/lit/ - Literature

>>11440845
not the anon who recommended the book, but you should definitely read Tao de Ching (or Daodejing) by Lao Tzu, it should help you even more (although make sure to read some commentary or interpretation as well, it helped me a great deal to understand some of the passages)

>>11440845
Who is this chink chonk and why did it help with your anxiety ?
Also what confusion. Who the fuck is confused in this day and age.

>>11440963
>Only by inhabiting Dao (the Way of Nature) and dwelling in its unity can humankind achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death.
>To be free, individuals must discard rigid distinctions between good and bad, right and wrong, and follow a course of action not motivated by gain or striving. When one ceases to judge events as good or bad, man-made suffering disappears and natural suffering is embraced as part of life.

*snap*
Whoever reads this shit should just give me a call so I can turn them into a sex slave.

>>11440845
I recommend this book almost daily, so it might have been me. Glad you enjoyed it Anon.

>>11440890
Daodejing has a hundred times more hype but it's honestly not as impressive to me. Guess it's more "approachable" and short but Zhuangzi is a lot more useful, entertaining and demonstrates the philosophy instead of just reeling off a list of quotable platitudes.

>>11440845
>>11440994
Zhuangzi is my favourite book. Now read my second favourite, The Discourses of Epictetus. Somehow they manage to agree on a lot of things.

>>11440975
And so I shall be thy slave. For I would be as thou wouldest have me, who art my guide and my master. Do with me as thou wilt, for I should be keen to performing even the most degrading actions, for I am relinquished to thee, and thy bidding is my command. And I shall be the mirror in which thy whim is reflected and embodied; I shall be the goblet into which thy mandate is poured, steadily containing my master's behest. Ah, ah! If only it were so! If only I were with my master now, begging for his mercy, to be graced with his presence, to be the arm for his will! Ah, ah! For let it be so!

>>11441003
Make sure you read the Discourses not the Enchiridion. The Enchiridion is more like the Daodejing.

Liehzi has an interesting cosmology and also contains Yangzi who has a very unique view of Daoism. But the book in general is much more heavy and is more of a philosophical discussion than a narrative.

the translation by victor mair is superior. wandering on the way

>>11441059
Personally I prefer this translation and the introduction alone is worth reading

>>11441075
thats not a really a translation, it is more a poetical paraphrase based on already existing translations, made btw by a christian monk. but yeah, i remember the introduction is not bad.

if you want a poetically-oriented one i prefer pic rel

yo this actually fucking slaps

>>11441247
Thanks, I don't have this one yet. Always keen to pick up new translations.

Yeah, the Merton version isn't a translation but I think he really understands the spirit of the text really well and in some ways it communicates it better than a word for word.

I prefer AC Graham's translation.

To be honest I think it's too escapist to work as an all-encompassing life philosophy, but definitely a great book as part of a balanced diet.

I just like its weirdness

>If an ugly man have a son born to him at midnight, he hastens with a light to look at it. Very eagerly he does so, only afraid that it may be like himself.
>厲之人夜半生其子,遽取火而視之,汲汲然惟恐其似己也。

https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/heaven-and-earth

>>11441730
>I just like its weirdness
I really enjoy his sense of humour. It's the same reason I think Epictetus is so great. You should really try his Discourses if you like this work.

>>11440845
There should just be an anxiety depression lit and be done with it. I read for other reasons, but like 20% of my reading is for that.