The Wandering Taoist

I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly this text flows, but then perhaps I should have expected this from a work so full of the true essence of the Tao. Primarily, this is the story of the education of a Taoist adept and renunciate from willful child to a master who is fully in harmony with heaven and earth. Secondarily, it is a glimpse into the intact monastic community of the Haushan mountains- before its dissolution in the post-Imperial chaos of the 20th century. There is more than a little Taoist wisdom interwoven into the story. Indeed, it is a fine teaching aid. You get a sense of the careful guiding and molding of young Kwan Saihung by the Grand Master. Basic Taoist ethics, meditation, internal alchemy, healing, martial arts, divination, astral travel- are all touched upon. You get a sense of both the mundane and tedious groundwork of monastic life, as well as, the ego-shattering elements of crisis and initiation. The advice concerning the purging of one's ming huan (karma) is especially refreshing in today's world. You came into this world with problems and dilemmas to be met and mastered. You are to burn away all your attachments and worldly goals, purge desire, and satisfy the thirst for knowledge (the exact opposite of the teachings of modern materialism.) You never refuse experience, and you overcome all obstacles that such experience presents. In this way you can leave this word fulfilled and pass to a higher plane. Saihung's anger at the Japanese invasion of the 30's- and his decision to leave the order and fight as a "wandering Taoist"- is more than a little appropriate in today's world. After years of soul-numbing combat he returned to the monastery. He had come to realize the ultimate corruption of the outer world and the meaninglessness of war. He came to realize that humanity had to work out their own destiny- including war- and that no Taoist (or even the Jade Emperor) could do it for them.

This is an amazing book with an enlightening story!This is an incredible adventure of boy growing up in an ancient secret Chinese Taoist martial art school. The book shines light on the lost art and science of the supernatural potential of the transcendent human.It seems to be a mystery whether this book is fiction or not. But since I have read it I have run into a lot of material that could support it as a non-fiction. For instance there is a lot of archeological evidence, as hard as it is to believe, that ancient people had supernatural abilities far superior to anything we currently know. One thing that I thought was fiction before was the part about the vast caves of Huashan which were unheard of; that is until now: Vast ancient of caves of Huashan were just discovered by a local farmer, by accident at a mysterious latitude 30 degrees north connecting with the pyramids and the Bermuda Triangle. Read: http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/53225.htm Just finding out about this new discovery of these caves motivated me into writing a review for this book.Did the person who wrote this book have some ancestral or secret information from `Master Kwan'? Was this information purposefully kept a mystery as to whether it was fiction or not for controversial or considerate reasons? Who knows? Whether the book is fiction or not doesn't matter because it's an adventure that can never the less open your mind to a bigger picture of the human condition.

Untill now I was not a spiritual person. The book is well written, yes. What got me though was the quality of the story it told. True? Who cares? That's really not the point. For me reading this book was like talking to someone I could really relax with for a long time. Only I wasn't talking. I was listening, and the words I was hearing made alot of sense. I think everyone should read this book, It might do some good.peace is nice but love is better

it is out of print but you will find it and the second and third books combined in; The Chronicles of Tao : The Secret Life of a Taoist Master

This book is the powerful and dramatic, true life story of an ascetic Taoist monk that gives tremendous insight into what monastic life must have been like, as well as surviving the turbulent years of China's internal and external conflicts. Kwan Saihung's own struggle as to his path in life is analogous to the very philosophy of opposing energies studied by the Taoists. Upon meeting this humble master personally, I have found that truth is truly stranger than fiction and was convinced of his authenticity due to his superior physical and mental ability despite his advanced years. This book and the two others in the trilogy have inspired me to delve deeper into the Taoist philosophy as well as Taoist martial arts. I highly recommend these and other books by the author Deng Ming-Dao.