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    What Is Tao?
    What Is Tao?
    What Is Tao?
    Ebook64 pages1 hour

    What Is Tao?

    By Alan Watts

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Alan Watts — noted author and respected authority on Far Eastern thought — studied Taoism extensively, and in his final years moved to a quiet cabin in the mountains and dedicated himself almost exclusively to meditating and writing on the Tao. This new book gives us an opportunity to not only understand the concept of the Tao but to experience the Tao as a personal practice of liberation from the limitations imposed by the common beliefs within our culture. The philosophy of the Tao offers a way to understand the value of ourselves as free-willed individuals enfolded within the ever-changing patterns of nature.

    The path of the Tao is perhaps the most puzzling way of liberation to come to us from the Far East in the last century. It is both practical and esoteric, and it has a surprisingly comfortable quality of thought that is often overlooked by Western readers who never venture beyond the unfamiliar quality of the word Tao (pronounced "dow"). But those who do soon discover a way of understanding and living with the world that has profound implications for us today in so-called modern societies.

    The word Tao means the Way — in the sense of a path, a way to go — but it also means nature, in the sense of one's true nature, and the nature of the universe. Often described as the philosophy of nature, we find the origins of Taoism in the shamanic world of pre-Dynastic China. Living close to the earth, one sees the wisdom of not interfering, and letting things go their way. It is the wisdom of swimming with the current, splitting wood along the grain, and seeking to understand human nature instead of changing it. Every creature finds it's way according to the laws of nature, and each of us has our own inner path — or Tao.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNew World Library
    Release dateOct 6, 2010
    ISBN9781577318163
    What Is Tao?
    Author

    Alan Watts

    Alan Watts published over 25 books, including The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, The Way of Zen and Tao: The Watercourse Way. He was a philosopher, academic and theologian, who wrote and spoke widely on Asian philosophy and theology. He is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. He was the author of more than twenty books on the philosophy and psychology of religion. He died in 1973.

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    Reviews for What Is Tao?

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      An excellent book for anyone who has found curiosity in the writing of Tao Te Ching. It is perfect for a westerner looking to form a deeper understanding of the more basic concepts of Chinese philosophy and how they contrast to the ways of thinking we know best.
    • 5/5
      A delightful book. Short enough to read quickly; good enough to read repeatedly.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I love Alan Watts, he has a wonderful way with words and as someone exploring Taoism this book is a jewel.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I'm on the lookout for a primer on the philosophy of Taoism. This little book was my first attempt... unfortunately I think I'll have to keep looking. The content of the book is in keeping with what you'd expect from the title, but there wasn't enough substance. And even as I write that I realize that's probably a very Westernized approach to the subject of Taoism, I'll have to work on it. In any case, I found Watts to be fascinating, of course. It's just that this book was so slight as to only whet my appetite for more. This book is perfect for what it is -- a very brief overview of a very rich and complex subject. It's just not what I was looking for in this moment.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    What Is Tao? - Alan Watts

    WHAT IS TAO?

    WHAT IS TAO?

    A  L  A  N     W  A  T  T  S

    NEW WORLD LIBRARY

    NOVATO, CALIFORNIA

    New World Library

    14 Pamaron Way

    Novato, California 94949

    Copyright © 2000 by Mark Watts

    The poems on pages v, 22, and 52, are from Tao Te Ching,

    translation © 1988 by Stephen Mitchell

    reprinted with permission from HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

    Editors: Mark Watts, Marc Allen

    Cover design: Mary Ann Casler

    Text design: Tona Pearce Myers

    Interior Calligraphy: Alan Watts

    All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or

    transmitted in any form, without written permission from the publisher,

    except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may

    any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans

    mitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

    recording, or other, without written permission of the publisher.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Watts, Alan, 1915–1973.

    What is Tao? / Alan Watts.

    p. cm.

    ISBN 1-57731-168-X

    1. Tao. I. Title.

    B127.T3 W39 2000

    299’.514—dc21                                                                                00-056091

    First printing, October 2000

    ISBN 1-57731-168-X

    Printed in Canada on acid-free, recycled paper

    Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West

    10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

    The tao that can be told
    is not the eternal Tao.
    The name that can be named
    is not the eternal Name.
    The unnameable is the eternally real.
    Naming is the origin
    of all particular things.
    Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
    Caught in desire, you see
    only the manifestations.

    CONTENTS

    Introduction by Mark Watts

    Part I: The Way of the Tao

    Our Place in Nature

    Taoism and Confucianism

    The World and Its Opposites

    Lao-tzu

    Tao

    Tzu-Jan — By Itself So

    Wu Wei — Not Forcing

    Te — Virtue: Skill at Living

    Part II: The Gentle Way

    The Strength of Weakness

    Judo — The Gentle Way

    Li — The Patterns of Nature

    I Ching — Book of Changes

    Advice from the Oracle

    A Western Point of View

    An Eastern Point of View

    Probabilities and Decisions

    Disadvantages and Advantages

    A Comparison of East and West

    Conclusion

    About the Author

    INTRODUCTION

    By Mark Watts

    The ancient philosophy of the Tao is one of the most intriguing and refreshing ways of liberation to arrive in the West from the Far East in modern times. With over fifty translations of the Tao Te Ching into Western languages to date, the classic work of Taoist literature offers its readers great wisdom for living as well as advice on worldly affairs. It is also a fascinating window into the mysterious world of pre-dynastic China.

    The very practical nature of Taoist thought is often overlooked by Western readers who are hesitant to embrace a seemingly strange and foreign way of knowing, but in the philosophy of the Tao one finds a surprisingly contemporary perspective. The word Tao, properly pronounced dow, has lent its name to a way of understanding and living in the world with profound implications for modern societies. Above all else Taoism places great emphasis on the balance between our human awareness and our natural being, as an integral part of the web of life. It embodies our deepest understanding of ecological awareness.

    The mystical side of Taoist thought, on the other hand, is highly enigmatic, for here one finds a doorway into the shamanistic world that flourished in China over a span of at least five thousand years, right up to the period in which the Taoist texts were written.

    As Alan Watts explains it, the word Tao embodies two broad meanings in our language: it means approximately the Way — in the sense of the way to go — and it also refers to nature in the sense of one’s own true nature. Everything is said to have its own Tao, but it is impossible to define it, to put one’s finger on it exactly.

    As I sat working on this manuscript my eight-year-old son came up to me and asked, Papa, what are you working on? I told him it was a book on the Tao, and began to explain a little bit about it, but without a moment’s hesitation he said, Oh, you mean what’s behind everything — and then he headed off. Intuitively and experientially we know what it is, but for most of us the problem arises when we try to explain it.

    This enigma reminds me of a story that my father used to tell about a debate years ago in the

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