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Tao: Its History and Teachings
"Tao means transcendence-Transcendence of all duality, transcedence of all polarity, transcendence of all opposites. Tao is the ultimate synthesis of man and woman, postive and negative, life and death, day and night summer and winter".
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Osho
4,315 books6,840 followersRajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain, 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990) and latter rebranded as Osho was leader of the Rajneesh movement. During his lifetime he was viewed as a controversial new religious movement leader and mystic.
In the 1960s he traveled throughout India as a public speaker and was a vocal critic of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, and Hindu religious orthodoxy.
Rajneesh emphasized the importance of meditation, mindfulness, love, celebration, courage, creativity and humor—qualities that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to static belief systems, religious tradition and socialization.
In advocating a more open attitude to human sexuality he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex guru".
In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as "neo-sannyasins". During this period he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974 Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back taxes claim estimated at $5 million.
In 1981, the Rajneesh movement's efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. Almost immediately the movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success.
In 1985, in the wake of a series of serious crimes by his followers, including a mass food poisoning attack with Salmonella bacteria and an aborted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner, Rajneesh alleged that his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters had been responsible. He was later deported from the United States in accordance with an Alford plea bargain.[
After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. He ultimately returned to India and a revived Pune ashram, where he died in 1990. Rajneesh's ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the Zurich registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Rajneesh's teachings have had a notable impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity has increased markedly since his death.
In the 1960s he traveled throughout India as a public speaker and was a vocal critic of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, and Hindu religious orthodoxy.
Rajneesh emphasized the importance of meditation, mindfulness, love, celebration, courage, creativity and humor—qualities that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to static belief systems, religious tradition and socialization.
In advocating a more open attitude to human sexuality he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex guru".
In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as "neo-sannyasins". During this period he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974 Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back taxes claim estimated at $5 million.
In 1981, the Rajneesh movement's efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. Almost immediately the movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success.
In 1985, in the wake of a series of serious crimes by his followers, including a mass food poisoning attack with Salmonella bacteria and an aborted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner, Rajneesh alleged that his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters had been responsible. He was later deported from the United States in accordance with an Alford plea bargain.[
After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. He ultimately returned to India and a revived Pune ashram, where he died in 1990. Rajneesh's ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the Zurich registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Rajneesh's teachings have had a notable impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity has increased markedly since his death.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 7, 2018
Very insightful and well written. Osho is one of my favorite mystics, so perhaps I am biased. The explanation of beliefs and the connection to other religions/belief systems was very intriguing, i.e. discussions of buddhism, christianity, islam, judaism, confucianism, etc. Obviously written from the taoist perspective, so I even if I disagreed with some of the content/framing of beliefs, it was easy for me to question why I disagreed and why I believed what I believed, as well as accept philosophies that were different from my own in an attempt to understand. Overall, interesting book and will probably look into more Taoism related reads by Osho.
September 21, 2021
I found this at thrift store, as with almost all of my books. I read it only because I owned it already. Since I had just read two translations of the Tao Te Ching I wanted more of a commentary on Taoism, so I thought this would be great. I definitely did NOT know who Osho was when I started. Overall, I think that this is a good outside perspective into Taoism, why it is valuable, and what its tenets are from a certain point of view. It got pretty repetitive at times, but I suppose that the Tao that can be said is not the real Tao... I enjoyed the parables and stories about Taoist masters, and found these most helpful in my personal understanding. Comparisons to other religions and world events also provided some good insight. It never blew me away, and I wasn't overly compelled to read it in a day or anything, but it does get the gears turning and provide some humor. This is an acceptable book for anyone looking to learn a little more about Taoism.
July 18, 2017
My soul need to slow down and read this one
May 3, 2018
A very throughout and practical, yet still poetic and beautiful interpretation on the teachings from Tao and Zen masters. A lightweight yet very profound read!
August 14, 2018
Osho starts off in great style...and then gets lost endlessly repeating himself.
August 26, 2015
Not bad for a coffee table book.
Quotes:
All worries exist because you have brought an individual destiny into your mind against the destiny of the whole – you are moving upstream.
It is a strange world in which we are living. The criminals are the rulers, the criminals are politicians, the criminals become presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers – because, except for a criminal, who wants power? An authentic human being wants peace, love, to be left alone, and the freedom to be himself.
Life seems meaningless because the meaning arises in a balance between the useful and the useless. You have denied the useless completely.
If you are aggressive, changing your clothes will not make you become non-aggressive. If you are angry, changing the style of your hair will not make you peaceful. So the amount of money you have does not make any difference to your inner being.
You may succeed or you may fail, but that is not the point at all. The real thing is: have you succeeded in becoming centered in your being? Has that target been achieved?
Do you know the difference between doing a thing and letting it happen?
If your mind is arrowed on the person who has insulted you, you will miss. Let it be arrowed toward the source. Rather than thinking that he has insulted you, look into your own being: you must be carrying some wound, that’s why you feel insulted. Otherwise, how can anybody insult you? If somebody calls you a fool and you feel insulted that simply means you think that you are wise – nothing else.
A real prayer arises out of love for truth, whatsoever it may be. Otherwise, your worldly desires will again be projected onto God, onto heaven.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews