Hi... I don't know practically anything about Taoism, but I would like to. Could you tell me books, magazines, articles, etc, where I can learn the basics?I am interested in all religions and I like learning about them, so, I would really thank any help.
Well, real quick to sum it up: "You can't really look for it; truly understanding the Tao is beyond our contention, also useless. It is not something to learn about or try to understand. It is simply done. I can tell you how to be a Taoist. I already have. As you learn the tenants and the values of those who live in the True Way, you really only rediscover them and they become a part of you again as the Way fills your life and makes it peaceful again. The child wants to be aman, and the man only wishes he could still be a child." -Anonymous
The Tao Te Ching is the original Taoist text. The "Tao Path" series is very good - especially "Tao Paths: Long Life". Also the Barefoot Doctor is good. Blessings Sebbi
The Tao, Truth, cannot be said. Basically it is a philosophy to lead a balanced life, in balance with nature. But it goes beyond philosophy because it is existential. http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm Here's an example: http://www.taoism.net/living/2005/200501.htm Just hit a Tao Living link at http://www.taoism.net/enter.htm
Let's see, I got a copy of the Tao Te Ching and I found it really, really helpful. I write down the meaning of what I believe it to be saying to me personally right after the text, just to personalize it a bit. Good luck on your "study" of Tao. Peace, Love, & Blessings!
The basic taoist texts, lao tzu, chuan tze etc. are a good read and can give you an initial theoretical grounding. But if you really want to understand it you will probably want to work with some of the basic meditations such as the inner smile, the five healing sounds and the microcosmic orbit. Much of taoist philosophy wont make sense until you experience it. Speaking for myself, I have had lots of fun with it and it has done some good things for me in terms of health and in terms of helping me see some new approaches to problems of life. Mantak Chias books are probably the clearest manuals. Also his universal tao web page has an articles section which is full of hard information on the subject. Another book you might want to check is Roots of Chinese Chi Gung by Dr. Yang, Jwing-ming. His YMMA (Yangs Martial Arts Association) website also has lots of good resources. There are also some religious taoist teachings which I don't have a good source for yet. But keep your eyes open, good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
for the foundation, the best version ive read of the tao te ching was a book called the wisdom of lao tzu, it was a translation/philosophical interpretation of the tao te ching, it was much longer than any classic I had read, for sure though the best straight translation Ive read was the one they have at http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttcstan3.html beyond the foundation lifes a journey if you stick with it you may just impregnate yourself with the teachings only the world can give when one learns to let go. thats my thoughts on it anyway
since i don't see that anyone has, or if they did i somehow missed it, so i'll mention brian walker's translation of hua hu ching. simply beautiful, beautifuly simple =^^= .../\...
Just live and be happy. Don't contend with life and be just be who you are where you are that is tao. When you seek it it will vanish but ignore it and it surrounds you. A wise man and a fool were told of tao. the wise man became enlightened. The fool just laughed, for to do less would not have been tao. All of those books can either point the way or so muddy the water that you will never find it because it can never be found...for most people it just muddies the water.
I enjoyed "the inner chapters" by chuang tzu, and obviously the tao te ching. check out the FAQ thread in this forum, for starters. then read both those books (they're not too long, not like reading the bible...). Here's a wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism There are links at the bottom too, for more info, some that take you to pages with the texts on them, so you don't even need to buy the books Your library would probably have some info too.
Your question inspired me to reigster to this site "The Classics" mentioned by others are all good, however many people can spend years (lifetimes?) reading the Tao Te Ching and find that they are benefitting from the practice. As you are looking for introductory material, I cannot recommend strogly enough "Simple Taoism" written by a married couple, Annelllen and C. Alexander Simpkins [Gill&Macmillan ltd. 1999]. At just over 160 pages, "Simple Taoism" covers the history, major writers and concepts of Taoism with examples of Taoist expression in art, heathcare, psychology etc. The simple steps are the natural way to start, and are, at times all you really need. Happy journey!
