Taoist Master Chuang

Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books for your Taoist library
Review: Taoist Master Chuang is one of the absolute most important books for anyone's Taoist library. In my opinion, everyone should have (in no particular order) Robinet's "Taoism: Growth of a Religion", Mair's translations of Zhaungzi and Laozi, the Yi Jing of one's choice, and Saso's "Gold Pavilion Classic" and "Taoist Master Chuang". Taoist Master Chuang is simply that good. Saso delivers information that was absolutely unavailable to the Western reader prior to Taoist Master Chuang. My only concern is that no one should attempt to utilize the spells, incantations, and rituals in Saso's book unless one is trained to do so.

Rating:
Summary: Unique and Valuable Perspective
Review: This is a real useful book. The beauty of it is that it gives us a deep look at the actual life of a Taoist master. Not a god, and not a perfect person, but a serious and committed Taoist who spent a lifetime practicing Taoism. That's a lot different from the average Taoism book, which is long on the vague restatement of philosophic theory and short on specific application of such theory. Want application? Here it is.

Rating:
Summary: Unique and Valuable Perspective
Review: This is a real useful book. The beauty of it is that it gives us a deep look at the actual life of a Taoist master. Not a god, and not a perfect person, but a serious and committed Taoist who spent a lifetime practicing Taoism. That's a lot different from the average Taoism book, which is long on the vague restatement of philosophic theory and short on specific application of such theory. Want application? Here it is.

Rating:
Summary: Unique...and Important
Review: This is a totally unique book in that it provides copious details as to how a Taoist priest actually functions. Not theory but an actual diary of sorts. That's unique. For anyone who wants to go beyond the beautiful words of the ancients and discover how Taoists apply them, this is the book for you. That's important.

I give it my full support, and all 5 Stars.

Rating:
Summary: Unique...and Important
Review: This is a totally unique book in that it provides copious details as to how a Taoist priest actually functions. Not theory but an actual diary of sorts. That's unique. For anyone who wants to go beyond the beautiful words of the ancients and discover how Taoists apply them, this is the book for you. That's important.

I give it my full support, and all 5 Stars.

Rating:
Summary: fantastic book
Review: This is one hot mama of a book! Unlike some others, I have nothing against poetic books, even the really flighty ones. But you have to compliment those with books that give you the details. This is the only one out there, folks! This hot mama tells you how to be a Taoist, not just how to recite Taoist poetry. If you're interested in learning about actual Taoist acitivities like spells, rituals, invocations, and so on, then stop readin this and start reading Taoist Master Chuang.

Rating:
Summary: fantastic book
Review: This is one hot mama of a book! Unlike some others, I have nothing against poetic books, even the really flighty ones. But you have to compliment those with books that give you the details. This is the only one out there, folks! This hot mama tells you how to be a Taoist, not just how to recite Taoist poetry. If you're interested in learning about actual Taoist acitivities like spells, rituals, invocations, and so on, then stop readin this and start reading Taoist Master Chuang.

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING BOOK!
Review: This is simply a tremendous book that everyone who is interested in Taoism should read. Saso, who is not only a Professor of Taoist but is also a legitimate Taoist Priest, describes his training in full detail. He gives real descriptions of rituals, incantations, spirit-controlling spells, etc. Plus you get to know Taoist history as Saso's own master knew it. This sort of information just isn't available anywhere else. If you already have a grounding in basic Taoism and want to know more about higher-level activities, this is one of the only references you'll find.

Rating:
Summary: Just What I Wanted!
Review: This is the first book I've reviewed online, but I really thought I should tell everyone what a great book this is. Most Taoism books out there are airy garbage, but Taoist Master Chuang really packs a punch! I learned so much from this book - really practical details that I could understand. Five Stars!