Asian Philosophy Books

[Inverse Icarus]

I've been a passive fan of Asian philosophy / culture for a while now, quoting Sun Tzu / Tao Te Ching / Confucious etc whenever i see a neat blurb on a website, and i think i'm ready to invest some time in reading a bit more into it.

I don't want to blow $ and time taking a class in at at uni (and my school is a technical school anyway) so, i was wondering if anyone could recommend some good books / websites that i could read.

thanks in advance.

[Sarxis]

Buy a nice big bag of fortune cookies, for starters. :P

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by Anun Ik Oba
Buy a nice big bag of fortune cookies, for starters. :P

[Drake Tungsten]

For Daoism, the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang Tzu are the basic texts.

For Confucianism, the Analects of Confucius is the basic text. The works of Mencius are also excellent.

You also might want to read up on Buddhist thought while you're at it. It has certainly had an important effect on Asian thought.

Hope that was helpful.

[Urban Ranger]

Uber,

Try searching on the Web.

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
For Confucianism, the Analects of Confucius is the basic text. The works of Mencius are also excellent.

Mencius? Is that what he is called? Had me thinking for a second there.

[Tolls]

Here's the Dhammapada for you:

http://www.serve.com/cmtan/Dhammapada/

[Urban Ranger]

You could always try your local library. Sometimes the low tech way is better.

[Tolls]

Books are also a lot more satisfying in paper form...at least in my mind.

[Urban Ranger]

Me too... we must be getting old

[Tolls]

Where's a zimmer frame smiley when you need one?

[Zero]

The Tao of Pooh :serious:

[Graag]

http://uweb.superlink.net/~fsu/tao2.html

This is my favourite translation of the Tao Te Ching, which is also my favourite asian philosophy. I find it easiest to read when printed out, enjoy

There is a huge wealth of good websites on buddhism, zen buddism and confusianism (though confusianism is a bit half-arsed, IMHO). Just whack any of the above into google, you should be able to find something decent in 5 mins.

Also, I'd suggest ignoring any sites that try to explain Taoism, as it can't be done. In fact the whole point of it is that it can't be explained. Ditto Zen Buddhism, no amount of words will help you understand it. Look out for zen koans, these are great fun and get right to the heart of the matter.

Any other fans of Taoism in apolyton? Are you one with Tao?

[Graag]

Originally posted by Calc II
The Tao of Pooh :serious:

Excellent suggestion! I bought this book as a birthday present for a friend who was interested in Taoism but couldn't get their head around my rantings and my scruffy printed out copy of the Tao Te Ching.
It is a very well written guide to Taoism, if you need something more than the Tao Te Ching itself. And if you love Pooh already, you can't go wrong. You won't regret spending the money on it.

[Graag]

Sorry to go on, but the Tao of Physics (I think its called) is a very interesting read for real world proofs/applications/whatever for Taoism's teachings.
Parts can be heavy for the non-scientifically inclined, but its good stuff, and gives a great insight into both the world's oldest philosophy and the most current theories about how our universe functions.

[self biased]

the book of five rings, miyamoto musashi