The essential Tao : an initiation into the heart of Taoism through the authentic Tao te ching and the inner teachings of Chuang-Tzu

An initiation into the heart of Taoism through the authentic Tao Te Ching and the inner teachings of Chuang Tzu. Cleary's insightful translation of these two classic Chinese texts is further enhanced by his informative introduction and commentary. This is Thomas Cleary's translation of two classic Chinese books describing the essential philosophy and practice of Tao, written long ago as maps of the Way: Tao Te Ching and Chuang-tzu. Cleary's bold new translations restore, as no other translations have yet done, the remarkable power and mind-opening distinctiveness of the original Chinese. Composed in China over two thousand years ago and widely regarded as classics of world literature as well as honored for their. practical wisdom, the Tao Te Ching and Chuang-tzu cover a wide range of subjects, from politics and economy to psychology and mysticism, from strategies for managing stress and maintaining health to ways to strengthen one's consciousness in a turbulent world. Together, these texts present the philosophical and practical core of classical Taoism while making Taoism's teachings more accessible than ever before to the western reader. "Few of the world's great books," writes