The timeless wisdom of this classic Taoist text can become a companion on your own spiritual journey.
The Chuang-tzu is the second major text of the Taoist tradition. It was compiled in the third century BCE and follows the lead of the best-known and oldest of all Taoist texts, the Tao-te-ching (Book of the Tao and Its Potency). Representing the philosophy of its main author, Chuang Chou, along with several other early Taoist strands, the text has inspired spiritual seekers for over two thousand years.
Using parable, anecdote, allegory and paradox, the Chuang-tzu presents the central message of what was to become the Taoist school: a reverence for the Tao—the ‚Way‘ of the natural world—and the belief that you are not truly virtuous until you are free from the burden of circumstance, personal attachments, tradition and the desire to reform the world. In this special Sky Light Illuminations edition, leading Taoist scholar Livia Kohn, Ph D, provides a fresh, modern translation of key selections from this timeless text to open up classic Taoist beliefs and practices. She provides insightful, accessible commentary that highlights the Chuang-tzu’s call to reject artificially imposed boundaries and distinctions, and illustrates how you can live a more balanced, authentic and joyful life—at ease in perfect happiness—by following Taoist principles.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction vii
Universal Patterns
1. Perfect Happiness 3
2. The Universe 17
3. Life and Death 33
4. Cosmos and Destiny 47
Body and Mind
5. The Self 61
6. Dreams 75
7. The Human Mind 87
Self-Transformation
8. Oblivion 103
9. Realizing Tao 119
10. The Perfected 137
The New Life
11. Uselessness 153
12. Natural Skills 167
13. In the World 179
14. When in Power 193
Suggestions for Further Reading 207
Über den Autor
Livia Kohn, Ph D, a leading Taoist scholar, is professor emerita of religion and East Asian studies at Boston University. She is author or editor of over twenty-five books and many articles on Taoism and East Asian religions, including Daoism and Chinese Culture, Daoism Handbook and Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way. She teaches workshops all over the world, spearheads international conferences on Taoist studies and is executive editor at Three Pines Press and the Journal of Daoist Studies.