Here are a few of the Tao-related books I have found useful in the past. The first three I continue to use regularly as supplements in my quarterly readings of the Tao Te Ching.
I would be delighted for this to become a growing list from which we can all profit. If you have a book you have found helpful, feel free to suggest it. See below.
The Sage’s Tao Te Ching: A New Interpretation (William Martin; Marlowe and Company, 2000) “Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life”. Not a precise “translation” as such, but for each of the 81 verses, an interpretation, aimed at the sage-in-training, is offered. Excellent thoughts, good food for thought. (Two similar books – for parents and couples – also exist.)
The Second Book of the Tao (Stephen Mitchell; The Penguin Press, 2009) From the Foreword: “The selections in this book have been adapted from two Chinese anthologies: . . .the Chang-tzu and the Chung Yung.” Very good stories – and comments – from this sampling of Chinese wisdom similar to the Tao Te Ching.
HUA HU CHING: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu (Brian Walker; HarperSanFrancisco, 1992) A collection of oral teachings of Lao Tzu. Excellent insights throughout, though I have often found the second half or so to be a little “murkier” or “heavier” and perhaps more esoteric. Still, the entire book is a valuable source of wisdom.
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Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings (Martin Aronson; Seastone/Ulysses Press, 2003) Not to be confused with George Breed’s Jesus and Lao Tzu: Adventures with the Tao Te Ching, (one of the eleven translations I used in the book), this book lists parallel quotes from both Jesus and Lao Tzu side by side on facing pages. There are some very interesting insights here, so the book is well-worth having, maybe even more so for the fact that I occasionally disagree with the selections or the similarity of quotes (or even the Tao Te Ching translation).
The Tao Made Easy (Alan Cohen; Hay House Inc, 2018) One of Cohen’s “ . . . Made Easy” books – he also did one on A Course in Miracles. Interesting chapters, containing good personal stories. A good resource for a broad overview of the Tao and its complexities. It occasionally borders on over-simplification, but trying to get a handle on the Tao can occasionally use some over-simplification, as a balance of sorts.
“The Tao of . . .” books. As one might expect, there are a variety of books that seek to tie the principles of the Tao and the Tao Te Ching to various other discipline. Many of these books use titles “The Tao of (fill in the blank)”. I have seen and/or used a variety of them and have found some of them helpful and/or fun. This is not an exhaustive list, I’m sure, but here are some I know of (authors listed only).
. . . Physics (Fritjof Capra)
. . . Pooh (and The Te of Piglet) (Benjamin Hoff)
. . . Philosophy (Alan Watts)
. . . Forgiveness (William Martin)
. . . Daily Life (Derek Lin)
. . . Wisdom (Derek Lin)
. . . Zen (Ray Grigg)
. . . Science (R. G. H. Siu)
. . . Peace (Diane Dreher)
. . . Photography (Tom Ang)
. . . Christ (Marshall David)
. . . Thoreau (Mark Bozeman)
