Daoism: A Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by James Miller

Spanning the centuries and crossing the globe, this engaging introduction covers everything Daoist, from the religion of the ancients to 21st century T’ai Chi and meditation. Complete with a timeline of Daoist history and a full glossary, Daoism: A Beginner's Guide will prove invaluable not only to students, but also to general readers who wish to learn more about Daoism’s role and relevance in our fast-moving 21st century existence. James Miller is Assistant Professor of East Asian Traditions at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, China, Taoism

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I considered various books on Daoism before picking this one and it exactly fulfilled the two main things I was looking for. The first of these was a detailed (but succinct) historical consideration of the development of Daoism from its origins to the present day. This is a subject about which I was not very knowledgeable and I found it agreeably fascinating to have so many gaps in my knowledge filled. Some people might find the detail too overwhelming for their tastes, but it suited me.

The second thing I was looking for was a treatment of Daoism which would enable me to see if there was anything useful I could extract to incorporate in my own spiritual life. I am not a man of faith, and I am sometimes uncomfortably aware of the famous dig attributed to G K Chesterton – “when a man stops believing in God, he doesn’t believe in nothing, he believes in everything.” I hope I am more discriminating than that, and it is surely true that a detailed and careful book like this would enable the reader to sift something valuable out of the treasuries of the Daoists which anyone can “appropriate” for themselves – if that is not too loaded a term.

I found plenty here that I liked and which gave me much food for thought about how some of the insights of the Daoists – the fruits of many centuries of wisdom and practice – might be usefully incorporated in my own spiritual pilgrimage. So far so good. But this isn’t primarily a “How To” handbook, and some may therefore be disappointed – although of course you need to know the “what happened” to understand the “how to.”

There are a couple of objections which could be raised to Daoism in general and this book in particular. One is that so many of the most famous Daoist statements – such as “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” – are simply statements of the bleeding obvious. The second objection is that today and indeed throughout its history Daoism has become so entangled with worthless popular superstition that any great philosophical truths are almost entirely smothered. Both objections have some validity, although I can think of counter arguments to both of them too. But I still thought this book was so valuable, interesting and instructive that I give it four stars.

[Frank Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A problem you may have with this book is that Miller really knows his stuff.

Imagine being a child and asking an adult, What's guacamole? And instead of just answering A Mexican avocado dip, the adult starts to explain to you the history and difficulties of avocado cultivation. Well that's sort of how I felt after reading this book.

Initially.

Now, knowing a little more than I did then, I'm really starting to appreciate its depth. At first I basically only liked the 'historical introduction' and chapter 1. These meant something to me and they taught me something. Actually they taught me a lot. Not only the things I set out to understand, but more. However, quickly after that, as the saying goes, things got hazy.

I felt bombarded by the backgrounds of the different sects, texts, and people, like Yellow Turbans, Guo Xiang, Northern Celestial Masters, Neiye, Way of Great Peace, Zhang Lu, grandson of Daoling, Way of Orthodox Unity, Wang Zhe, Way of Complete Perfection, Sun Bu'er, etc., ad inf.

I'm like, Sooo ... what's guacamole?

The book overwhelmed me with information that didn't make sense to me, and I didn't feel very satisfied with reading it because of that.

So this book may not be for you if you're simply looking for some quick answers to questions like: What is daoism, some of its history, founders, central tenets, etc.? You'll get them - don't worry - but almost as aside, or apéritif more accurately, and you won't feel very satisfied, because the entrée and main course of book remain indigestible to you. (They were to me at least.)

But! ... if you're serious about learning about Chinese history and culture or daoism in particular, you'll find this is an excellent buy. Something you will return to over and over again as the holes in your knowledge start to fill out over time. (Again, that's what it did for me at least.) It's short, but amazingly dense and rich.

My rating went from two (initially) to three (later) to a solid (and definite) four stars.

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

لاحظ فيلسوف العلوم البارز (كارل جاسبرز) أن العديد من الحضارات الأدبية العظيمة في العالم شهدت تحولًا جذريًا في نفس الوقت تقريبًا من تاريخ البشرية، حوالي القرنين الخامس والسادس . أطلق على هذه الفترة اسم العصر المحوري، لأنه خلال هذا الوقت كان «المحور» الأساسي هو إثارة مسألتا الأخلاق والقيمة في جميع أنحاء العالم.

يشير العصر المحوري إلى الانتقال من الأديان القائمة في المقام الأول على التضحية والطقوس إلى التقاليد الدينية حيث تكون القيم الإنسانية والمبادئ الأخلاقية متساوية في الأهمية. كان هذا هو زمن الفلاسفة اليونانيين العظماء والأنبياء العبريين وبوذا وكونفوشيوس ولاوتزو . كانت كل هذه الشخصيات حاسمة في تشكيل التقاليد الثقافية للعالم وفي تحديد شروط المناقشات التي سيشارك فيها الفلاسفة والمتدينين لاحقًا. نظرًا لأن إحدى السمات المميزة للحداثة هي التعددية الثقافية والدينية، فليس من المستغرب أن يقوم العديد من المفكرين المعاصرين بإعادة النظر في تعاليم هذه الشخصيات غير العادية والأعمال الكلاسيكية التي صاغت مناهج مختلفة إلى حد كبير للمشاريع البشرية في جميع أنحاء العالم.
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James Miller
Daoism
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Brian Ritter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great balance between interesting and informative

This book reads in some places like a text book and in others like an alchemical manual. The author has clearly done his homework, and gives a well rounded idea of Taoism in total.

[Mrs Reddy Mallender-Katzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dont think this is a Beginners guide, i think its for people who have read the religious scripts and then want to know the where when how and whom 'timelines' of daoism ... this isnt what i was looking for and therefore bored out of my skull

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this book shows daoism not as an old philosophy thought up by long dead sages for modern westerners to re-interpret stripped of its spirituality, but as a living religion and a daily practice that millions of people around the world still follow

[Ségolène · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise in its analysis of an incredibly broad and misunderstood topic, it's a great read for people with a basic understanding of taoism.