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The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition)
- Narrated by: Greg Chun
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Classic writings from the great Zen master in exquisite versions by Thomas Merton, with a preface by his holiness the Dalai Lama, now in audio for the first time.
Working from existing translations, Thomas Merton composed a series of his own versions of the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of Chinese philosophers. Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries BC, is the chief authentic historical spokesperson for Taoism and its founder, Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu’s writings). Indeed, it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name: Zen.
The Chinese sage abounds in wit and paradox and shattering insights into the true ground of being. Thomas Merton, no stranger to Asian thought, brings a vivid, modern idiom to the timeless wisdom of Tao.
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What listeners say about The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition)
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Philo
- 01-11-20
Way of Merton -- Chuang Tzu, not so much
I am a casual scholar of Taoism and a drooling fan of Chuang Tzu. I also like Merton at his best. This isn't that. Merton seems so anxious to explain away Chuang Tzu's points and make him acceptable (my word) to a mid-20th century Catholic (if monastic) sensibility, he winds up making a hash of it all. Merton winds up, to my ears, making Chuang Tzu resemble nothing so much as a bureaucratized (if witty) Confucian underneath, the ultimate absurdity. Really a nice and caring guy underneath, really all about a very warmed-over sociable "love." All sugar and iced tea and not to cause too many ripples around the comfy listener's porch, or among acceptable company. Merton never really stretched beyond his origins and center all that much: sort of a spiritual locker-room football coach in the 20th century men's club, a back-slapping caring buddy who really couldn't comprehend something (or portend anything) truly outside of that. He has glimpses, but not a full sense. It is a palliative, something to make the listener feel nice and good inside. Well, the world is already overflowing with those; a (sometimes) truly different angle like Chuang Tzu's is the rarity. It takes guts in the listening and in the telling, to face parts of it. And even Merton's (I think, submerged) attempted goal to smooth over Chuang Tzu seems garbled. I guess Merton could be allowed a miss once in awhile.
I recommend (here at audible) Chuang Tsu Inner Chapters, A Companion Volume to Tao Te Ching by: Gia Fu Feng, Jane English. Bits may seem pretty odd at first, but a little patience unfolds the writings, straight-up. They speak most eloquently for themselves. And yes, there is a humane inner glow, but not what I hear from Merton, this time around.
22 people found this helpful
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- Hung Nguyen
- 10-01-19
My mind is blown
This shall be a book I will read a thousand times and will still learn something new. Profound teaching appropriate at all time.
3 people found this helpful
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- Tom
- 05-20-21
Merton brings the Tao alive.
Less poetic but more prescriptive, this work is a perfect companion to the Tao. I go back to it often. It’s a sermon to be enjoyed and lived.
2 people found this helpful
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- A. Yoshida
- 01-19-21
Commentaries Needed
It's difficult to tell whether this is a good translation. I've read other books where commentaries were included so the inexplicit passages were explained.
2 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 05-17-19
Wow
Always a pleasure to hear about the similarities as opposed to the differences.
Book leaves you in deep reflective thought.
5 people found this helpful
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- Sam
- 03-26-22
choppy and incomplete
the recording isn't complete and there are long pauses in places from a choppy recording.
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- Danielle
- 10-24-21
A must read!
A must read for anyone searching for answers and truth about them selves and the universe.
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- Eric123
- 08-22-21
Academic and Haughty
Books by Derek Linn on the subject of Chuang Tzu are far more practical and useful.
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- Adrian J. Smith
- 04-22-21
A decent abridgement of the key ideas
The book of Zhuang Zi may be the most important text in Daoism, but like many within this genre, is difficult to understand.
This volume, by a Christian Monk, takes the most readily understood parables from Zhuang Zi's teaching and compiles them into an hour of easy listening.
Note that half the actual audio is introductory material which can seem overly long and could possibly tire the reader out before getting to the main bulk of the argument. However, the narrator is very clear and maintains the readers interest.
The main concepts are non action, acceptance and Harmony with the world. They may sound simple but the anecdotes help the listener understand and absorb these life lessons. So in many ways it's a pre modern self help book.
This volume serves as a good introduction, but I would recommend the reader equip themselves with an unabridged version of Zhuang Zi's full book and be prepared to read and reread certain chapters. Worth it because it is highly rewarding.
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- David Kinsella
- 12-27-19
Not Bad Overall.
The narrator speaks a little too fast (which can be slowed down) and the main body of the book is not separated into chapters, which is a real shame. The selections themselves are fine and intro is okay (if you're a Christian I suppose you'd get more out of it). Merton was clearly dissatisfied with Christianity but for his own reasons stuck with it to the end.