Working from existing translations, Father Merton composed a series of personal versions from his favorites among the classic sayings of Chuang Tzu, the most spiritual of the Chinese philosophers.
Chuang Tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries B.C., is the chief authentic historical spokesman for Taoism and its founder Lao Tzu (a legendary character known largely through Chuang Tzu's writings). Indeed it was because of Chuang Tzu and the other Taoist sages that Indian Buddhism was transformed, in China, into the unique vehicle we now call by its Japanese name -Zen.
The Chinese sage abounds in wit, paradox, satire, and shattering insight into the true ground of being. Father Merton, no stranger to Asian thought, brings a vivid, modern idiom to the timeless wisdom of Tao. This re-creation of an ancient sage by a contemporary poet is presented with an introduction on the meaning of Taoism for the West today.
Illustrated with early Chinese drawings.
"Written in a pleasing, readable and poetic style . .. it is useful and delightful.."_Choice
"A most admirable introduction to this less known but most important source-book of Taoism." -Alan Watts, New York Times Book Review
