Tao: The Pathless Path Kindle Edition
by Osho (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
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Length: 195 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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In Tao: The Pathless Path, Osho, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, comments on five parables from the Leih Tzu, bringing a fresh and contemporary interpretation to the ancient wisdom of Tao.
Leih Tzu was a well-known Taoist master in the fourth century B.C., and his sly critiques of a Confucius provide abundant opportunities for the reader to explore the contrasts between the rational and irrational, the male and female, the structured and the spontaneous.
“Who Is Really Happy” uses the discovery of a human skull on the roadside to probe into the question of immortality and how misery arises out of the existence of the ego.
“A Man Who Knows How to Console Himself” looks beneath the apparent cheerfulness of a wandering monk and asks if there is really a happiness that endures through life’s ups and downs.
“No Regrets” is a parable about the difference between the knowledge that is gathered from the outside and the “knowing” that arises from within.
“No Rest for the Living” uses a dialogue between a despondent seeker and his master to reveal the limits of philosophy and the crippling consequences of living for the sake of some future goal.
“Best Be Still, Best Be Empty” discusses the difference between the path of the will, the via affirmitiva of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, versus the path of the mystic, the via negativa of Buddha and Lao Tzu.
Tao: The Pathless Path also features a Q&A section that addresses how Taoist understanding applies to everyday life in concrete, practical terms.
Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the “1000 Makers of the 20th Century” and by Sunday Mid-Day (India) as one of the ten people—along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha—who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the w
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Product description
About the Author
Osho is one of the best-known and most provacative spiritual teachers of the 21st century. More than a decade after his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continue to grow, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every corner of the world. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
File size : 327 KB
Print length : 195 pages
Word Wise : Enabled
ASIN : B01GNZ9KLU
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Publisher : Renaissance Books; 1st edition (26 July 2016)
Language: : English
Best Sellers Rank: 580,950 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
238 in Taoism (Kindle Store)
239 in Eastern Philosophy (Kindle Store)
459 in Taoist Philosophy
Customer Reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
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Richard F. Holmes
5.0 out of 5 stars and particularly liked this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2018
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We have to understand that Osho was non-English speaking and his discourses were translated by people who did not have English as a first language. As a result, some of the passages can be a bit difficult to comprehend, from the point of view that for spiritual texts they can seem to be quite the opposite. Having established this, it is apparent that the Osho books contain some very profound teachings. I have read several now, and particularly liked this book. I shall be reading it again once I have got through a few others.
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Englander
5.0 out of 5 stars Knowing from within, not knowledge from without.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 June 2009
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If you are familiar with the Tao Te Ching, which means that you appreciate the individual path to enlightenment, then you will understand the Pathless Path. Typically and provocatively, Osho penetrates the stupidities of established religion and ideological thought and offers an insightful critique of Confucian philosophy, all very necessary for your journey on the pathless path. The journey is your home and not the destination. Knowledge from without is quite different from the knowing within. Be still and be empty. Those in sympathy with the Tao do not succumbed to the crowd; it is a celebration of the individual, whose path is unique, because existence itself is unique. Osho does not explain, his words are a communion with existence such that they speak intuitively to you. Approach them intellectually and you have missed the point.
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Naveen_Aegon
5.0 out of 5 stars No better man ever lived in the modern era could've interpreted ...
Reviewed in India on 10 November 2017
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I believe this is one of those books that will find its way to you once it sees you fit to understand it. The profound knowledge contained in this book will forever change our lives. It will lead us to a renunciation, towards a pathless path, a way of eternal truth and harmony. To understand Tao from osho is truly a blessing. No better man ever lived in the modern era could've interpreted Tao as osho did. If you truly believe you are in the quest of finding the meaning of your life, this book might very well be the key to it. This is ne of the truly magnificent and under-rated, unknown gem of a book.
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KCSANTHAKUMAR
4.0 out of 5 stars Happiness is natural; one should not seek it, one should simply enjoy it.
Reviewed in India on 27 June 2020
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Tao means the way, which is more like a bird flying in the sky leaving no markers behind. The bird has flown but no marks are left; it is a pathless path. Osho, in this book, comments on five Taoist parables, which according to him are very deep and they have to be penetrated and meditated upon to know the real meaning. Confucius is used as a laughing stock in Taoist stories, where he is figured as a traveller going from somewhere to somewhere, always seeking and searching for knowledge.
In one of the parables Confucius asks a poor wandering monk who is singing a song of joy: “Master, what is the reason for your joy?”
“I have many joys”, replies the monk. “ Of the myriad things which heaven begot, mankind is the most noble - and I have the luck to be human. This is my first joy. People are born who do not live a day or a month, but I have already lived to ninety. This is my joy. For all men, poverty is the norm and death is the end. Abiding by the norm, awaiting my end, what is there to be concerned about?”
“Good!” says Confucius, “here is a man who knows how to console himself.”
By interpreting the story Osho says that there cannot be any reason for joy as it is natural like one’s health. So never ask reasons for someone’s happiness; it is just like asking why somebody is healthy.Also, there cannot be many joys. The monk feels himself happy because he at the age of ninety is still healthy and alive when so many others have died at their prime young age. The monk says that everybody is going to die and everybody else is poor and hence he doesn’t feel miserable either. According to Osho the monk’s happiness is a comparative happiness which is a pseudo-happiness. His interpretation reflects the Taoist vision.
Confucius believes in consolations whereas Tao believes in contentment. What is needed , according to Osho, is contentment and not consolation and contentment comes only when one is not comparing. Osho says: “Don’t compare with those who have more, don’t compare with those who have less.” The goal of all Confucian philosophy is that “ a man must become a gentleman”; one cannot find a loophole in his character and all virtues have become real in him. But the Taoists don’t talk about the goal at all.
The whole of Tao’s message according to Osho is that “Be anarchic, be authentically true to your own being. Listen only to yourself. Don’t allow anybody to discipline you. Don’t allow anybody to make a slave of you, don’t allow anybody to condition you. Man who has lived, loved, experienced, meditated, who has gone through so many things in life, has become more worthy - he has to be given a higher life. Happiness is natural; one should not seek it, one should simply enjoy it.”
Some of Osho’s observations:
The moment a person becomes perfect, he is dead. An alive person is never perfect, and my teaching is basically not for perfection but for totality.
Laziness is just like the common cold - nothing much to worry about. Ego is like cancer. It is better not to have either.
An intelligent person will have to think before he acts. The soldier has to act before he thinks.
Osho says: “The Indian society is based on the laws of Manu and the Chinese society is based on the laws of Confucius. And both men have destroyed both of the countries.”
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NinjaReader
5.0 out of 5 stars Another book about TAO
Reviewed in Brazil on 14 May 2018
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Another wonderful book about “the way”. The goal is the path, the walking, not an arbitrary point of arrival. Osho explains that modern life is obsessive: the goal is always in the future, in the tomorrow, and it never comes. But, we can awaken and understand that the goal is today and the purpose of life is simply to live.
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