The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism

Front Cover
Penguin, 2002 - 315 pages

You’re no idiot, of course. You know Taoism is one of the world’s oldest religions, based on simplicity and balance. However, you may not know it has important parallels with modern Western life: health, ecology, even in such pop culture icons as Luke Skywalker and The Beatles.

But you don’t have to sit at the feet of a Taoist master to learn how the Taoist tradition has enlightened seekers throughout the centuries! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Taoism will show you exactly why Taoist principles appeal to people from every walk of life! In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get:

--The history of the Daode Jing, the world’s shortest core religious text, and Laozi, its mysterious author.

--The teachings of Zhuangzi, the often-overlooked master sage of Taoism.

--An explanation of ying-yang and what it represents.

--Taoism’s relationship to Zen Buddhism.

 

From inside the book

Contents

Laozi and Zhuangzi
13
All About Laozi
23
The Zhuangzi
33
Key Concepts
45
Yin and Yang
57
Society and Nature
67
Branches of the Tao
77
Landmarks on the Path
89
Tao Jones The West Discovers Taoism
165
The Tao and the Search for Meaning
183
The Tao and Health
193
Einstein Meet Laozi
203
The Tao and Politics
213
The Tao and Ecology
225
The Tao and Pop Culture
237
Here and Now
245

The Tao and Zen
103
Religious Taoism Endures
117
The Music of the Tao
127
What Taoism Teaches About Skill
143
The Last Word
153
Wired and Wireless
257
Appendixes
273
Index
301
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2002)

Brandon Toropov is a Boston-based writer who has written a variety of non-fiction titles including The I Ching for Beginners and The Art and Skill of Dealing with People. He has appeared on more than 100 local and national broadcast programs. He is the author of several Complete Idiot’s Guides on religious topics.


CHAD HANSEN is a professor of philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Language and Logic in Ancient China and A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought. He is in the process of completing a translation of the Daode Jing.

Bibliographic information