Читать книгу The Mad Monk Manifesto - Yun Rou - Страница 11

I have woven together what I hope you will find a compelling and informative handbook for achieving personal evolution that leads to peaceful social revolution. I would like to think that the process of reading, considering, and sharing the ideas herein can catalyze true change in you and organically generate those vaunted qualities of humility, frugality, and compassion. The flow of things is as follows:

•Specific personal and political calls to action

•Inspirational references

•Key snippets from Chinese history

•A philosophical travel guide

•Stories about the transformational power of Daoist ideas

•Teachings of famous sages

In presenting the material, I follow the exact model Daoist practice does, namely the precise progression from considering the work we do on ourselves to considering how that work affects the world. Accordingly, we begin with relaxing and rectifying the physical body, move to awakening our minds, proceed to contributing to community and improving culture, continue to consider how Daoist ideas manifest in culture, commerce, and government, review the relationship between sensitivity and the environment, and finally engage with the role of spirit and service in an awakened life. Within each section, there are thematically arranged groups, with the occasional stubborn thought that may not fit perfectly with the others but deserves consideration nonetheless.

As you read, please remember that truth is invariably more complicated than we like it to be, that there are layers upon interrelated layers to what we call reality. Things are often smaller, larger, constantly shifting, a piece of something else, and an intersection of happenings and forces. There is always a great unfolding. I hope you’ll think deeply about these ideas, share them with others, and season them with the wisdom of your own insights and experience.

There are a variety of systems to transliterate Chinese to English. The Chinese government’s standard Pinyin system, despite some awkwardness, is rapidly becoming the gold standard, so I have cleaved to it in this book. Each section ends with a quote from the much-vaunted Daodejing. I have chosen my favorite translations of the many available in English, so as to render the old master as widely and clearly as possible through various voices.

In anticipation of your kind attention, I offer nine grateful bows.