Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Book Review: Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff



Book Description

One of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese, or a venerable philosopher, but is in fact none other than A. A. Milne's effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear Winnie-the-Pooh. While Eeyore frets and Piglet hesitates and Rabbit calculates and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is. And that's the clue to the secret wisdom of the Taoists.

Lately, I have been really interested and fascinated about the whole philosophy of Taoism. I have become very intrigued with the reading of the short stories and trying to find the meaning of each one. Living a life of simplicity and harmony has really appealled to me lately.

I came across this book and decided to give it a read. As I continue to learn about Taoism and all the great insights and wisdom that you can derive from Taoism I needed something that would speak to me on a level that made sense. I believed this book did the job.

I found the book interesting and engaging. Using Winnie the Pooh I was to begin to construct a basic understanding of Taoism.

I am currently reading some more books on Taoism and trying to find ways to incorporate more of the beliefs into my way of life. This book was a great entry point for me to begin my learning journey.

There were some poems that I really liked, but in the end I wrote down a few quotes that stuck out to me.

** Knowledge and Experience do not necessarily speak the same language.**
**....isn't knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than knowledge that doesn't**
**one disease, long life; no disease, short life**
**easiest way to get rid of a minus is to cahnge it into a plus**
**Tao does not do, but nothing is not done.**
**flow like water, reflect like a mirro, respond like an echo**

Great stuff right there. I recomend this read. I am also interested in reading more and expanding my thoughts and knowledge.

1 comment:

Msyingling said...

I'm not imaging that I got a copy for this as a graduation present! It was originally published in 1983! Can't say I still have it, but did enjoy it.