Way of Chuang Tzu: or A Tale Badly Told

This is a collection of 'sayings', that is, reflections and little stories, by Chuang Tzu, presented by Thomas Merton in his words - not exactly a translation, since Merton knew no Chinese, but a re-statement that tries to come to the intended meaning of the author. The introduction by Merton is a beautiful piece of writing that evokes Merton's spirit of exploration into the world's spiritual heritage, and gives the reader a taste of the Taoist way of being.For the most part, the nature of this work is fable-like, giving lessons about a life that can be lived with ease, spontaneity, and simplicity. This is a much needed antidote to these overly complex, opaque, obsessive times we live in. However, the sayings do not seem to hold a great deal of depth, in my humble opinion. Occasionally, a line of great beauty and wisdom comes by, expressing itself in charming succinctness. For the most part, though, I doubt if these words hold the power to bring about a change in one's way of being.

Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk with a great gift for communication and dialogue, surely did the world a great favour with his passion for building bridges of understanding between West and East. He took great interest in finding common ground (as well as differences) between mystic Christianity and Buddhist and Daoist traditions. This essay on Chuang Tzu / Zhuangzi stands out as one of his best.

I first read Zhuangzi in Burton Watson's brilliant translation. He himself recommends that you read other versions because the archaic Chinese it's written in is obscure and apparently can be translated in many different ways. Thomas Merton complements that version wonderfully well, putting an entirely different spin on the writing in some places, whilst in others changing the emphasis and teasing out new meanings.It's irrelevant to discuss which is better because they're both equally good in their own ways. Thomas Merton is a little more accessible and has a lovely flow to it but Burton Watson explores the nuances in more depth and contains the full text, not just Merton's selected highlights. Choosing which one to buy is not really too much of a dilemma though - you'll probably want to get them both in the end!

I have read this book so many times over the last 40 years and it always seems I am reading it for the first time!Very profound writings!

No problems

this book is great. I can open to any page and read what it has to teach me. I never read it from front to back any more, however i just open and read where my guessing lands