The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
2018-03-23
From Mom/Jayne
An exploration of Taoist philosophy through the lens of Winnie-the-Pooh:
The How of Pooh? (p. 1)
- "The Vinegar Tasters"
- Confucianism: the world is imperfect and needs to be ordered by humans
- Buddhism: the world is suffereing and should be rejected
- Taoism: the world is harmonious to be embraced and enjoyed
- ...not stated, but Christianity: I was made for something other than this world
The Tao of Who? (p. 9)
- The uncarved block:
- things as they naturally are
- be open to experiences but unburdened by them
- don't let analysis prevent experience
Spelling Tuesday (p. 23)
- Value experience over knowledge
- Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is meaningless
Cottleston Pie (p. 37)
- Accept things as they are
- Everything has a natural purpose
- The first thing you need to do is recognize your "own inner nature" (sounds a bit like "authenticity")
The Pooh Way (p. 67)
- Wu Wei: “doing without meddlesome, combative, or egotistical effort”
- Story of the honey pot gift: work with the natural order of things
Bisy Backson (p. 91)
- Bisy Backson = Type A: always need to be productive
- Enjoy the present rather than always thinking about the future
That Sort of Bear (p. 115)
- Everything has its own unique value and nothing has greater inherent value than anything else (a bit relativistic)
Nowhere and Nothing (p. 141)
- cease to impose your will on the world
- allow the empty mind to work