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

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

[Neil Crowle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.