The Tao of Inner Peace

The book was ok, but I found the writing to be a bit corny at times. The intended audience here is likely those who are not already familiar with Taoism.

I absolutely loved this book. It was very informative and insightful; I could barely put it down. I learned how important it is to achieve spiritual peace with your own mind, body, and environment, before reaching peace at a higher community, national, world level. This book is a must-read for anyone who has read the Tao of Peace and for those of you who need a way to de-stress and wind-down your hectic daily life into a more simplistic, wordly, peaceful life.

Of all the books that I have read on Taoism, this book has been the one that has helped me to get the concepts out of my head and to start applying them to my daily activities. Every chapter is clear and inspiring.

One of the few books in my vast library that I refer to time and time again. Each time I pick it up I find a new gem. In my search for peace this was priceless..

You really need to read it for yourself, obviously there are vast differences between what you and I may find interesting or useful. I consider myself very picky when it comes to reading material, but this book broadened my perspective towards the world around me. There were a few things in there that I didn't embrace wholeheartedly, or have skipped over entirely, but overall it has been a wonderful resource and positive influence in my life that I still turn to repeatedly.

There are a few comments I have read here where someone has said that this book does not represent "the true Tao". I would like to point out that Tao Te Ching itself says that the "true Tao cannot be spoken". There are basically two different types of Taoism: the old, simplified Tao that has wonderful, basic truths and resounding ideas about the nature of things. The other kind is the Taoism that evolved over the centuries with a lot of influence from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christian-like Confucianism...much like Zen Buddhism has deep roots in Taoism. This book is about the first kind of Taoism...sort of "the core of the Tao". Yes, it is also a book about humanism, ecological conservation, and there are some New Agey concepts...but the true value is the spirit of the book, of finding both inner peace as well as peace with the world in which we live. This book has helped me and many of my friends...in one case, the book was instrumental in turning around the thinking of a friend who was very seriously contemplating suicide. By the way, I would also recommend a book called "The Tao is Silent" by Raymond M. Smullyan - one of the funniest and yet profound books I've ever read.