Reddit reviews Christ the Eternal Tao

> Realise that the entire world is absurd but just watch it.

Taoism does not teach all is absurd; just the opposite. According to Taoism, all that is is Tao, the One from which all things have their origin, in which all things move, and to which all things return. According to Taoism, all things move to the Tao, because all things are Tao, but humanity loses its way and deviates from its original nature by trying to assert its autonomous will on reality, and we thus do not live in harmony with the Tao. The object is to be in harmony with the Tao by practicing Wu Wei (conforming to the pattern of things, rather than asserting one's will against the pattern) and Qigong (balancing yin qi and yang qi) to be in right relation to the world, and hopefully attain eternal life.

> it doesn't rely on mysticism

Taoism is heavily mystical, especially in its original and earliest forms. The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao..He who speaks does not know, and he who knows does not speak..etc. Apophatic theology is a key characteristic of mysticism. Taoism is often called by comparative religion scholars 'nature mysticism'.

Taoism, in its more philosophical forms, is very fascinating. It also has intriguing near-parallels with much Christian doctrine (cosmology/cosmogony, anthropology, eschatology, etc.), and in Chinese translations of the Gospel of John, the prologue reads, "In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and the Tao was God." But I digress.

Anyway, Taosim is not absurdist and neither is it not mystical. Rather, if anything it's teleological, and it's most fundamentally mystical.

No Man is an Island By Thomas Merton

Clowning in Rome By Henri Nouwen.

The Great Divorce By C.S. Lewis

Beginning to Pray By Archbishop Anthony Bloom

For the Life of the World By Fr Alexander Schmemann

Christ the Conqueror of Hell By Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev

Christ the Eternal Tao By Hieromonk Damascene

The Way of the Pilgrim

Marriage as a Path to Holiness-Lives of Married Saints By David and Mary Ford

On the Incarnation By St Athanasius

On Social Justice By St Basil the Great

The Ladder of Divine Ascent By St John Climacus

I'm currently trying to finish Fr Seraphim Rose- His Life and Works for the third time and despite my apparent inability to complete it, I really do enjoy it.

Thomas Merton was influenced by the book Zen Catholicism. There is also an Eastern Orthodox book which views the Tao Te Ching as a kind of Eastern Old Testament. It's called Christ, the Eternal Tao and was heavily influenced by Fr. Seraphim. I hope you find one of these useful. I've read the latter, but only know of the former.

Here's a book suggestion if this really interests you: Christ the Eternal Tao

Check out the writings of the Trappist monk Thomas Merton if you haven't yet. Thich Nhat Hanh called him a living Buddha.

This is a very accessible introduction to Christian mysticism.

If you want to read more, I've heard good things about Christ the Eternal Tao written by an Eastern Orthodox priest-monk.

Are you Eastern Orthodox? Ask your priest.

What are you hoping to find in these studies? I'd stay away if you are just curious, or want to exercise your mind. Focus on Christ and he will give you all you need.

Also you should check out the book Christ the Eternal Tao. The author argues that Lao Tsu intuitively grasped Christ through his study of the Tao, much like the Greek philosophers had the Logos. Both are shadows of Christ preparing people for the full revelation of Christ.


Also here is part in of a pod cast the author took part in, he gives a brief overview of the book

I would suggest the closest Judeo/Christian "thing" to the Tao is wisdom. Do a word search for wisdom in the O.T. Change the word to Tao. Interesting.

You might also be interested in Christ the Eternal Tao.

Why would you be taoist when Christ is the full vision of the Tao

https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Eternal-Tao-Hieromonk-Damascene/dp/1887904239

I cannot recommend this book enough for you

I haven't read it yet, but Christ the Eternal Tao compares Taoism to Christianity. Mainly in our understanding of God, Logos, and for them, Tao.

I believe there’s a book written by Seraphim Rose on this subject.

Edit: not Seraphim Rose, but by the Hieromonk Damascene who wrote a biography on Fr. Seraphim. Here’s the book I referred to Christ the Eternal Tao

You might like this book. Christ the Eternal Tao by Father Damascene.

https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Eternal-Tao-Hieromonk-Damascene/dp/1887904239

There is a reason Buddhism and Christianity are the only two religions with a tradition of monasticism. I come from a similar background.

This is one of my favorite books. I know it's about Taoism, not Buddhism, but you will probably get a lot out of it.

A book you might find interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Eternal-Tao-Hieromonk-Damascene/dp/1887904239

In Orthodox church buildings, the inside is full of images of saints and angels. In some of the old churches in Greece, you'll see some interesting images in the frescoes of the exonarthex - the outer entrance. Icons of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, etc. Not because the Orthodox Church wholly endorses their ideas, but because they definitely got hold of some elements of truth, the way Melchizedek did. No Christian buys all of Aristotle or Plato, but they did get some things very right, and for that we recognize them as (in a sense) prophetic.

(The modern Fundamentalist movement hasn't done Christianity any favors by making a black-and-white difference between "verbal plenary inspiration" of the Bible texts and everything else merely "traditions of men.")

The evangelical missionaries who translated the Gospel of John into Cantonese (I don't know about other Chinese dialects) recognized Lao Tzu's concept of the Tao as cognate with Heraclitus' Logos - in Cantonese, John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Tao, and the Tao was with God, and th Tao was God. All things were made by the Tao... the Tao became flesh and dwelt among us."

Christ the Eternal Tao is a fascinating book on the conceptual relationship of the Christian Logos and the Tao. The author has been a Taoist and a Christian and respects both paths without falling into syncretism.

I was a Taoist before my conversion, so +1 to you. If anyone else wants to see a Christian reconciliation with ancient Chinese philosophy, pick up Christ the Eternal Tao by Orthodox writer Hiermonk Damascene. It has a heavy Orthodox bias, but if you can read past that, you'll see a lot of really smart analysis!

It was a book that was instrumental to my conversion to Catholicism, actually. When I learned that in the Chinese Bible, the word logos is translated as Tao.

Close enough

Some Christians like Lao-Zi. I think the Dao-De-Jing is full of some pretty right on stuff. The Dao tradition is pretty meaningful to me.


The historic Buddha was alright. I actually prefer later Buddhist sages to what information we have about the founder. Buddhism is pretty crazy diverse and interesting.


Muhammad's meh for me. Although there are some interesting aspects to Islamic theology, I don't personally find much meaning straight from Muhammad. Have had reasonably interesting theology talks with Muslims, though.