6 Books on Taoist Philosophy and Practice

Indigenous to China, Taoism emphasizes inner and outer forms of philosophy and practice including meditation, internal alchemy, feng shui, and qigong. While there are a range of philosophical schools and practices, the common goal of Taoist practice is cultivating a deep and harmonious connection with the Tao, often conceived of as the natural way of the universe. Below you'll find 6 unique books on the philosophy and practice of Taoism, all geared toward generating a deeper connection and understanding of the Tao.

Taoist alchemical practices are renowned for their mental, physical, and spiritually transformative benefits—including longevity and increased connection to the world around us. In this guide to Master Huang Yuanji’s Taoist classic, Ge Guolong presents the basics of inner alchemy and the tradition’s most essential meditation practices—along with explanations of the fundamental theories and methods one needs to actually start walking the path.

Enhance the energy of your home, workplace, or garden using the principles of the Taoist art of fengshui. This primer will teach you to bring harmonizing, beneficial energy into any space. Taoist arts master Eva Wong introduces readers to the powerful traditional system of fengshui. It is not simply a list of directives for arranging interiors for good luck—it is the art of reading the patterns of the universe and living in harmony with the environment.

One of the most enduring martial arts and forms of healing the world has ever known, the moving meditation known as T’ai Chi has grown to become one of the most widely practiced forms of exercise worldwide. But despite its popularity, few are acquainted with its profound philosophical underpinnings and theoretical foundations. Here, celebrated T’ai Chi master Waysun Liao introduces T’ai Chi’s most fundamental principles and reveals the transformative healing power that T’ai Chi practice can impart on its practitioners.

Through the lenses of mysticism, naturalism, and ordinary life, the five dozen poems collected here express these women’s profound devotion to Daoist spiritual practice. Their interweaving of plain but poignant and revealing speech with a compelling and inventive use of imagery expresses their creative relationship to the myths, legends, and traditions of Daoist Goddess culture. Also woven throughout the rich tapestry of their writing are their sensuality and their hard-wrought, candid emotions about their personal loves and losses. Despite that these poets’ extraordinary skills were recognized during their lifetimes, as women they struggled relentlessly for artistic, emotional, and financial independence befitting their talent. The poems exude the charged charisma of their refusal to hold back within a culture, much like our own, that was cosmopolitan yet still restrictive of women’s freedom.

The Taoist sages of ancient China have long been lauded for their transformative teachings on the art of harmonious living, community organization, and cultivating the common good. Along with Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the Huainanzi, here brought to life in English by preeminent translator Thomas Cleary, represents an essential window into this long and cherished tradition. Yet, whereas the Art of War focuses on cunning strategy to quickly resolve conflict, the Huainanzi speaks to the organization of healthy societies, the management of complex group dynamics, and how to promote the highest ideals of harmony, freedom, adaptability, and sustainability in our world. With incisive teachings on the challenges and opportunities of leadership at all levels—from small-scale organizational management to political statecraft—its time-tested wisdom lights the way for any endeavor in business, management, politics, government, and everyday life.

Buddhism migrated from India to China in the first century C.E., and Ch’an (Japanese: Zen) is generally seen as China’s most distinctive and enduring form of Buddhism. In China Root, however, David Hinton reveals how Ch’an was in fact a Buddhist-influenced extension of Taoism, China’s native system of spiritual philosophy that was grounded in an earthy and empirically-based vision. Hinton describes Ch’an as a kind of anti-Buddhism, a radical and wild practice aspiring to a deeply ecological liberation: the integration of individual consciousness with landscape and with a Cosmos seen as harmonious and alive.