The Taoist I Ching (Shambhala Classics)

As an I-Ching user since 1978 I was delighted to find this translation. Far deeper and more profound than anything else I've seen.

I have several editions of the i-Ching, but this is the one I would take to a desert island. This iteration of the text and commentary is relatively recent -- 18th century -- and very well developed. Each book in Cleary's i-Ching trilogy -- Buddhist, Taoist and the Tao of Organization -- offers something unique and appealing. The Taoist i-Ching is the most metaphysical of the three and the most developed. Although the Buddhist i-Ching is a bit more human and friendly, Taoist thinking tends to mesh better with the underlying concepts. The Taoist i-Ching is based on Complete Reality Taoism, which is very adaptible to beliefs from all walks of life. The processes of yin and yang rising and falling are most prominent in the commentaries. Overall, the edition reads as a very modern take on the ancient text.

Having read many translations & owning about 8, I always find myself returning to this one. Each translation I own has a place, and It can be valuable to compare different takes on a hexagram. But when I want what I feel is a more pure voice, in line with my Taoist sensibilities, I reach for Cleary's translation. Where other texts seem to get mired in language, The Taoist I Ching gets to source, always leaving me dialed in. Where another might have me considering specifics, this work nurtures my ability to let go and allow. I'm quite fond of this translation. I own both a softcover and digital edition.

very good book

I've used this as a basic source when I started practicing Chinese Internal Martial Arts years ago. The translation is almost verbatim what my instructor taught as a part of both Hsing-I and Ba-Qua. It has helped in developing a deeper appreciation of meditative states and how energy is perceived and transformed using the hexagrams as a symbolic representation. Having three levels of interpretation for each hexagram also lends a fuller understanding of the I-Ching.

This version of the I Ching could be the only book you may ever require to understand what the primordial foundations of your life actually are. As much as an alchemical cookbook as it is a wisdom tradition classic. You can use this book for the rest of your life to understand the deeper realms of your experience. Don't miss it. Im not kidding.

I pudchased this book to complement my studies of Oriental And to verfy some of the write ups about the eight trigrams and their meanings in the martial arts.

I have been a student of the I Ching for forty-two years. For forty-one years I consulted Richard Wilhelm's translation. Last year I discovered this, Thomas Cleary, translation, and it is now the book I consult. This I Ching was written by the Taoist adept, Liu I-ming, "to show how the I Ching.....can be read as a guide to comprehensive self-realization while living an ordinary life in the world." (Thomas Cleary, Forward to The Taoist I Ching). Thus The Taoist I Ching simply best captures the essence of the teaching of the I Ching.

Eye opening and so informative, transformative too.

quality book, very pleased.

It's a pretty book and some dreamy ideas. A decent introduction to the mysteries of the Tao.

Binding very poor glue fell aprt