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BACK TO BEGINNINGS (Shambhala Pocket Classics) Paperback – June 7, 1994

by Huanchu Daoren (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
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Back to Beginnings (Shambhala Centaur Editions)
Back to Beginnings (Shambhala Centaur Editions)
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The secrets of serenity and wisdom in a changing world can be found in these Taoist teachings, written during the late 16th century in the Ming dynasty. The author's reflections are an outgrowth of his upbringing in the science of neo-Confucianism, a lifelong career in public service, and his retirement at age 62 into Taoist apprenticeship.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    138 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Shambhala
  4. Publication date
    June 7, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    3 x 0.5 x 4.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1570620156
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1570620157
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Huanchu Daoren, which means "A Wayfarer Back to Beginnings," is the Taoist name of Hong Yingming, the author of Back to Beginnings. Daoren, a layperson and Chinese scholar, is believed to have written the book late in his life, in 1600, after the age of 60.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shambhala; First Edition (June 7, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 138 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1570620156
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1570620157
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 3 x 0.5 x 4.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Thomas Cleary

    Thomas Cleary

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    Thomas Cleary is the preeminent translator of classic Eastern texts, including The Essential Tao, The Essential Confucius, The Secret of the Golden Flower, and the bestselling The Art of War.

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  2. Zicheng Hong

    Zicheng Hong

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gary Horton
5.0 out of 5 stars This little book is a gem
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2013
Verified Purchase
I bought this book when it was first published in the 90's and have read it repeatedly since then. My copy is worn and tattered but stays beside my bed so I can read it at night. I take it camping to read while I'm in nature. It is filled with wisdom that moves me to slow down and reflect, and has helped me grow satisfied with a simple and unconventional life. I highly recommend it. I bought this copy for a friend.
8 people found this helpful
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Natalie McDaniel
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful inspirational book!
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
Love this book. It's a great little book to play inspiration roulette with. So glad to find it! Thus is our backup copy!
3 people found this helpful
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ron s.
5.0 out of 5 stars It’s the right size and excellently translated
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2019
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Hiking and meditation
Excellent seller
3 people found this helpful
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Gustavo
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional book. Fast delivery. Perfectly new.
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Exceptional book.

Fast delivery. Perfectly new.
3 people found this helpful
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Joseph J. Truncale
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic and classic Asian philosophic treatise by a Chinese scholar.
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2009
This book is an example of the saying that "words of wisdom are timeless." This book, beautifully translated by Thomas Cleary, was written around 1600 by a Huanchu Daoren, a Chinese scholar. The various meditations presented are written in such a way that one can stop and ponder the specific philosophic gem before moving on to the next paragraph. You can easily choose the meditations that speak to your inner soul in this fantastic collection. Here is a brief sample of the delights found in this volume. "Only those who have calmed their minds know the misfortune of having worries." "Those who read books but do not see the wisdom of the sages are slaves of the letter." "Those who teach but do not themselves practice what they teach are mere talkers."

In conclusion, this is a book for anyone interested in Asian philosophy.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the Warrior: A poetic tribute to warriors).
4 people found this helpful
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Kris
5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful advice for gung-ho Americans
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2005
"When you are but slightly involved in the world, the effect the world has on you is also slight" (p. 1).

Heard that one anywhere before? How about, "My kingdom is not of this world."

"Simplicity is better than refinement, and freedom is better than punctiliousness."

I'm going to tell my boss tomorrow I don't want to be punctilious anymore. Then I'll really be free, free to join all the other "free" homeless people wandering all over Los Angeles and who knows where else.

"As long as people have not shed impetuous adventurism even if they help the nation, it is just exploit." No more heroes!

"People know that fame and position are pleasant, but they do not know that the pleasance of anonymity is most real." Ahhhh, and so I have to give up my 15 minutes of fame? Oh, well, no big loss, I think I gave it up in high school anyway.

"Those who are truly virtuous have no reputation for virtue. Those who establish such a reputation do so for selfish motives." Yes, and selfish motives are behind most of what people supposedly achieve, isn't that the way of the world?

"It is better to dwell in nonbeing than in being, better to be lacking than replete." Another echo from the Sermon on the Mount.

"To boast of one's work or show off one's literary accomplishments is to base one's person on external things." Well, I don't have anything to boast about, but Grisham and S. King may want to take note (yeeeaah right!).

"Taking pride in fame is not as interesting as avoiding it. Cultivating hobbies is not as peaceful as minimizing interests."

This is great stuff for those who are full of personal ambition. But, hey, personal ambition is the way of the world, and it's all biological anyway, isn't it? The world has evolved that way. That's why I thank God for people like Lao Tse, Huanchu Daoren, and Thomas Cleary. I'm going to learn Chinse one day, that's my big ambition (whoops!).

Diximus.
3 people found this helpful
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Wonder Whimsy
4.0 out of 5 stars What is a tao?
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2012
What is a tao? After many years of treasuring this little edition and skimming it for reflections when life is overwhelming, I'm not sure I could explain "tao" or specific tenets. (That may come easier with "Tao of Pooh" or some heavier text) The book does help anyone who is grasping for some wisdom in coping with... anything. You don't have to be deep or an aspiring Buddhist to find a means of balancing perspective in a world that often looks lop-sided and "unfair". Even in those moments, there is more to be revealed. There is beauty.
3 people found this helpful
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OAKSHAMAN
5.0 out of 5 stars Little Book, Great Wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2004
When I grow up, I want to be a Taoist sage.
This is a book of detachment from the petty struggles of human society. Huanchu Daoren was reputed to have been a layman past the age of 60- the time of retirement from public affairs and the closing season of life. Yet one gets the sense that he had been preparing himself for this detachment, practicing it as best he could, for all of his life. As he puts it, retire when you are at the height of your career- and count yourself as a survivor. For this is a book on how to live the most simple, pure, and genuine life even when surrounded by power, wealth, and chaos. It shows how to move among the powerful, the vicious, and the ignorant without losing your center. It even points the Way towards clearing your mind in order to find this center. Once found, the sage is imperturbable. Indeed, the sage is the nucleus around which harmony and natural order coalesce in the human realm.
There is an incredible wealth of concentrated wisdom here, verified and filtered by the ages:
When the rich and well established, who should be generous, are instead spiteful and cruel, they make their behavior wretched and base in spite of their wealth and position. When the intellectually brilliant, who should be reserved, instead show off, they are ignorant and foolish in their weakness in spite of their brilliance.
"Always leave some food for the mice; pity the moths and don't light the lamp." Thoughts like these that the ancients had are the living, life-giving mechanism of us humans. Without this, we are no more than statues or manikins.
When enlightened people are so poor that they cannot help others, if they speak a word to awaken the confused or to resolve a problem, there is also boundless merit in that.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

yy
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
great, thanks!
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