Asian philosphy

[Eevee]

Hey all, im interested in getting some in some reading on asian philosophy. Any suggestions on interesting reads?

-EV

[jokerthief]

It's typically called eastern philosphy. Try Confucius or study Taoism.

[Eevee]

haha yeah, i was too lazy to edit after i realized.

[Eevee]

any specific books i could look into?

[madnak]

The Tao Te Ching would be a good place to start.

[cambraceres]

The Art of War

Sun Tzu & Sun Pin

By far the best I've ever read, and short enough that you can read it in an afternoon, although that may not be best for comprehension.

Cambraceres

[DonkBluffer]

Ehm, I'm currently reading this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140190627/sr=8-1/qid=1148731392/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4492429-5678303?%5Fencoding=UTF8) and this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0893860220/sr=8-1/qid=1148731403/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4492429-5678303?%5Fencoding=UTF8).

If you're interested in enlightenment, read those. /images/graemlins/smile.gif I guess those are about hinduism or yoga or whatever, but I feel that their teachings transcends any particular philosophy or religion.

"Whatever you see happening in the waking state happens only to the knower, and since the knower is unreal, nothing in fact ever happens." (Sri Ramana Maharsi)

Awesome.

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey all, im interested in getting some in some reading on asian philosophy. Any suggestions on interesting reads?

-EV

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a very broad ask, dude. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Like asking what to read if you were interested in western philosophy. It would be a rather long reading list. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Nielsio]

Why

[Aardvark]

Alan Watts is well known for his excellent explanations of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Try "The Book," "Become What You Are," or "Does it Matter?." Read "The Book" first.
His work would be a good jumping off point before tackling the Daode Jing (Tao Te Ching) or Art of War.

[The Don]

Get some weed first. Trust me.

[evolvedForm]

-Analects of Confucius
-The Upanishads (hindu)
-Siddhartha (by Hesse but still good for understanding Buddhism, and it's an easy, fun read)

[maniacut]

i am currently reading the Tao Te Ching and agree with two posters here. it is good and get some weed first.

[madnak]

Khalil Gibran's "the Prophet" is worth looking at (http://www.columbia.edu/~gm84/gibtable.html). I'm not sure if it qualifies as "Eastern philosophy" per se, but it's a quick read and very interesting.

[bobman0330]

I think the Dao De Ching and the Analects are both not very interesting. Mencius is worse. Han Fei Tzu (Legalist) and Chuang Tzu (Daoist) are both better. There's another Daoist I really liked, but I can't remember his name right now. Lieh Tzu maybe? Something along those lines.

The thing about Eastern philosophy is that a lot of the most popular stuff, like Lao Tzu, is popular because it's the kind of meaningless mystical babble that people gobble up with a spoon. But the good stuff is great. If you want to really blow your mind, read Blink, then read Chuang Tzu. I haven't read the former, and I haven't read the latter in years, but I think they'd go very well together.

[lautzutao]

Chuang Tzu
Tao Te Ching

[ChrisV]

[ QUOTE ]
The Tao Te Ching would be a good place to start.

[/ QUOTE ]

imho the Tao Te Ching is pretty abstract and not very interesting, especially for someone who knows nothing about Taoism.

If you want a light introduction to the subject, "The Tao Of Pooh" is actually pretty good. Then move on to imo the real classic of Taoism, the Book of Chuang-Tzu.

I can't recommend any Zen stuff, personally I found Zen too mystical and inaccessible. It's probably OK if you have a lifetime to spare seeking enlightenment. Taoism is a much more practical philosophy.

[DonkBluffer]

[ QUOTE ]


I can't recommend any Zen stuff, personally I found Zen too mystical and inaccessible. It's probably OK if you have a lifetime to spare seeking enlightenment. Taoism is a much more practical philosophy.

[/ QUOTE ]
Could you explain this? How is it practical? (just curious)

[ChrisV]

Taoism makes practical recommendations about how to live life, Zen doesn't. The best example is the philosophy of Wu Wei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei). The idea is not to struggle against the nature of things, but to act like someone steering a boat down a fast flowing river. You can also read the analogy about being like water on the link above - it's a good one.

This idea crops up in a lot of places - the writing of Ursula Le Guin, the annotated games of Josh Waitzkin in Chessmaster, the martial arts Wing Chun Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan. I think it's great advice for life in general.

[DonkBluffer]

It's basically the same as other Eastern philosphies, only in different words or emphasizing different details. There's nothing that NEEDS to be done or HAS TO be achieved.

For example, 'Papaji' (http://realization.org/page/topics/poonja.htm) says that to realize the Self, or to reach enlightenment: "Just give up the idea that you have to do something or reach somewhere. That's all you have to do."

[allisfulloflove]

"Zen Mind, Beginners Mind" by Suzuki.
Also, "The Wisdom of Insecurity" by Alan Watts is brilliant.
"The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts is great too.

Although if you've never experienced "enlightenment" or "awakening" or a "mystical experience" or whatever you want to call it, you probably won't understand a lot of eastern philosophy.