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Taoism: origins, beliefs, practices, holy texts, sacred places by
Existing in China alongside Confucianism and Buddhism throughout the centuries, Taoism has had a major impact on Chinese intellectual and spiritual life. This concise guide offers an engaging introduction to the precepts, history and practices of Taoism, in a well-designed and attractively illustrated volume that includes dozens of color photographs. The book illuminates Taoism--its main beliefs and rituals, the key sacred texts, the status of the religion today. We learn that the term Tao ("Way") signifies the natural pattern underlying all cosmic change and transformation, the way in which qi (life force) is endlessly created and dissolved to form the myriad phenomena of the universe. Focusing on one's development as an individual and on establishing harmony with nature, Taoism teaches that to achieve order and harmony in one's own life and in the cosmos, one must learn to perceive the Tao in nature and to act--or refrain from acting--in accordance with it. The idea of strengthening oneself through attunement with natural forces is also applied to the preservation of the body through the quest for longevity. Oldstone-Moore also illuminates the history of Taoism, ranging from its founding by Laozi, who is believed to have written the Tao Te Jing, the main text of Taoist thought, to the religion's decline in the early twentieth century, due to the impact of anti-religious movements, the most radical of which was Chinese Communism, to its recent resurgence. Elegantly designed and beautifully illustrated, this volume would make a wonderful gift for someone interested in Eastern religion or Chinese culture.
Taoism by
Offers a concise, current and readable survey of the world's great religions. Each volume describe where a particular religion is practised, its central beliefs and rituals, its contributions to world civilizations and analyzes how it has spread through immigration and conversion. 14 vol set ISBN 0816051690. Ages 10+.
The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism by
In The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism, Harold D. Roth explores the origins and nature of the Daoist tradition, arguing that its creators and innovators were not abstract philosophers but, rather, mystics engaged in self-exploration and self-cultivation, which in turn provided the insights embodied in such famed works as the Daodejing and Zhuangzi. In this compilation of essays and chapters representing nearly thirty years of scholarship, Roth examines the historical and intellectual origins of Daoism and demonstrates how this distinctive philosophy emerged directly from practices that were essentially contemplative in nature. In the first part of the book, Roth applies text-critical methods to derive the hidden contemplative dimensions of classical Daoism. In the second part, he applies a "contemplative hermeneutic" to explore the relationship between contemplative practices and classical Daoist philosophy and, in so doing, brings early Daoist writings into conversation with contemporary contemplative studies. To this he adds an introduction in which he reflects on the arc and influence on the field of early Chinese thought of this rich vein of scholarship and an afterword in which he applies both interpretive methods to the vexing question of the authorship of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi. The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism brings to fruition the cumulative investigations and observations of a leading figure in the emerging field of contemplative studies as they pertain to a core component of early Chinese thought.
Source: Diversity Resources