

Alan Watts contends that the importance of Taoist thought lies in how it places "...great emphasis on the balance between our human awareness and our natural being, as an integral part of the web of life." Contending that, "It embodies our deepest understanding of ecological awareness."

Explores the origin of the Tao Te Ching, and how Taoism - often described as "the philosophy of nature" - is likely rooted in the "shamanic world of pre-Dynastic China." Draws implications for contemporary Western society, stating that we are brought up in a religious/philosophical tradition that teaches us "to mistrust the nature that surrounds us, and to mistrust ourselves as well." Contrasts this mistrust with the two main views of traditional Chinese thinking: Taoism and Confucianism; seeing both as agreeing on the fundamental principle "that the natural world...and human nature itself, must be trusted."

Agrees with the contention that "the experience of Tao cannot be obtained through any preordained method," but suggests that those who seek it often take the path of wu wei - "the attribute of not forcing or grasping" - which helps the practitioner develop an inner calmness through the contemplation of one's natural surroundings. Discusses the two broad meanings of the word Tao in our language: "it means approximately the Way - in the sense of `the way to go' - and it also refers to nature in the sense of one's own true nature," becoming, in essence, the study of "'what's behind everything.'"

Discusses a variety of other tangential topics, including: the symbol of the yang and the yin as "the positive and the negative," as well as in the context of male and female, the yes and the no, and the light and dark; the playfulness of Taoist philosophy; the issue of man trying to dominate the world and life around him versus "the not-forcing" as a principle of the Tao; the virtue of living in accord with the Tao; and, how living a life in accordance with the Tao should lead one to be unobtrusive, modest and living in accord with the flow of life.

Delves into the idea of "the strength of weakness" as applied to the natural world: keeping one's balance and judo; how observing and questioning oneself all the time cause us to "get in our own way"; and, argues that one of the key secrets of Taoism is that one should "get out of one's own way, and to learn that pushing ourselves, instead of making us more efficient, actually interferes with everything we set out to do."

The author, Alan Watts (1915-1973), was a prolific writer of books on personal identity, man's need to focus on attaining happiness through the rejection of materialism, the nature of higher consciousness, and how to perceive the true nature of reality. A former Episcopalian priest - who left the ministry due to an extramarital affair - he spent much of his life in and out of the academic world and falling in and out of grace of the Buddhist community. (For example, key figues such as Roshi Philip Kapleau, John Daido Loori and D. T. Suzuki, among others, contended that he misinterpreted several key concepts of Zen Buddhism in his writings.)

Still, at less than one hundred pages in length, in type that is easy on the eyes and written in an easily-understood narrative that introduces and ties each concept to the last, this book appears to be an easy first-introduction for Westerners seeking a fundamental understanding of Taoism.

Recommended for academic and public libraries and individuals interested in exploring Taoist thought.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A brief overview of Taoism, December 18, 2007

By 

Raymond Mathiesen (Armidale, N.S.W., Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What Is Tao? (Paperback)

This book is edited by Mark Watts, Alan Watts son. It contains an introduction by Mark Watts and two lectures given by Alan Watts on the subject of Taoism. When Alan Watts wrote this material he did not plan to make it into a book called <What is Tao?>.

The first essay covers the basic topics of:

Who was Lao-tzu,
What is the Tao,
What is the meaning of the term Tzu-Jan, 'By itself so',
What is the meaning of the term Wu Wei, 'Not forcing', and,
What is the meaning of the term Te. 'Virtue; Skill at living'?

The theme of honest, unpretentious living is developed.

The second essay covers the ideas of 'non-dominance' and the admission of ignorance from various perspectives. It questions the Western view that all of life can be dominate, can be 'worked out' in exact detail, that life can be held in a rigid intellectual straightjacket, and that we must examine everything in detail to grasp it. Instead we are encouraged to see the general, non-defined pattern of life in the surroundings we find ourselves in. We are encouraged to flow with these patterns rather than dominate them.

While this little book is perfectly adequate as a very general introduction to Taoism, it cannot compare to the rigorous and developed argument of Alan Watts' books such as The Wisdom of Insecurity. These lectures tend to wander about from subject to subject so that the main point becomes a little obscured. This is particularly so in the second lecture. I am, for example, not sure of the wisdom of including the details of working out The I Ching or Book of Changes readings. This is a very winding side-track. These lectures were written 'on the run' for a weekly radio program and the lack of preparation shows.