The Tao of Perfect Happiness

The Tao of Perfect Happiness

Discussions of happiness obviously pre-date the modern science of positive psychology; in fact every major religion and school of philosophy has had an opinion on happiness and living a good life. Most famous, however, are the Buddhist traditions including Tao as illustrated in this article on "perfect happiness" I happily bring to you today…

…by Livia Kohn and from the Huffington Post it begins thus: 

The Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi) is the second major text of the Taoist tradition. It was compiled in the third century B.C.E. and follows in the footsteps of the best known and oldest of all Taoist texts, the Tao-te-ching (Daode jing, Book of the Tao and Its Potency), known by the name of its author, Laozi (Lao-tzu), which literally means "Old Master" or "Old Child."

There are many reasons to return to these ancient texts time and again, and especially to come back to the Chuang-tzu. The pure enjoyment of the stories, the vibrant humor of the tales, the fantastic aspects of reality — they all give pleasure, release, exuberance…

…it goes on to state

Unlike most renditions this version arranges the text by themes, beginning with the core question of the text: "In this world, is there such a thing as perfect happiness?" The answer is "certainly." But it takes work and a certain way of understanding self and reality combined with making clear and persistent efforts to actualize this understanding in body and life (although, according to Chuang-tzu, these efforts are nowhere near as organized as later Taoists would propose). Over a total of 14 chapters, the book then unravels key issues in Chuang-tzu's thought, from visions of the universe through understanding of fate, self, death and dreams, to ways of personal transformation with the help of various forms of conscious reprogramming and meditative practice which then lead to the best possible way of living in the world, exemplified in several different kinds of people and social situations…

…read the full and original article on "The Tao of Perfect Happiness" HERE

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