The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism

by Brandon Toropov, Chadwick Hansen

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 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 •  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 yin-yang and what it represents. •  Taoism’s relationship to Zen Buddhism.

Genres: Taoism, Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction, Reference, Spirituality

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I am not sure I should be rating it - or rating anything.

"The massive wisdom sees everything in one. The lesser wisdom breaks things down into numerous parts." - Zhuangzi

Find your own path.

[Colin Hoad · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't know anything about Taoism, this is as good a place to start as any. The book reads well, flows easily (as one would expect for a book about the Eternal Tao) and covers all the basic material as well as including some other extended reading for those interested to see how Taoism "fits" into the Western mindset.

Occasionally the book lapses into proselytism, portraying Taoism in a somewhat overtly favourable light. They often do this to the detriment of Confucianism (though, oddly, not in comparison to Buddhism which comes off well), and speaking as someone well-versed in the Confucian school of thought, I found the "snipes" at Confucius to be rather infantile and lacking a full command of the facts. Obviously this is a book about Taoism, and it would not be fair to expect its authors to be similarly expert in their knowledge of Confucianism. That being the case, it *is* reasonable to expect a degree of respect rather than ridicule towards that which they evidently know little about. The generalisations serve only to create little more than a caricature of Confucianism, a straw man against which Taoism can be shown to be the superior. This is not necessary, as Taoism is more than capable of standing on its own two legs without the need for defining itself in opposition to other schools of thought. What is more, in China it is very common for people to follow *both* schools and see no contradiction in this.

Overall a basic start (as the book's title promises) but I would advise reading more widely around the subject to ensure a more balanced understanding.

[Aleah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide to Taoism was actually a step above what a complete idiot might need. The authors were both well versed in philosophical speak and, purposefully or not, peppered the book with it. I'm not complaining, though. I thought it was quite a bit of fun.

This book tries to cover the big picture of Taoism, including history, literature, how it impacts worldviews and politics, and even its influence on pop culture. It took me a little longer to read because I kept getting inspired to stop reading and look things up. Many of the websites they mention are now defunct, but the ideas are timeless.

I would have liked to have given this book 4 or even 5 stars. Unfortunately, the mod-ness that made it so cutting edge in 2002 only made it look a tad out-of-date by 2011. A prime example being the many (many) references to various GeoCities websites. But I guess the "Complete Idiot's Guides" are not lauded for their timelessness. Maybe they'll release an updated Toaism edition one of these days?

[Soheil Alizadeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm... I read this book through a strict discipline of 40 pages a day. This was at the first glimpse contradictory to what the book was pointing at. To be one with the Tao apparently puts you in the space of constant flow. And yes it did, except for it did through 40 pages a day. It illuminates the paradox of action and non-action just the way when you plan spontaneously. That is perhaps the art of moving with the stream, yet against it. The ultimate Wu-Wei.

Filled with fundamental views of Taoism, and a deep elaboration on its origins, Chinese historical flow, key concepts, zen and Taoist stories, influences of Taoism on politics and government and its view on control, economics, nature, and human relationships, here, there, everything relevant to Taoism. The wired and wireless section is pretty extra though. A search engine would be your most Taoist approach once linked to your pure curious intents. Some URLs weren't even there, or pointed to poorly designed websites (a couple of redirections and 404 not found) or irrelevant pages. Also a beautiful touch of pop culture and Taoism, for lovers of the Matrx and Starwars who didn't know they were already familiar with the great Tao.

An introductory book to philosophy and the concept of Tao with graspable ideas (even though it attempts to describe the ungraspable.) A link to a lot of, better than the URLs, Taoist books (although I admit the URLs did have a couple of solid ones in them, or did they, the British Taoist Society's link was provided but the correct one seems to be "https://daoists.co.uk/") in my version it was spelled with a T, could be a typo.

If you are looking for some Taoist extensive insights and don't mind a bit of a western, non-fiction self-help writing style, go ahead and enjoy this valuable resource.

[Mike Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super enjoyed this book, an excellent introduction for the western novice , well written and easy to understand.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read several Taoist works already, this wasn't incredibly new to me, but it did seem like a good introduction in many ways. The two exceptions for me were the chapter on Taoism and Christianity, since I didn't find the parallels very compelling and the fact that the book is rather out of date (suggesting that you rent the tape for the Matrix and go to a geocities webpage). I can only fault it a little for being its age, though, and since it is about an ancient Chinese philosophy/religion, this is a relatively modern treatment.

[Calliope BasBleu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good,solid read. It talks about some of the lesser described history of Taoism, and helped me organize quite a few thoughts to make them easier to present. It's definitely not the definitive tome, but it's a helpful enough supplement.

[Jenn Ollivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but even as the book itself states "You can't really learn about the Tao from a book. You just have to experience it for yourself."

[Promise Ceasar · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no spoon. :)

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/6207051