Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook

by Thomas Cleary, Peter Turner (Editor)

The "three treasures" of human life—vitality, energy, and spirit—are envisioned in Taoist thought as the source of creativity, capability, and intelligence. This comprehensive anthology traces the teachings on these three treasures through the long history of Taoism, highlighting the quintessential works on their practical application for mental and physical well-being. Along with brief selections from the classic sources of Taoism by Lao-Tzu and Chuang-tzu, the book presents a rich selection of tales and sayings from Taoist literature, as well as a broad range of writings from the Complete Reality school, including essays and commentary from such figures as Lü Yen, Chang Po-tuan, and Liu I-ming.

Genres: Taoism, Nonfiction, Philosophy, China

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Dr. Thomas Francis Cleary, Ph.D. (East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University; J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley), was a prolific translator of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, with a particular emphasis on popular translations of Mahāyāna works relevant to the Chan, Zen, and Soen systems.

Reviews

[Theresa Lorraine]

One of the absolute best translations of Taoism I've been able to find. Many of the writings about this beautiful and ancient spirituality are still being translated from Chinese into English, not an easy feat, but this collection gives you highlights of all sorts of texts crossing a span of two thousand years. In this collection, we find dozens of writings spanning centuries of time, sharing the first-hand accounts of Taoist masters who advise on the Way, from Taoism's inception to its later integration with some Buddhist principles, to the popular schools we see today. This book definitely awakened my own passion for Taoist meditation and energy cultivation, which I've taken up as a daily practice since reading it.

[Neil Crowle]

This is a huge amount of work by Thomas Cleary, but some of the texts are very cryptic and esoteric. I knew some of the material, but a lot of the time I was just reading the words without being able to take in what they were telling me. This is definitely one for the specialist, but a second reading later may tell me a bit more.

[Rah~ri]

just came across this as looking for other things?
Haven't heard of it, any good?
like to check it out, i think.