It looks like you are asking the right questions. It's normal to feel overwhelmed with this.

>Happines is when you let go of your ego,when you make peace with being computer with no free will,making peace with the fact that we are not gods but insignificant blink in the grand universe that doesnt matter to anybody.

Why do you think that dropping the ego will make you happy, isn't happiness is a charasteristic of the ego?

I think a more realistic goal would be to feel peace, to be ok with whatever happens. If you were happy all the time it would eventually be torture. Like having your favorite meal everyday.

>I want to make choice between good and evil

If the person is simply a computer running some software, then the choice is not yours to make. Why worry?

This is very hard to explain in a single comment, and without feedback (like a conversation). But the key question here is: What am I?

To me, it feels like your pain comes from not knowing yourself. There are many ways to start the journey into yourself, depending on your background, you might find some easier than others.

If have a philosophical/scientific background, Alan Watts might help you. Out of Your Mind, Become What You Are, and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are are all great reads, it doesn't matter which one you pick, they are all pretty similar.

Alternatively, Mooji might help you with his extreme simplicity and straight-to-the-point style of writing/talking. Vaster Than Sky, Greater Than Space: What You Are Before You Became is a great book for starting out your spiritual journey, although it will require an open mind.

There are many other alternatives, but I think those are good starting points. I know linking some books is not the best way to help out but I feel like I would only confuse you more if I keep talking so, Alan and Mooji can do a better job than me in that regard.

If you have any questions though, feel free to ask/DM me.

For the sake of completeness, I'll give it a shot at replying to your original questions:

What is choice? An illusion created by mind. You could see it as inverse-rationalization of what just happened. Like, when you have to pick whether you want to eat A or B, and cant decide, you spend a few minutes with it and then... you make a completely sporadic choice!

Who makes it? It's simply a matter of action/reaction, it was made for you by your environment and conditioning.

Who regrets it? Mind.

What are we humans? Humans are not separate from the rest of the universe. Form and Name are big lies.

Does it even matter? It matters if you pay attention to mind. Mattering only exists in Mind's realm. Nothing matters if there isn't someone to worry about it.

Entrepreneur Reading List

1. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble
   
2. The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
   
3. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
   
4. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
   
5. The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win
   
6. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers
   
7. Ikigai
   
8. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
   
9. Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch
   
10. The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Time
    
11. Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web
    
12. The Web Startup Success Guide
    
13. The Best of Guerrilla Marketing: Guerrilla Marketing Remix
    
14. From Program to Product: Turning Your Code into a Saleable Product
    
15. This Little Program Went to Market: Create, Deploy, Distribute, Market, and Sell Software and More on the Internet at Little or No Cost to You
    
16. The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully
    
17. The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth
    
18. Startups Open Sourced: Stories to Inspire and Educate
    
19. In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters
    
20. Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup
    
21. Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business
    
22. Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed
    
23. Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
    
24. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
    
25. Eric Sink on the Business of Software
    
26. Words that Sell: More than 6000 Entries to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas
    
27. Anything You Want
    
28. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers
    
29. The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business
    
30. Tao Te Ching
    
31. Philip & Alex's Guide to Web Publishing
    
32. The Tao of Programming
    
33. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
    
34. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
    
    

    Computer Science Grad School Reading List
    

    
    

35. All the Mathematics You Missed: But Need to Know for Graduate School
    
36. Introductory Linear Algebra: An Applied First Course
    
37. Introduction to Probability
    
38. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
    
39. Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society
    
40. Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery
    
41. What Is This Thing Called Science?
    
42. The Art of Computer Programming
    
43. The Little Schemer
    
44. The Seasoned Schemer
    
45. Data Structures Using C and C++
    
46. Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs
    
47. Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
    
48. Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming
    
49. How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Programming and Computing
    
50. A Science of Operations: Machines, Logic and the Invention of Programming
    
51. Algorithms on Strings, Trees, and Sequences: Computer Science and Computational Biology
    
52. The Computational Beauty of Nature: Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation
    
53. The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine
    
54. Computability: An Introduction to Recursive Function Theory
    
55. How To Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method
    
56. Types and Programming Languages
    
57. Computer Algebra and Symbolic Computation: Elementary Algorithms
    
58. Computer Algebra and Symbolic Computation: Mathematical Methods
    
59. Commonsense Reasoning
    
60. Using Language
    
61. Computer Vision
    
62. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
    
63. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
    
    

    Video Game Development Reading List
    

    
    

64. Game Programming Gems - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    
65. AI Game Programming Wisdom - 1 2 3 4
    
66. Making Games with Python and Pygame
    
67. Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python
    
68. Bit by Bit

Yea, I just got home. I'm bored, mini rants incoming.

When I first heard of The Four Agreements, I was in detox back in 09 or something. And this tweaker chick kept going manic. She'd be happy/sad/angry/empty... just over and over. She was throwing chairs, and freaking out, but she kept telling me to read that book. So I had to, because she had excellent chair throwing skills. It was a great read, ... very very interesting take on spirituality but it is pretty applicable. It's a feel good philosophy warrior book thing.

The Power of Now. I had what AA would call a "spiritual awakening" and it really wasn't much like a burning bush, but A LOT like this guy talks about in this book. When I was about to kill myself with a teener of dope, I had this very very strange experience where I couldn't identify with myself anymore. .. "Who is this person that wants to die so badly?... Who am I?" It really changed things. The power of now was the most powerful thing I've read.

The New Earth is pretty interesting. I have to disagree with some points, because traditionally, you can't really get rid of the ego. The ego is necessary to survive. But it's interesting. It's worth a read, especially someone stuck in a facility with only their remorse and addiction to keep them company.

I personally LOVE Gabor Mate. This guy deals with the most tragic cases of addiction in Vancouver, and he's a neurologist and he has some pretty good insights on addiction. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. It's partly where I came up with my flair.

Rational Recovery was another I would suggest. It's a lot like those Allen Carr Easy Way to Quit Smoking. But the basic idea is disassociation from the "Addictive Voice". That it's not ME that wants to get high, but my addiction. That shit rocked my world when I learned it, and I immediately integrated it into my first step in Narcotics Anonymous.
EDIT, Rational Recovery, and Jack Trimpey are VERY AGAINST 12 step ideology. He HATES IT, and he hates the God idea. I get that, but I cannot and will not deny the therapeautic value of one addict helping another. Nothing compares. Even Bill W. in AA wrote about it in his memoirs and grapevines and the Big Book. "When all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic saved the day."

Tao de Ching really helped me. Although it may be missattributed, the whole "Living in the Past is living in depression, living in the future is living in anger and fear, living in the now is living in peace."

So, as you can see, I really like the "now" concept, but it's helped me stay clean and be happy about it. Non-fiction would probably be great too. But these are very spiritual new agey ideas.

This reminds me, I need to read The Spirituality of Imperfection.

THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS THOUGH:

I highly recommend the NA Basic Text, and I love the Step Working Guide.

Mises, the economist? I didn't know he referenced Lao Tzu.

This is maybe a topic better suited to /r/taoism; you may want to ask there.

First realize that Taoism has several faces, which are sometimes vague and overlapping: Philosophical Taoism, which is conveyed through writings and is debated ad nauseum in online forums; Religious or Ritual Taoism, which involves a lot more form and ritual than one might expect; Folk Taoism, which arises in part from local cultures and traditional beliefs; Art Taoism, which is conveyed in countless internal energy and martial arts practices, among others; Enlightenment Taoism, which aims at complete attainment of the Tao. To make your way through all this territory it's helpful to know your own deepest interest and aim.

• For a good commentary along with scholarly translation, Ellen Chen's Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary is hard to beat.
  
  
• For an interpretation (loose translation) easily accessible by westerners, leaning toward practice rather than scholasticism, and illuminated by a realized practitioner, I recommend Stephen Mitchell's Tao Te Ching.
  
  
• For its beauty and intuitive expression of Taoist sensibilities, and its recent reworking to more closely reflect the original Chinese language, I like the oversized (photos included) 2011 version of Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English's Tao Te Ching.
  
  
• Other sources include Lao Tzu's Wen-Tzu: Understanding The Mysteries, translated by Thomas Cleary, and his Hua Hu Ching: Unknown Teachings Of Lao Tzu, translated by Brian Walker.
  
  
• As to learning more about Lao Tzu, other Taoist writers, and Taoism in general, it seems that some Zen teachers have a more lively and to-the-point teaching than other widely available discussions. Alan Watts' writings were very popular, if skewed by his own shallow understanding of some of the topics. Direct contact with living teachers is almost invariably the best way to attain the Tao (as opposed to just learning history and philosophy). The Kwan Um School Of Zen, its deceased master Seung Sahn, and its teachers are excellent sources for practice that allows the Tao to unfold in your life. Zen Master Seung Sahn's The Whole World Is A Single Flower includes several koans (Zen teaching questions) based on Taoist sayings; if you have training in koan practice this can be a useful resource. (Note that the translator Stephen Mitchell, above, was a student of Z M Seung Sahn.)
  
  
• True Taoist masters can be difficult to find, in part because the breadth, complexity, and rigor of the teachings make them less accessible, and partly because they have to some degree been suppressed in their home nation China. Taoist teachings are apt to appear within the context of some Qigong, Taiji, Bagua, and other energy cultivation/martial arts practices. Some more popular figures (some of whom appear in internet blogs and videos) mash up their own philosophy with Taoism.
  
  
• For a basic introduction to the Taoist way of thought, The Tao Of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff is surprisingly deep yet well organized. (I found the follow-up book a bit contrived.)

The only one I can help you with is religion. For Christianity, I always suggest The Bible. I know this is obvious, but it seems that very few people read it from cover to cover. This may be going away from what you want, though. Personally, I read The Bible as literature, so that does, for me, place it in fiction. If you want an atheist perspective, I highly recommend The God Delusion; for some shorter pieces, I think one should look at Existentialism is a Humanism (if you like this read, it is basically taken from his book Being and Nothingness). If you want to get into some Asian faith, maybe get a copy of the Tao Te Ching to better understand Taoism. Just to add another, and this is one of my favorites; look at Food of the Gods. This is a really interesting read about how substances have affected cultures and their beliefs. It ranges from different foods to the most illicit intoxicants. For me, it really gave me a greater perspective of the uses and benefits to "drugs" that go beyond taking them simply for a good time. If any of these interest you, I can list more for what specifically interests you. It's not much, but I minor in religious studies, so I guess I have a decent grasp on what is worth one's time.

Humans are not given the wish of lasting happiness without also being given the power to make it true. You will have to work for it, however.

You also didn't put yourself into this situation without giving yourself everything you need to transcend it. You need to recognize the same Truth in all scriptures, instead of focusing on the different symbols and ways of pronouncing God's name. I was able to make such progress because I learned at a very early stage of my transformation the power of repetition and constant practice. "The well-practiced mind does not wander after anything else." Start with the books that You have already written for yourself. They are all love songs from Divinity to its friend, Man, and if you can discern the same esoteric truths in them then you will be well on your way.

For starters:

(The most ancient and most beautiful of all spiritual texts)
http://www.amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Walkthrough-Westerners/dp/1608680142/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375114419&sr=1-1&keywords=bhagavad+gita+walkthrough

(The most obscure yet thought-provoking of spiritual texts)
http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-Tzu/dp/1613822421/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375114436&sr=1-4&keywords=tao+te+ching

(One of the newest yet most poignant and relevant spiritual texts)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Now-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808

(One of the most truly humble, and therefore powerful, works of spirituality. Read this and understand that the idea of Christ is the same as the Atma in the Bhagavad Gita.)
http://www.amazon.com/Imitation-Christ-Thomas-Kempis/dp/1420926357/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375114470&sr=1-3&keywords=the+imitation+of+christ

Remember that you can't change yourself, so don't get frustrated or try to force things. All you can do is cultivate your mind, cultivate your habits, and make space in your cluttered mind for Divinity to enter. It may take time, but have faith! You are living in an age that is finally starting to see man turn from fleeting worldly pleasures to lasting inner wisdom and peace. Your spiritual efforts will quite literally make the universe elevated and sublime.

Late to the party but I love reading on the come up. I highly recommend a nice copy of the Tao. Last time I read some of “The Gateless Gate” and it was just amazing. Zen koans are great!

Oh here’s my Tao: Tao Te Ching (Illustrated Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JYQN2U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AUGdBbKS285TE

As the night progressed, the images started getting far more interesting than the text haha

hey man
i have plenty of stuff to stay. i'm in love with taoism.
i followed taoism for a year and a half now. thank's to that culture i discovered meditation , and many other thoughts on life which healed me on many ways . i recommend you this book : https://www.amazon.com/Taoism-Road-Immortality-John-Blofeld/dp/1570625891

some taoist consider semen precious. you can keep it; but you have to make specific things to transform it in chi. otherwise , it just stays in the region of the penis and doesn't flow in the body. sorry i have specefic words for this but only in french. so there are specifics meditation techiques that you have to do in order to get energy from abstinence. they say that if you don't do those techniques , the energy will go out of your body , even if you don't ejaculate. the technique is called "transmutation"
however , not all taoist were for abstinence. taoism doesn't follow any dogma, undlike budhism for exemple.

i translated a part of the book for you:

> in fact, taoist are usually against all kind of extreme. they know that strict abstinence is something almost impossible to achieve. the philosophist Sun szû-mo gave the following advice:
"at 20 the man can allow himself one semen emission every 4 days, at 30 one every 8 days, at 40 one every 16 days, at 50 one every 21 days. past 60, it should be none.[...] at this age the thought of sexual act should have dissapeared for a long time, and abstinence should'nt cause any problems."

take in mind that taoist want to preserve semen in order to reach immortality. and with that you have to do millions of other things to reach immortality. i don't think they advise abstinence just to have a good life, it's one of the things you have to do, so you can live your body when your die , jump on a flying dragon and go to the celestial palace. i swear that's what they're saying. reaching immortality is no joke for sure haha. read the book, or another one , and you'll get the full package of taoism. it's a really interesting culture and i'm happy to find people getting interest in it ! cheers

> What's the best way to study Taoism?

I don't know the best way, but I think reading multiple translations helps of the same works. My favourite version of the Tao Te Ching is the one by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. I don't know if it is the most accurate, but it is the most poetic of the ones I have found. There are also several translations freely available online.

I also learned a lot from practising Tai Chi from a good teacher - Tai Chi is rooted in Taoist philosophy.

I also highly recommend The Tao of Pooh and The Te Of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff for an in-depth analysis of Taoism from the viewpoint of one of its great western masters - Winnie the Pooh.

I do not know the Wayne Dyer translation, but I have not seen any other translation mention worshipping the Tao. only honouring and respecting it.

This is good advice and kindly given, OldDog47 .. Carol Depp is a biologist and her translation has the virtue of that perspective, she writes from Oregon, and gardening is her forte. Your list includes excellent translations for u/efoshay to which I suggest two more, in the same spirit as you’ve shown, to encourage breadth of exposure and tuning of the ear: I suggest the two older translations, Arthur Waley and Richard Wilhelm .. the difference between them of course being that Waley is classical and more oriented to the social values for good governance, where Wilhelm’s perspective is more ‘personal’, perhaps even psychological, and valuable to the individual as scripture. Links = Waley’s The Way and its Power, and Wilhelm’s Tao Te Ching: Book of Meaning and Life. Having read seven you clearly share my view that nearly everyone taking on the daunting task of translation of such a classic, has something to offer. Unfortunately we can not say all. I thank you for Op who has wonderful future reading the Tao Te Ching, we wish you well!

I'm not sure what you've read thus far, but the three most important books in the Daoist canon are, in generally agreed upon order:

1. The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Ching, Daodejing, &c.). My favorite translation is the done by Addiss and Lombardo, but there are certainly other good translations.
   
   
2. The Chuan Tzu (Zhuangzi) I'm partial to the translation by Hamill and Seaton, though I admit that may be because it was my first exposure to Daoism. It doesn't strive for accuracy, but has taken some liberties in making the text accessible to most readers by doing away with pedantry.
   
   
3. The Lieh Tzu (Liezi) My favorite translation is the one by Eva Wong, though it also was going for readability above accuracy. I'm currently reading a much more accurate translation done by Thomas Cleary which has, thus far, been rather good.

> I mean with zen he even made it clear that in Japan they sit and sit and sit. Formal zazen. And that he wasn't a fan of that style of zen. He then went on to share the older chan Chinese Zen

You mean the one 'officially' founded by Bodhidharma, famous for allegedly having sat in front of a wall for years? If you are interested in Chan you are better off reading Cleary and people like Sheng Yen. Cleary is good for Taoism as well. He also regularly warns against certain cultic practices involving an undue focus on sitting, stupidly 'emptying' and surpressing the mind, etc etc. You might find his work interesting.

Btw if you are interested in a 'practical' translation of the Tao Te Ching I can recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Ching-Annotated-Explained-Illuminations/dp/1594732043

Since you are interested in stories, I will just add that Cleary has whole anthologies of Zen, Chan and Taoist stories. There are also translators like "Red Pine" who should have some nice translations of various Chan and Taoist texts. Just throwing this in here. It might benefit someone.

>Watts is a beautiful writer; you know it, I know it, and so did he. But in crafting the words he did, a great part of the reality fell out of his work. What else are you reading, and what, tentatively, did you see your focus being?

I'm well aware that there is a disparity between the most popular layman theologians (Alan Watts, C.S. Lewis) and the ones who I'd be reading if I wished to study these things more directly. My reading in eastern religion so far consists of Campbell's Oriental Mythology and some taoist literature. I just started Christmas break, and while I'm planning to spend most of my time on novels (I need a bit of a break from the more academic stuff), I've got Alan Watts' Behold the Spirit sitting next to me, along with some readings of Heidegger, although that's not entirely relevant to eastern studies.

>Another option would be to apply to a religious studies graduate program that offers a comparative, or world religions focus. This would allow you to combine your current studies, and perhaps even use the philosophical theories you study as a bridge between religious traditions.

This sounds interesting. Like I said, I'm open to different religions, I just would like to get more exposure to those of the east. What sorts of programs should I be looking at to do this sort of thing?

The Tao Te Ching is a great read, albeit short. I love reading religious/philosophical texts both Western and Eastern, and I consider the Tao to be the most profound.

If you're looking for a good translation I'd recommend either edition by Johnathan Starr.

I guess I should also ask another question... What is your favorite Eastern philosophical text?

[](/flutterwink "And it was fun reading though all your answers today!")

Hey, thanks again for posting all this. I've been doing a lot of research over the last couple days, and I'm finding Buddhism to be amazingly insightful. I like that being undogmatic is at the core. That's something I strive for myself. I recommend the following, if you want to read the Tao Te Ching: http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Ching-Translation-Definitive-Cornerstone/dp/1585426180/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334240830&sr=1-2

It's my favorite translation. Thanks again and have a great day :)

Here's a good one, I think, especially for a music therapist: Alan Watts: Become What You Are.

>"Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal. For the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever. You may believe yourself out of harmony with life and its eternal Now; but you cannot be, for you are life and exist Now."

>In this collection of writings, including nine new chapters never before available in book form, Watts displays the intelligence, playfulness of thought, and simplicity of language that has made him so perennially popular as an interpreter of Eastern thought for Westerners. He draws on a variety of religious traditions, and covers topics such as the challenge of seeing one's life just as it is, the Taoist approach to harmonious living, the limits of language in the face of ineffable spiritual truth, and the psychological symbolism of Christian thought.

Music takes you out of your own head. No past, no future, just now. This note. Now. Listening to music is oftentimes very similar to meditation.

I would also recommend listening to all of Alan Watt's audio recordings as well.

This would be the best late, late, late birthday present of all time if you could help.
The Tree of Enchantment

Tao Te Ching

Sikhism

Grimoire of Crowley

Angel Tech

The Upanishads

And any of the Vedas pretty, pretty please? Much and thanks!!! ALSO Your link of Angels, Demons by Lon Milo DuQuette is broken, I think.

This weekend strengthened my resolve to learn and practice more. It was primal, chaotic, unpretentious, joyful, hilarious, weird, wonderful, shamanic, practical, scientific, balanced, mystical, intense and fucking hard work :) Can't ask for much more than that.

That's a great looking list of spiritual area/topics. I'm glad you added quantum mechanics to the list. I believe that's where it all started for me a few years ago. That, hypnobirthing classes with the Mrs and watching DMT; The Spirit Molecule. I haven't looked much into Zen Buddhism (had my eye on Watts' book). Can you recommend any good books on Zen and on shamanism? I Also keep threatening to read more western philosophy but I keep putting it off. I kind of equate it to reading about Christianity - almost as though the ideas are so ingrained into western culture that I feel the need to stay away.

> "because I'm not a joiner"

Ha! Like that.

In terms of Chuang Tzu I've got my eye on this which includes The "Inner Teachings". The whole Taoist Classics series looks amazing. Have you read any of Cleary's work?

The tao's teachings correlate well with my studies of Nietzsche, Socrates, and other famous philosophers. For myself, "The Way" is about accepting and understanding the natural way of things and finding balance through this. Each maxim should be read and considered multiple times before moving on; it's not the type of book where you finish #1 and get started on #2. I'm fortunate that my copy has explanations for each maxim in the back that sometimes rope in the work of other philosophers. My edition can be purchased here

I'm unique in my minimalism that I love having lots of books. It's a goal to one day have a personal library, and I'd rather be known for a collection of literature than videogames and movies/episodes. However some of y'all are different, so I've compiled different translations below:

• Website: Gia-fu Feng and Jane English (this is my translation minus the intro and explanations)
  
• PDF: Tolbert McCarroll, intro/comments by Thomas Knierim
  
• PDF: Multi-edition: side by side translations from Wu, Lau, Chan, Henricks, and Feng/English
  
  Cheers!

This is the copy I own, and it's great. I read this each night along with Buddhist Boot Camp by Timber Hawkeye, another excellent book. I just picked up the stoic book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, so I'll be reading that next. Also plan on getting The Dalai Lama's Cat, that should be great, hahaha.

I did my own search a few years ago and chose this edition, and I absolutely love it. I really like the wording, and the picture illustrations are a huge bonus.

I linked to amazon.ca because I couldn't find that exact one with the illustrations on amazon.com (and I live in Canada).

I have also found that many different versions used to cross-reference help to give a much broader perspective on the text.

https://www.amazon.com/Lao-Tzu-Ching-About-Power/dp/1570623953/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526954456&sr=1-15&keywords=tao+te+ching

https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Jing-Philosophical-Translation-Mandarin/dp/0345444191/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526954555&sr=1-3&keywords=roger+ames

Le Guin's book is of particular interest because she is a master of salt-of-the-earth western metaphors, widely recognized as possibly the greatest master of metaphors in the English language today. She has studied the Tao with the best of us and has her usual distinctive interpretation.

The second book, contains an account of Pragmatic Taoism, which is what pre-dated mainland Chinese Taoism, in the isolated southern mountains. Its not my favorite book, but there is no other book like it on the subject that I know of.

My personal favorite, is the Peter Merel GNL interpolation available for free online.

Well, Griffith was a Major General or something. Probably considered himself a gentleman-scholar. Which is cool, but Cleary? That mofo was a SCHOLAR-scholar. I think he's a monk or priest or something and he's translated a shit ton of Taoist texts. Buddhist ones as well. I mean practically all of them. He has a few three and four volume compendiums of various Taoist and Buddhist texts he's translated. Tao Te Ching, I Ching, Art of War, Book of Balance and Harmony, like fifty more. Shambala press makes a damn cottage industry just on that guy almost. I mean not really but he's done a load of translations. And he seems to be pretty intent on doing it right.

I think the RL Wing texts are out of print but if you're into this type of thing I'd recommend looking on Amazon.

The Tao of Power: Lao Tzu's Classic Guide to Leadership, Influence, and Excellence [A new translation of the Tao Te Ching]

http://amzn.com/0385196377

^^^ I feel like the commentary in the introduction in this is really fucking amazing. It says that the sage (or wizard/wiseman) doesn't try to make shit happen, he just waits for nature to take its course and then positions himself at the forefront of the impulse of energy. He appears to the masses to be creating all this amazing shit but really he's just surfing. It's pretty brilliant.

The Art of Strategy: A New Translation of Sun Tzu's Classic "The Art of War"

http://amzn.com/0850308518

^^^ it's been a while since I've cracked this one open. But I seem to recall it being similarly sublime.

I think I may take a trip to my storage and dig these bitches out. Give them a flip through.

-)

EDIT: Also, this -> Tao Te Ching
http://amzn.com/0307949303

If you're into TTC, apparently this dude's introduction sets the standard. I haven't gotten through it yet, but I'm a lazy westerner.

I went through a heavy Watts phase in college. A few of his books are just transcriptions of his lectures. Become Who You Are is probably my favorite. Most of what he's doing is taking concepts of mindfulness and self from Eastern traditions like Buddhism, and explaining it through a Western style of understanding.

If you like Watts, you would probably like Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Very similar tones, except this is more of a universal parable.

I'm not sure if people still read this book, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was pretty influential for me.

The translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English has wonderful black-&-white photography in it that, I feel, really helps to illustrate the concepts, emphasizing negative space and challenging your perception of objects, etc.

The Amazon page for this book includes the "look inside" option to see a few of the photos.

ETA: I would also strongly recommend reading at least 2 or 3 different translations, side-by-side (it's a tiny book). That's the best way of really getting a sense of the variety, subtlety, and (... ambiguity? ... equivocality?) of meanings in the verses ... you know ... without actually learning ancient Mandarin.

Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary by Ellen Chen. She deals with linguistics, showing you how a word was used in other contemporary works. Having studied paleo writings systems and ancient languages, I know how meanings change over time. So her approach was perfect for the way my mind works and gave me greater insight into what is being conveyed. Saves me from having to learn ancient Chinese to better understand the text. :)

I AM THAT

Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Ursula LeGuin's translation of the Tao Te Ching

Pharmako Series by Dale Pendell

Breaking Open the Head

Zhou Yi - the Book of Changes - this is by far, the most lucid version I have found; profoundly useful and amazing reflections and a true companion along the way.

yeah sure. you can find countless buddhist parables if you just google that exact phrase. Personally, I found a great deal of contentment reading the Tao Te Ching (Taoism, not Buddhism, but similar concepts). Specifically, this translation is my favorite one.

I was only able to find a free copy in Chinese, but maybe you can read it? If not I'm afraid your options are limited to buying it on Amazon or some other book dealer. Although someone else may have better luck finding it.

Sorry! Forgot to reply, was on the go when I read this.

I haven't read much, in truth. I'm a musician, so sound is my thing. I've listened to probably over 500 lectures/audio recordings by Alan Watts and Adyashanti over the past year. Those two changed my life and opened my mind, allowing me to begin the process of becoming the real me. I'll leave you a few that really, really helped me. In terms of books, though:

https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Insecurity-Message-Age-Anxiety/dp/0307741206/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HD4HJV4XGZMFYQQ8YHYY

https://www.amazon.com/Become-What-You-Alan-Watts/dp/1570629404/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HD4HJV4XGZMFYQQ8YHYY

https://www.amazon.com/True-Meditation-Discover-Freedom-Awareness/dp/1591794676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493318617&sr=1-1&keywords=adyashanti+true+meditation

https://www.amazon.com/End-Your-World-Uncensored-Enlightenment/dp/1591797799/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1591797799&pd_rd_r=NTAKM081ZBWQN84XRDF5&pd_rd_w=GbrQB&pd_rd_wg=4ikC1&psc=1&refRID=NTAKM081ZBWQN84XRDF5

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493318650&sr=1-1&keywords=eckhart+tolle+the+power+of+now

http://www.lawofone.info/

Now, below I will list a few audio recordings that I absolutely love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ4_75nT6_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1hJX4JN8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVoQzOhZNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbbCkdrAdeI

You want to go on a serious self-discovery trip? Pick up a copy of this book by Alan Watts https://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679723005/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 (its totally affordable used) --- kick back with this book, ingest some kratom, and contemplate the way of things. You'll never be the same, in a good way, of course!!!
Here is another good one: https://www.amazon.com/Become-What-You-Alan-Watts/dp/1570629404/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Although she doesn't actually know Chinese, I've always liked Ursula K LeGuin's poetic "translation" (but maybe that's just cuz of my love of Earthsea)

Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain -- a book that explains in mesmerizing detail why music makes us feel good

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Stephen Mitchell translation -- a book that explains (among a plethora of other gems of wisdom) why letting go is the only way to gain.

I really like Ursula Le Guin's interpretation: https://www.amazon.com/Lao-Tzu-Ching-About-Power/dp/1570623953

Of all the translations I have it speaks to me the most. But you should read at least a few and decide on your favorite afterwards.

Yi-Ping Ong's translation was my first read of the Tao Te Cheng. As I've read more various translations, this one I still consider the most "authentic" reading in English of the original:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tao-te-ching-lao-tzu/1100013724?ean=9781593082567


On the other hand, my personal favorite and simplest translation (the one I share if people ask me about taoism) is Jonathan Star's translation. Very different than Yi-Ping's but conveys the messages in 'layman's terms'. I do not think it is 1:1 though:
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Ching-Translation-Definitive-Cornerstone/dp/1585426180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494859323&sr=8-1&keywords=Tao+Te+Ching%3A+The+New+Translation+from+Tao+Te+Ching

Indeed, Taoism has shamanic roots. But keep in mind that Taoism is much broader and more complicated than most people realize. I recommend reading Taoism: An Essential Guide by Eva Wong for a better understanding of how it evolved from shamanism.

https://www.amazon.com/Taoism-Essential-Guide-Eva-Wong-ebook/dp/B00ATMWJZ8

As for books on shamanism, Michael Harner’s “The Way of the Shaman” is considered classic.

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Shaman-Michael-Harner/dp/0062503731

Edited: grammar, additional book link

The version by Ursula K. Leguin is my all time favorite. I still have the cassette of her reading it. From Stephen Mitchell I would recommend Rilke.

If you are at all interested, this is particularly a good read. While the Tao Te Ching is mostly teachings for the average individual the Wen Tzu is mostly geared toward how nations should be governed. Pretty hard to imagine how beautiful of a world we'd live in if our leaders practiced even some of what is contained in those teachings. They may not always be 'practical' but practical is not always better.

Almost everyone in this thread could do with checking out Eva Wong's Taoism an Essential Guide. It is a history book on Taoism by a practitioner that gives an overview of all the various things that can be described as Taoist. Much of the western popular knowledge on Taoism comes from purely intellectualized readings of the Tao Te Jing without any of the elements of even the basic refinement practices, because when the west first came into heavy contact with China, Taoism was looked down upon by the ruling Manchu people and the translators were mostly christian missionaries.


https://www.amazon.com/Taoism-Essential-Guide-Eva-Wong-ebook/dp/B00ATMWJZ8

This is my favorite translation, but I agree with the others: read as many as you can.

Oh I forgot to mention, don't get the James Legge translation, it's terrible. This is my favorite, but it seems to be out of print: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-New-Translation/dp/B000RIWJIG Though I see that there is a kindle version.

The Stephen Mitchell translation is also very good. A bit less poetic, a bit more in the modern vernacular: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451

I much prefer this translation. https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Text-Only/dp/0679724346/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QJVKBNG4Q2VHD1PH72QP

It's the most beautiful and coherent I have found.

I like the red pine translation:

http://www.amazon.com/Lao-tzus-Taoteching-Lao-Tzu/dp/1556592906/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320331188&sr=8-1

and ursula le guin's:

http://www.amazon.com/Lao-Tzu-Tao-Te-Ching/dp/B001HZ1VOG/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320331225&sr=1-2


in my opinion its always good to read a few different different translations of the same passage to really get at the thing. each translation is informed by the translators time place understanding and belief in the source material, which i find interesting to cross compare.

the daodejing is collection of classical chinese poems, and those are very modal for lack of better word. in a very rough description, classical chinese poems consist of loosely connected nouns and descriptors devoid of syntax leading to a purposive ambiguity necessitating the reader to in effect finish the poems themselves. so it is literally the entire point of the daodejing that it doesn't mean one exact thing in particular, but loosely describes a sentiment we finish in our minds.

John Blofeld’s book Taoism: The Road To Immortality has a good overview of important Taoists books over the centuries and the differences between the schools from a Western perspective.

PS: here some pointers –not to be taken for the Moon..

​

​

Alan Watts' The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

​

Alan Watts' The Wisdom Of Insecurity

​

Alan Watts' Become What You Are

​

Charles Tart's Waking Up

​

​

There are zillions of bibliographies and references on the sub for healing from dysfunctional upbringings and other situations of systematic abuse: r/CPTSD

Search such authors in there for instance, and feel free to follow posts and comments speaking about this reprogramming and many other areas of the 'recovery' work; you may start by detecting, dissecting and unraveling the Consensus Trance.

For a first introduction, another book I can think of is Wayne Dyer's 'Your Erroneous Zones', which you'll find referenced over there too. Enjoy!

​

I tried reading the Tao Te Ching before, but I found it too abstract for me at the time. It was interesting, but I couldn't find anything that I could directly apply to my life at a time when I needed something directly applicable. If it makes any difference, I was reading the Ellen Chen translation.

> So people who are spontaneous are attractive because people have really good bullshit detectors. I go into some of the evolutionary game theory about why we’d be very worried about hypocrisy and people pretending to be something they’re not, and why we develop, through biocultural evolution, this tendency to like people who seem like they’re not trying.

Speaking of things that should set off your bullshit detectors . . .

Don't waste your time or money on this rehashed Orientalism. There are good and even free translations of the Ching available; the source material is infinitely better than some watered down magic system in a self-help book. Classics are classics for a reason.

Favorite translations of the Tao Te Ching, anyone?

If you're only going to read one, my suggestion is Derek Lin's annotated translation. It's dreadful poetry, but explains the concepts and messages of the verses (some of which are quite alien) well and concisely.

Ursala K LeGuin, just got this one, so far it is my favorite

http://www.amazon.com/Lao-Tzu-Ching-About-Power/dp/1570623953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376789235&sr=8-1&keywords=Ursula+K+Le+Guin+tao

My favorite is the Steven Mitchell translation.

Consider the classic Daodejing. There are many, many translations. My personal favorites are Liu Ming, Red Pine and Ellen Chen.

Stephen Mitchell's translation of the Tao Te Ching

Plus the illustrations are nice.

The most accurate in relation to the original language is the translation by Addiss and Lombardo. Although that's my 2nd favorate after the translation by Feng and English.

This is the edition I prefer.

Some academics like the Penguin Classics edition. That should probably be your baseline and then take a look at a few different versions. Your library will probably have a few or order them for you to compare before you figure out which one you prefer.

I recommend the Addiss/Lombardo translation

Ellen Chen's Tao Te Ching has exceptional commentary, and her translation explains the particular Chinese characters in the original and the different meanings they could have.

I'm reading this book called A Million Little Pieces about this guy who was severely addicted to just about everything. A really interesting book. Anyway he was too intelligent to give into AA's god stuff and by accident picked up a copy of Tao Te Ching. You know, it's all transcendental and stuff (I think). Though he got in some trouble after Oprah recommended him and later found out that a significant amount of the story is fiction. Wupps! I'm not an addict or anything but your question made me think of James Frey's book.

I crack open my copy of The Tao Te Ching now and then.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451

^It's ^pronounced ^'Dow ^de ^Ching' ;)

• http://www.amazon.com/The-Middle-Length-Discourses-Buddha/dp/086171072X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451
  
  
  
  And if you want to more obscure but real religions:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Wicca-Kaatryn-Macmorgan-Douglas/dp/0615150942
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Doctrine-H-P-Blavatsky/dp/158542708X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Book-Law-Illustrated-Aleister-Crowley-ebook/dp/B00I45A54Y
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Dianetics-Modern-Science-Mental-English/dp/140314446X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Bible-Anton-Szandor-Lavey
  
  
  And if you want to be very snarky:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Principia-Discordia-Malaclypse-Younger/dp/1559500409
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Gospel-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster/dp/0812976568
  

no, but i think i am going to get it. it's not bad at all

http://www.amazon.com/reader/1570623953?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib_dp_pop_fc&page=1#reader-link

The Gia Fu Feng / Jane English translation is the best. The only one worth reading. All others are cheap knockoffs you'd buy in a back alley in a shady part of some major metropolitan area.

Books similar to this had an interesting perspective in my oppinion, there is a particular book on it that ill try to find when I get home and give you the title of it.

The book I am talking about had a westernish approach to an eastern philosophy or more to the point it translated certain confusions that come from the different thought processes.

The Now Habit

The Power of Habit

Thinking fast, thinking slow

Tao te Ching

Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained (SkyLight Illuminations) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594732043/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Z.RQub1NS07Q4

this one? http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Stephen-Mitchell/dp/0060812451

read the stephen mitchell translation of the tao te ching if possible.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397964505&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+mitchell+tao

http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Its-Power-representative/dp/0802150853/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398312300&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=way+and+its+power+arthur+daley

Is this the new Tao book?
https://www.amazon.ca/Tao-Te-Ching-Translation-Definitive/dp/1585426180/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Tao+Te+Ching&qid=1573011775&refinements=p_85%3A5690392011&rnid=5690384011&rps=1&sr=8-1

Totally! There are a ton of translations, but I'm partial to this one (or here, if you would prefer to buy it). Some scholars say that it's not a very scholarly translation, but it's much more accessible and poetic than a lot of the other translations out there. This translation actually speaks to me; others, I'm like, wtf is this about...