Why Lazarus Laughed: The Essential Doctrine, Zen--Advaita--Tantra by Wei Wu Wei

by Wei Wu Wei

This is the second book written by Wei Wu Wei in a collection of what are now considered spiritual classics in the area of Zen Buddhism, Advaita, and Taoism. Why Lazarus Laughed is a powerfully written book of aphorisms, meditations, and startling ruminations on the nature of time, consciousness, freedom, enlightenment, duality, and free will. Wei Wu Wei described his books as reflections of the moon in a puddle because he does not set himself apart from any other, does not profess to be a teacher, and does not claim to have the last word on spiritual truth. His modest assessment of how well he succeeds at his task would most certainly be disputed by his many enthusiastic Essential understanding might have found its way into occasional pages. Indeeed, profound insight seems to leap from every sentence.Play your part in the comedy, but don't identify yourself with your role! says Wei Wu Wei, and he follows his own advice. He writes his works anonymously and uses his iconoclastic humor to drive home his points. Those who discover his books feel they have found a secret teaching that brilliantly delivers the purest truth. He has become a sort of underground spiritual favorite whose fans anxiously await each reissued book.As the subtitle states, Why Lazarus Laughed explicates the essential doctrine shared by the traditions of Zen Buddhism, Advaita, and Tantra. The author is not interested in these traditions as religions, but only in so much as they reflect the moon for us. To read this jewel of a book from the immortal Wei Wu Wei is to enter into the heart and mind of one who possessed a very clear insight into the essence of understanding.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism, Zen, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Terence James Stannus Gray was a theatre producer who created the Cambridge Festival Theatre as an experimental theatre in Cambridge. He produced over 100 plays there between 1926 and 1933. Later in life, under the pen name Wei Wu Wei, he published several books on Taoist philosophy.

Reviews

[Audrey Greathouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot like milkshake in that it was thick, rich, and I loved it. I'm really glad I had some background on non-dualism, and I would not recommend even picking it up until you've read through some of the source texts it draws on, like the Tao te Ching. Non-dualism runs counter to everything I have ever learned in order to function practically in a physical world, but it is wonderful food for thought and I think there is value in it. While the idea that there is only one universal consciousness and no individual "egos" within it is pretty dang far out, I feel like anything that truly captures the nature of human thought would HAVE to be far out. As long as you don't confuse it for physics and science, metaphysics and pseudo-science have a lot of interesting thoughts worth exploring. This was a great book because it took very foreign Eastern concepts and put them through the filter of a twentieth-century Westerner, which made it a little easier for me to understand, culturally and stylistically. I look forward to diving deeper into primary sources after reading this introduction.

[Philo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gem. I would consider it essential Advaita reading and intend to reread this again and again. It is deep wisdom and well worth the effort to take in what is being pointed to.
Wei Wu Wei has lifted me up on his shoulders so I can get a glimpse of what he is able to perceive. And I am so grateful for this gift.

[Pat Wendorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's quite difficult to review a book like this... Like all of WwW's work his arguments are clearer when he uses less words, and somewhat contrived when he's doing long form exposition. The theory ranges from simple and inspired to mechanical and contrived. Despite this, he's still WwW and still the best writer on modern spiritual no-mind/all-is, and all his work deserves 5 stars.

[Hal Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could read again.