The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Hoff uses the classic stories from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh to explain the Asian philosophy of Daoism. This is a very good book. It is not difficult to read and it explains taoism in an entertaining and informative manner.

Hoff begins his explanation of Taoism by referencing an ancient Chinese painting, the Vinegar Tasters. The 3 tasters in the painting represent Confucious, Buddha, and Lao Tzu. Confucious saw the world as sour, Buddha bitter, and Lao Tzu sweet. This reflects the central tenets of each of these philosophies. (The painting can also be interpreted to mean that all three come from the same source.

One of the teachings of Taoism is that the dichotomy between good and bad is tenuous as represented by the yin-yang symbol. Dark and light wrap around each other and each contains the seed of the other.

Hoff notes that the Pooh character could be seen as emblematic of the Uncarved Block in Taoism. Pooh is simple, but not stupid. Owl, Rabbit and Eeyore are all thinkers, but they each also have flaws in their characters. Owl seeks knowledge for the sake of appearing wise. Rabbit represents knowledge for the sake of being clever, and Eeyore represents knowledge for the sake of complaining. (Owl could also represent Western academics.)

"he wise are not learned-- the learned are not wise." Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching

Hoff explains the principle of "Things are as they are" to mean that everything on earth has a function and should be valued for that function. Some people or things should not be looked down on as less important or valuable because of their function.

Hoff discusses the Wu Wei as "effortless effort", that is putting round pegs in round holes and not spending effort trying to put round pegs in square holes or figure out why round pegs fit in round holes. "Wu Wei doesn't try. It doesn't think about it. It just does it. And when it does, it doesn't appear to do much of anything. But Things Get Done." (This sounds a lot like "FLOW".)