Authors: Thomas Cleary
ISBN-13: 9781590300770, ISBN-10: 1590300777
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Date Published: October 2003
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Thomas Cleary holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He is the translator of more than fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.
The Book of Balance and Harmony is a renowned anthology of writing by a thirteenth-century master of the Complete Reality School of Taoism, a movement begun around the turn of the first millennium CE whose aim was a return to the purity of Taoism's original principles and practices. This classic collection, compiled by one of the master's disciples, is still very much in use by the Taoist adepts of China today. Its serves as a compendium of the teaching of the Complete Reality School, both in theory and in practice, employing a rich variety of literary forms, including essays, dialogues, poetry, and song. The writings herein condense the essences of the Chinese religious traditions of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism into an alchemical elixir teaching Vitality, Energy, and Spirit—the "three treasures" of Taoism that promise mental and physical well-being.
Introduction | vii | |
1. | The Source Message of the Mystic School | 1 |
2. | Statements | 4 |
3. | Secret Meanings | 7 |
4. | Secrets of the Gold Pill | 16 |
5. | Explanation of the Three Fives | 21 |
6. | The Opening of the Mysterious Pass | 23 |
7. | The Gold-Testing Stone | 24 |
8. | Nine Grades of Practices: Sidetracks and Auxiliary Methods | 26 |
9. | Three Vehicles of Gradual Method | 30 |
10. | The Highest Vehicle | 32 |
11. | Dialogues: The Underlying Unity of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism | 33 |
12. | Questions and Answers | 45 |
13. | Some Questions on Alchemy | 52 |
14. | Live Teachings on Complete Reality | 59 |
15. | Spoken Teachings | 64 |
16. | Discourses | 66 |
17. | Explanatory Talks | 71 |
18. | Songs | 78 |
19. | Poems | 109 |
20. | Veiled Words | 129 |