While the Tao Te Ching has been translated and commented on countless times, interpretations are seldom based on systematic theoretical treatment of the problems of interpretive method posed by this enigmatic classic. Beginning with a critical discussion of modern hermeneutics including treatments of Hirsch, Gadamer, and Derrida, this book applies methods developed in biblical studies to the Tao Te Ching. The following chapters discuss systematically four areas necessary to recovering the Tao Te Ching 's original meaning: its social background; the semantic structure of the brief aphorisms contained in the book; the concrete background of the more cosmic sayings; and the origin and genre of the 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching. These essays propose relatively new theories in each of these areas, leading to a new approach to the interpretation of the text. This approach is illustrated in the translation and the detailed commentary on each chapter.
While the Tao Te Ching has been translated and commented on countless times, interpretations are seldom based on systematic theoretical treatment of the problems of interpretive method posed by this enigmatic classic. Beginning with a critical discussion of modern hermeneutics including treatments of Hirsch, Gadamer, and Derrida, this book applies methods developed in biblical studies to the Tao Te Ching. The following chapters discuss systematically four areas necessary to recovering the Tao Te Ching 's original meaning: its social background; the semantic structure of the brief aphorisms contained in the book; the concrete background of the more cosmic sayings; and the origin and genre of the 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching. These essays propose relatively new theories in each of these areas, leading to a new approach to the interpretation of the text. This approach is illustrated in the translation and the detailed commentary on each chapter.
What is known from the Tao Te Ching, I Ching, and other Taoist texts is almost entirely literary. When Bruce Frantzis studied these texts with his main teacher, Grandmaster Liu Hung Chieh, he was taught their practical application: "This is what they say; this is what they mean; this is how to do them." In the TAO of Letting Go, Frantzis offers a bridge to this pragmatic approach for living a spiritual life. Spirituality is not just an aspiration for which people strive, he says, but a genuine, accomplishable reality. Frantzis shows how to expend maximum effort and yet not use force--the gentle way of the Water method--to enrich personal health and energy systems. The Water tradition continues the work of releasing inner conflicts, a process that begins with the Dissolving Method, passed down by Lao Tse in the Tao Te Ching over 2,500 years ago. The author shows how to completely let go of the blockages that bind and prevent the seeker from reaching full spiritual potential. Short, direct chapters and exercises cover such topics as breathing and awareness; Taoist meditation; fog and depression; modern anxiety; love and compassion; and more.
A curated collection of ancient texts that shed light on the full breadth of Taoist meditation practices The ancient meditation techniques of Taoism encompass a wide range of practices—with an aim toward cultivating a healthy body as well as an enlightened mind. These selections from classic texts of Taoist meditation represent the entire range of techniques—from sitting meditation practices to internal alchemy. Most of the texts appear here in English for the first time. Selections are taken from the following classics: • Anthology on Cultivation of Realization: A document from 1739 (Ming Dynasty) that emphasizes development of the natural, social, and spiritual elements in human life. • Treatise on Sitting Forgetting: A Tang Dynasty text that sets meditation practice in terms familiar to Confucians and Buddhists. • Sayings of Taoist Master Danyang: Wisdom of the Taoist wizard and representative of the Complete Reality School. • Secret Writings on the Mechanism of Nature: An anthology taken from one hundred sixty-three Taoist sources, including ancient classics and works on meditation and spiritual alchemy, along with admonitions and teachings of the great Taoist luminaries. • Zhang Sanfeng's Taiji Alchemy Secrets: A treatise on the inner mediation practices that are the proper foundation of the martial art Taiji. • Secret Records of Understanding the Way: A rare and remarkable collection of talks by an anonymous Taoist master of the later Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Traditional teachings with a sometimes strikingly modern bent.
A holistic guide to improving one’s vision both physically and spiritually • Explains how blurred vision is a reflection of other imbalances in the body, mind, and spirit • Offers natural methods for improvement of poor eyesight and stress-related difficulties, including dyslexia and ADHD • Combines the core values of the Bates method of natural vision improvement and Taoism Fewer than three percent of children in North America are born with visual defects, yet as they become adults nearly two thirds will become reliant on prescription lenses to see clearly. Virtually nonexistent in pre-industrialized cultures, this epidemic of blurred vision can be traced to mental, physical, and spiritual imbalances in modern society. The traditional “quick fixes” of eyeglasses and contact lenses only serve to cover the true cause of blurred vision while increasing eye-strain, and often progressively worsen eyesight as the eyes become trained to work within the confines of the corrective lenses. The advent of refractive surgery carries even more serious risks. In Restoring Your Eyesight, Doug Marsh offers a natural alternative that shows readers how to improve their eyesight by taking conscious control of their vision health. He combines proven methods pioneered a century ago by eye doctor William Bates with the ancient Chinese wisdom of Taoism. Marsh describes how vision goes deeper than the eyes and optic nerves, extending well into the layers of the mind, emotions, and spirit. Eyesight difficulties are often connected to behavioral and stress-related syndromes, such as dyslexia, ADHD, stuttering, TMJ, and anxiety disorders. He draws upon the core values of the Bates method and Taoism--rhythm, softness, return, balance, and wholeness--to provide guidelines for a holistic healing of outer and inner vision.
Exercises to deactivate emotional triggers, transform negative emotions into positive ones, and heal from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and addiction • Provides illustrated step-by-step instructions on how to combine the eye movements of EMDR therapy with the energetic practices of the Universal Healing Tao • Reveals how negative emotions are stored in the organs, where they also have effects on physical, mental, and spiritual health • Explains how to release stored negative emotions, transform them into positive energy, and harmonize the energies of your organs Through the energy psychology practices from the 5000-year-old Taoist Chi Kung system, you can recycle negative emotional states into positive energy for your spiritual, emotional, and physical benefit. By combining these ancient practices with the recently developed therapy of EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, you can produce fast, profound relief from emotional trauma, as well as address the emotional imbalances underlying depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even addiction. In this illustrated guide, Master Mantak Chia and Doug Hilton explain how to integrate the eye movements of EMDR with the energetic exercises of the Universal Healing Tao to rid yourself of the negative feelings associated with past trauma, build up positive feelings about handling similar events in the future, and remove any physical sensations connected to the issue. The authors explore how negative emotions are stored in the organs, the effects they have on physical, mental, and spiritual health, and the maladaptive emotional states people develop to deal with the pressures of modern life. Providing step-by-step instructions for each practice, the authors show how to deactivate your emotional triggers, trace energy disturbances back to the affected organ systems, transform negative emotions into positive ones, and harmonize the organs with EMDR and the Universal Healing Tao techniques of the Inner Smile, the Six Healing Sounds, and the Microcosmic Orbit. The result is a powerful self-healing practice that can be learned and applied quickly and easily.
"Ursula K. Le Guin, a student of the Tao Te Ching for more than fifty years, offers her own thoughtful rendering of the Taoist scripture. She has consulted the literal translations and worked with the scholar J. P. Seaton to develop a version that lets the ancient text speak in a fresh way to modern people, while remaining faithful to the original Chinese. This rendition reveals the Tao Te Ching's immediate relevance and power, its depth and refreshing humor, illustrating better than ever before why it has been so loved for more than 2,500 years. Included are Le Guin's own personal commentary and notes along with two audio CDs of the text read by the author, with original music composed and performed by Todd Barton."--Publisher's website.
