Essential Reading for Understanding Taoism

Must-Read Books for Learning About Taoism

Aug 5, 2009

Shining light onto the most important and integral texts to both religious and philosophical Taoism helps narrow the reader's search for essential reading.

There are a profusion of texts proclaiming Taoist knowledge. Shifting through the many titles of new age therapists, modern day mystics and ancient scribes, one discovers that Taoism covers a wide spectrum in today’s world.

Taoism, also known as Daoism, includes topics such as health, healing, sexuality, chakras, sacred places, art, culture, martial arts, drama and alchemy. Its a holistic belief system that looks upon the cycles of nature as a means to read health and well being for the self, the society and the planet. Tao is the supreme reality. It pervades the universe and is inherent in all things. By reading essential text of Taoism, we come closer to understanding what 'the way' is.

There are two undisputed essential texts to the Taoist canon: Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu.

The Tao Te Ching (The Way of Virtue), also known as the Daode jing, is attributed to Lao Tzu. It is a short ancient text dating back more than 2000 years.

There is contention about the identity of Lao Tzu (his name translates as Old Master), and the dates when the Tao Te Ching was written. However, it is universally accepted that the Tao Te Ching is foundation stone to both the religious and philosophical Taoist movements.

The Chuang Tzu (The Book of Master Chuang), also known as the Zhuangzi, is attributed to Chuang Tze. It is a book of 33 chapters written in question and answer format. As with the Tao Te Ching, there is contention about the correct date of composition and the historical figure of Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu is widely accepted as the second great text of the Taoist movement.

About Taoist Text Translations

Naturally, there is some dispute about the correct meaning and translation of ancient Taoist texts. In Early Daoist Scripture (University of California Press, 1999), Bokenkamp and Nickerson explain part of the difficulty in finding a concrete translation is with the fluidity of each word used across several traditions as well as basic problems of choice of the ‘correct’ word.

For example, scripture is made up of ‘wen,' a word meaning ‘patterns,’ ‘markings,’ ‘Chinese characters,’ ‘writing,' ‘text,’ ‘cultured’ and ‘civilized.’ Considering the wide range of meanings for each word, plus the added difficulty of contextualising the history, culture and concepts of the times, translation is a formidable and often thankless task.

Advice About Reading the Tao

The Tao is. It can only be reached by not being. It’s a complex concept for the mind to grasp. It can be read about and it can be talked about, though it can never be experienced until the student gives up these things.Reading about the Tao is a way to "The Way," but it is not in and of itself "The Way."

The best advice about reading about the Tao is to put the book down and let what is, to be, with no concepts, with no ideas or ‘shoulds.’ The Tao is living meditation. However, until we can understand that doing 'nothing' is 'the way', reading about the Tao brings us closer to the great masters of the past.

Related Articles to Essential Taoist Texts

Find below a short list of further reading on different topics related to Taoism and for some of the sources used for the writing of this article.

The copyright of the article Essential Reading for Understanding Taoism in Taoist History is owned by Tiffany Jones. Permission to republish Essential Reading for Understanding Taoism in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.