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The Taoist Classics: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary #3
The Taoist Classics: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Vol. 3
This collection of translated texts
• Vitality, Energy, A Taoist An extraordinarily rich and diverse collection of Taoist writings from the fifth century BCE to modern times.
• The Secret of the Golden The Classic Chinese Book of Essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality—hailed by C. G. Jung as a link between the insights of the East and his own psychological research.
• Immortal Secrets of Taoist The writings of six distinguished Taoist women adepts writing between the fourth and twelfth centuries.
• Awakening to the Another treasure from Liu I-ming, this is a collection of one hundred forty-two of the master's brief but admirably lucid essays on living according to the Tao.
• Vitality, Energy, A Taoist An extraordinarily rich and diverse collection of Taoist writings from the fifth century BCE to modern times.
• The Secret of the Golden The Classic Chinese Book of Essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality—hailed by C. G. Jung as a link between the insights of the East and his own psychological research.
• Immortal Secrets of Taoist The writings of six distinguished Taoist women adepts writing between the fourth and twelfth centuries.
• Awakening to the Another treasure from Liu I-ming, this is a collection of one hundred forty-two of the master's brief but admirably lucid essays on living according to the Tao.
576 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2000
7 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Cleary
245 books279 followersDr. Thomas Francis Cleary, Ph.D. (East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University; J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley), was a prolific translator of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, with a particular emphasis on popular translations of Mahāyāna works relevant to the Chan, Zen, and Soen systems.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 18, 2019
Actually, this comment is only about The Secret of the Golden Flower, but apparently the stand-alone version is out of print. I guess it is included in this volume.
This is a tough book, but it is truly a classic in psychological/mental development, both from a historical as well as a contemporary perspective. An important sub-theme of this book is the debunking of the well known Richard Wilhelm version, which is apparently highly inaccurate and incomplete, and which therefore makes Jung's theories about Eastern spirituality rather suspect. I'm no expert on Jung, so I won't comment further on that.
This is probably the third or fourth time I've read it, though it has been over 10 years since the previous time, I believe. As I said, it is a bit tough going, but well worth it. Anyone with the slightest interest in Taoist and Buddhist approaches to mind matters will get a lot out of it. For those with no background in Taoism or Buddhism it might be a bit tougher going, but should be well worth it. It's funny to give it five stars and yet confess I don't grasp everything in the book, but... hey, that's the way it is.
This is a tough book, but it is truly a classic in psychological/mental development, both from a historical as well as a contemporary perspective. An important sub-theme of this book is the debunking of the well known Richard Wilhelm version, which is apparently highly inaccurate and incomplete, and which therefore makes Jung's theories about Eastern spirituality rather suspect. I'm no expert on Jung, so I won't comment further on that.
This is probably the third or fourth time I've read it, though it has been over 10 years since the previous time, I believe. As I said, it is a bit tough going, but well worth it. Anyone with the slightest interest in Taoist and Buddhist approaches to mind matters will get a lot out of it. For those with no background in Taoism or Buddhism it might be a bit tougher going, but should be well worth it. It's funny to give it five stars and yet confess I don't grasp everything in the book, but... hey, that's the way it is.
July 26, 2012
This volume of Taoist Classics shows the blending of the Tao with Buddhism and Confucism to form a variety of schools and philosophies. Assuming you've read the volumes in order, you can see the mastery of Thomas Cleary's editting where in the first volume he lays the groundwork and highlights the primary texts, then, in the second volume, illustrates the transitional departure from ancient taoism and the reinterpretation (and in many cases misinterpretation) that would occur, and ending at the taoist revival which is very much a part of what the third volume shows as the blend with confucism and buddhism.
Finishing three volumes puts you at about 1600 pages of text, alegories, metaphor, and very confusing parables, but what I had found, as a first time reader of the Tao, was that the Tao reveals itself, and the texts simply recommend what to look for. My advice: "Don't worry about 'getting it'. If you're worried about understanding it, then you might miss the purpose of the text itself. This is becoming more and more apparent as I read the fourth volume which is entirely the I Ching and I Ching Mandalas. I've already read the first 150 or so pages and felt like none of it has stuck, but then, and a nice walk home, it all makes sense at once. That is the power of the texts herein. So take your time, savour it, and remember you can always reread parts. As much as it's been a huge, sometimes daunting undertaking, it has been immensely rewarding, and I can't wait to read it all again after allowing it to set in.
Finishing three volumes puts you at about 1600 pages of text, alegories, metaphor, and very confusing parables, but what I had found, as a first time reader of the Tao, was that the Tao reveals itself, and the texts simply recommend what to look for. My advice: "Don't worry about 'getting it'. If you're worried about understanding it, then you might miss the purpose of the text itself. This is becoming more and more apparent as I read the fourth volume which is entirely the I Ching and I Ching Mandalas. I've already read the first 150 or so pages and felt like none of it has stuck, but then, and a nice walk home, it all makes sense at once. That is the power of the texts herein. So take your time, savour it, and remember you can always reread parts. As much as it's been a huge, sometimes daunting undertaking, it has been immensely rewarding, and I can't wait to read it all again after allowing it to set in.
November 3, 2021
Deep Wisdom for the Spiritual Journey.
The author is not a practitioner though his interpretations are fair compared to other students of the Tao.
The author is not a practitioner though his interpretations are fair compared to other students of the Tao.
February 14, 2023
Meh... a basic introduction to meditation clothed in a complicated symbolical language of Chinese alchemy.
June 16, 2012
Invaluable
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews