Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Coffeechug Book Review: Awakening to the Tao by Liu I-Ming

On my quest to read more books in 2012 I have started off by reading another book dealing with Taoism. I just love reading about how to think differently about the world, myself, and the life.

Book Description from Amazon.com

The Tao is the ancient Chinese "Way" that has inspired numerous books, from The Tao of Physics to The Tao of Sex . This book might be called "The Tao of Tao." In 142 brief meditative essays, the author uses simple language and natural imagery to express the essence of the wisdom that holds the key to success in every human endeavor.

Liu I-ming (b. 1737) was a Taoist adept and a scholar of Buddhism and Confucianism. He is the author of commentaries on several Taoist classics that have been published in English, including The Taoist I Ching , also translated by Thomas Cleary.

My Thoughts

This book is an old one published in 1988. I checked out several Tao books from the library and am slowly making my way through them in the limited time I have to actually read anymore. What I liked about this book is the fact that you could read a few contemplations at a time and that would be fulfilling enough for a couple days. The first part of the book has several little contemplations for you to read and think about. I took notes on several of them to use in my teaching and coaching of middle school. I find them very productive in terms of thinking in new ways and just taking pause to stop and consider all the things around us in life.

This was a nice read for me. I got through it fairly easy and took away some pretty good ideas. I don't plan on purchasing this book like some other Tao books, but I am glad I read it.

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