Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony

This is the first 'Tao' book I've ever read. I picked this up, not even really knowing what 'The Tao' is. As I flipped through and read the short passages on random pages, I was immediately drawn in to the peacefullness, simplicity and the interpretations of the words and symbols on the pages. I found the introduction to be extremely well written. I even go back and re-read the introduction, just because I love what it says! For example, it begins with this: "Following Tao means following a living path. It is a way of life that sustains you, guides you, and leads you to innumerable rich experiences. It is a spiritual path of joy and insight, freedom and profundity." -Wow, well that sounded like just what I was looking for! The introduction goes on to explain some of the special qualities of those who follow Tao. Then, tells you about other good books to read about the Tao. The structure of the book is then broken down to explain what each part is for. Now, here's an overview of the book: There are 256 pages. Each page has a word at the top left hand corner of the page, and a chinese (calligraphy) symbol below the word. There is a paragraph beside the symbol that explains the symbol/picture/lines in brief detail. Below that, there are about 3-4 short paragraphs on each page that describe the meanings/relevance of the word/symbol in our lives. My book is full of bookmarks and slips of paper of my favorite passages. This is a partial excerpt that I particularly liked: Moon: "It is important in life to be constant." "The moon has its own primal power. It pulls on the earth; it pulls on the oceans and on the hearts and minds of human beings; it paces the seasons. The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not crush others. It keeps its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished. Look no further than tonight's sky if you would want to know how you can be both true to Tao and to yourself." This is a beautiful book! Looking for something to inspire you, nurture you in your spirituality, and teach you? Read this.

OK, I wasn't going to bother writing a review for this book until I saw the other reviewers complaining about the incorrect entymology of the characters. Alright so they know more about this subject than I do ... but not one of them managed to address the fact that the author says in the intro that he's using the ANCIENT INTERPRETATIONS! Of course there will be problems with the modern entymology. These critics could very well have taken this into consideration but by not mentioning it (one reviewer simply sampled them randomly, thus admitting he never read the book) their criticisms are not particularly helpful. Not that they would be anyway, which leads into my next point.The quality of the lessons in this should not be overshadowed by technical arguments that have no bearing on the actual discussion. The entymology was a framework that is (or should be anyway...) easily discarded if one is not interested in it. I'm active in martial arts and one constant theme I encounter is people "thinking too hard". Many times someone will be doing fine until they start getting overly-analytical and then they flop. I do this myself. The point here is that if you get stuck on petty details you will miss *so* much. So in summary, this is a great book if you allow it to be. If you are going to nitpick and argue technicalities then you have missed the whole point of this book, and likely missed the beauty of Taoism in general.

Despite some people's attempts to bash this wonderful book, this book is a very entertaining book and is a nice relaxing study on Taoism. Though some people seem to think the etymolgy is incorrect, I think that maybe Deng Ming-Dao may know what he is talking about. You must remember that he is probably about 45-50 years old now, and that when he grew up, this is probably what he was taught. Remember that many things have been altered since then. I doubt he is purposefully trying to decieve Western audiences. That would be very un-tao-like of him. And by this book, he proves he knows a lot more than the average person about Tao. He studied for 13 years with probably the best Taoist master of our time here in America, Kwan Saihung. You can read about this wonderful man's life in another of Deng Ming-Dao's books, Chronicles of Tao. Others say that this book says nothing about Taoism and has no moral value at all. They claim to have an understanding of Tao by saying that this book says nothing about Tao, and yet the very act of protesting this book is against Taoist principles anyway. So, even is some people don't agree with the etymolgy or the principles or whatever, this book is of great moral value and outlines basic principles that originated in Taoism that are good and healthy for everyday life.

I like to end my day by reading an entry or two from this book because the entries are insightful and succint. Divided into 15 chapters each with 15-20 entries, the book explores different Taoist ideas such as nature, silence and devotion. Each entry starts with a one word title for the calligraphy shown followed by a brief description of the icon and a commentary on how the word relates to Taoism.

I usually skip over the entymology and pictographs and go straight to the text. Each page dwells on a concept from the taoist point of view. Very relaxing to trip on a subject that is affecting your life at a particular time. If you flip through the I Ching looking for that random nugget of wisdom and find nothing but vague hints, this book would be very useful for establishing equilibrium and bringing resolution. Of course no book does that, you have to find what page is applicable to you and read it and reflect on it.It is definitely a layman's text, not a religious historian's, so don't judge it on the wrong terms. If you prefer to read Stephen Mitchell's reworking of the Tao teh ching over Jim Cleary's translation you will like this book. I am a westerner who applies the kernels of truth that have kept the Chinese civilizations strong for last few thousand years, not a starry-eyed new ager looking for their next guru to throw my cash at, and find it a useful book. Romanticization implies wishing to be in another era other than the present, but on the contrary, this book helps me make sense of the present moment, my present (and future) relationships, and my surroundings in late 20th century San Francisco.