Reddit reviews The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition)

Thomas Merton's book The Way of Chuang Tzu has Chuang Tzu using Lao Tzu as a character to illustrate many ideas. There's "mythic" stories of his wake, or one of his disciples Keng Sang Chu coming to visit him for advice for example. Not sure if this is what you're after?

DOOOD, i just bought The Way of Chuang Tzu. Its all Taoist poetry, and its fucking awesome so far.

Ill share my favorite quote from a parable that was inside (most of it is poetry and not parables btw)

"look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light. Being full of light it becomes an influence by which others are secretly transformed"

-Chuang Tzu

Alright, so I'm not sure where to begin with this one. Personally, I'm Agnostic. I have all of the qualifications for Atheism except that I like the idea that there's something after life. So sue me. (Don't, please.) Anyway, I know Atheists, Pagans, Wiccans, Christians, and my mother calls herself a "Recovering Catholic". I've met a Buddhist turned Christian, and Christians turned Buddhist. It's a crazy world out there, and tolerance is a great place to start, because these are all great people in my life.

Now, I suggest letting her explore her beliefs, but all parents want to help, so if you're leaning that way, I suggest, when she's old enough to understand them, give her 3 things to read.

1.) Plato's Euthyphro

2.) The Way of Chuang Tzu

3.) The Gospel According to Thomas

Yes, in this order. You can sit down and talk with her after each.

1.) The Euthyphro argument is basically, if something is good because Gods says so, then there is no good, because can change it on a whim. Yet if something is inherently good, we don't need God to tell us, and he becomes an arbitrary figurehead.

2.) The Way of Chuang Tzu is mostly parables. There's a lot of verse, and was my first introduction to Buddhism and Taoism. I actually have an old version that belonged to my great grandmother. Some are really easy to understand. The general message is that you should be yourself, but be a good person, but they are each a different lesson in how one should act.

3.) The Gospel According to Thomas was one of the "Lost" versions of the gospel. If she's really researching, she'll probably have stumbled onto the bible. It's pretty hard not to. The point of this one is to say, "This was cut from the bible for not being close enough to its teachings." The way it's written is something much more closely resembling the Buddhist/Taoist writings from the Far East. It still conveys the bible's message, but with a different view. You use this one to show that everyone's beliefs are different, but sometimes they overlap. It's the message, and not the doctrines that are really important, and she should be free to believe whatever she chooses.

Alternatively, you could give her Plato last. Those are just some research suggestions.