The Taoist Classics Volume Four

This collection of Taoist texts includes: • The Taoist I Ching: The classic "Book of Change" illuminated by the commentary of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Taoist adept Liu I-ming. The first part of the book is the text of I Ching proper with Liu's commentary. The second part is Liu's commentary on two additional sections—known as the Overall Image and the Mixed Hexagrams—added to the I Ching by earlier commentators, believed to be members of the original Confucian school. In total, the book illuminates the Taoist inner teachings as practiced in the School of Complete Reality. • I Ching Mandalas: A traditional program of study that enables students of the I Ching to achieve a deeper understanding of the meaning of this great classic. I Ching Mandalas presents diagrams as tools for whole-brain learning that help the student to visualize patterns and interrelationships among the trigrams and hexagrams of the I Ching.

This collection of translated texts includes: • Understanding Reality: A Taoist Alchemical Classic: A tenth-century text on the principles of inner alchemy. • The Inner Teachings of Taoism: The essentials of self-transformation according to the Complete Reality School of Taoism, with commentary by Liu I-ming. • The Book of Balance and Harmony: These essays, conversations, poetry, and songs about the secrets of Taoism teach how to live a centered and orderly life. • Practical Taoism: A collection of the most accessible of the texts on inner alchemy.

This four-volume set neatly packages together a wealth of Taoist texts that have been translated and published by Thomas Cleary over the course of more than twenty years. Among the fifteen translated texts included in these volumes are the Tao Teh Ching, Chuang-tzu, The Book of Balance and Harmony, The Taoist I Ching, Immortal Sisters, Awakening to the Tao, and more.

The I Ching , or "Book of Change," is considered the oldest of the Chinese classics and has throughout history commanded unsurpassed prestige and popularity. Containing several layers of text and given numerous levels of interpretation, it has captured continuous attention for well over two thousand years. It has been considered a book of fundamental principles by philosophers, politicians, mystics, alchemists, yogins, diviners, sorcerers, and more recently by scientists and mathematicians. This first part of the present volume is the text of the I Ching proper—the sixty-four hexagrams plus sayings on the hexagrams and their lines—with the commentary composed by Liu I-ming, a Taoist adept, in 1796. The second part is Liu I-ming's commentary on the two sections added to the I Ching by earlier commentators, believed to be members of the original Confucian school; these two sections are known as the Overall Images and the Mixed Hexagrams. In total, the book illuminates the Taoist inner teachings as practiced in the School of Complete Reality. Well versed in Buddhism and Confucianism as well as Taoism, Liu I-ming intended his work to be read as a guide to comprehensive self-realization while living an ordinary life in the world. In his attempt to lift the veil of mystery from the esoteric language of the I Ching , he employs the terminology of psychology, sociology, history, myth, and religion. This commentary on the I Ching stands as a major contribution to the elucidation of Chinese spiritual genius.

Discover four seminal masterworks of Chinese thought—Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, the Analects of Confucius, the Chuang Tzu, and the Mencius—presented in one volume for the first time in nearly two centuries. Award-winning translator David Hinton offers fresh insights on the most influential texts on Taoism, Zen Buddhism, Chinese philosophy, and more. Hinton’s award–winning experience translating a wide range of ancient Chinese poets makes these books sing in English as never before. But these new versions are not only inviting and immensely readable—they also apply much-needed consistency to key philosophical terms in these texts, lending structural links and philosophical rigor heretofore unavailable in English. Breathing new life into these classics, Hinton’s new translations will stand as the definitive texts for our era. Perhaps the most broadly influential spiritual text in human history, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching is the source of Taoist philosophy, which eventually developed into Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism. Equally influential in the social sphere, Confucius’ Analects is the source of social wisdom in China. The Chuang Tzu is the wild and wacky prose complement to the Tao Te Ching. And with its philosophical storytelling, the Mencius adds depth and complexity to Confucius’ vision.

This collection of translated texts includes: • Tao Te Ching: Cleary's original translations of the great classic of Taoism, accompanied by his commentary illuminating the text and its context. • Chuang-tzu: The "Inner Teachings" of a widely influential compendium of wisdom stories, fables, and anecdotes. • Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries: Another core text of Chinese Taoism, containing teachings also attributed to the author of the Tao Te Ching. • The Book of Leadership and Strategy: Lessons of the Chinese Masters: One of the great Chinese teachings on the subtle arts of management and leadership at all levels. • Sex, Health, and Long Life: Manuals of Taoist Practice: The techniques contained in these five texts reveal the transformative influence sex can have when wisely practiced.

The writings of Chuang Tzu stand alongside the Tao Te Ching as foundational classics of Taoism. Dating back to the fourth century BC, The Inner Chapters is full of fantastical tales that both entertain and provide guidance on living a good life--a gigantic fish that becomes a bird, a cook who never sharpens his blade, a magical being who lives in the mountains, and more. This new luxury edition is distinguished by insightful commentary and superb photographs that convey in their wordless beauty the profound wisdom of Chuang Tzu's text.