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Book Description
The ancient system of thought known as Taoism remains today the least well known of the world's great religions and one of the most inaccessible aspects of Chinese culture. This is in large part because Western thought clings to the notion of the separation of matter and spirit, body and soul. Taoism refuses this dualism and considers the body's perfection as essential as the soul's redemption is to Christianity.
Kristofer Schipper's elegant and lucid introduction to the traditions of Taoism and the masters who transmit them will reward all those interested in China and in religions. The result of over twenty-five years of research, including eight years of fieldwork in China, Schipper's book retraces, step by step, the way that leads from Chinese shamanism and traditional village life to the physical Tending Life techniques, which in turn lead to the mysticism of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Schipper shows the fundamental unity underlying all aspects of Taoism as Taoism considers itself to be. The social body--the community, the village, the land--corresponds in all aspects to the physical body in Taoism. In both of them the survival of humanity is decided here and now. "My destiny is within me, not in Heaven!"

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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First Sentence:
Chuang Tzu tells about a conversation among four Taoists: Who can think of nothingness as his head, of life as his spine, of death as his buttocks? Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
barefoot master, orphan souls, taoist liturgy, fundamental destiny, immortal embryo, five cardinal points, liturgical organization, jade maiden, ritual area, hidden periods, laboratory alchemy, flaming pearl, seminal essence, outer altar, teaching without words, inner alchemy, everyday religion, five viscera, liturgical manuscript, chaotic order, nine heavens, ancient commentaries Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lao Tzu, Great Master, Cinnabar Field, Heavenly Masters, Old Master, Keeping the One, Book of the Yellow Court, Old Lord, New Year, Three Heavens, True Person, Lieh Tzu, Wang Pi, True Writs, Yellow Emperor, Earth God, Great Peace, Heavenly Worthies, Book of the Center, Lord Kuan, Taoist Canon, True One, Anterior Heaven, Golden Gate, Orthodox One New!
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