Winnie-the-Pooh has a certain Way about him, a way of doing things, that has made him the world's most beloved bear. In The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff shows that Pooh's Way is amazingly consistent with the principles of living envisioned by the Chinese founders of Taoism. The author's explanation of Taoism through Pooh, and Pooh through Taoism, shows that this is not simply an ancient and remote philosophy but something you can use, here and now.
And what is Taoism? It's really very simple. It calls for living without preconceived ideas about how life should be lived-but it's not a preconception of how life-it's… Well, you'd do better to listen to this book, and listen to Pooh, if you really want to find out.
It made me understand some concepts better, like p'u, the uncarved block, but some passages really grated on me, like the one on science and cleverness. I get what the author is saying: it's a criticism of seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge, of using complicated words as a form of gatekeeping, of focusing on the study of the tree while missing the forest around it etc. But in the era of COVID and climate change, I have very little patience for "what do scientists even know anyway?"
And there are way more nuanced and better written critiques of productivity culture than the chapter about Bisy Backson.
Review of 'The Tao of Pooh (The Wisdom of Pooh)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The Tao of Pooh is one of the most interesting concepts for a book that I've ever read. The author writes in first person, but includes Winnie the Pooh as a character with whom he's having a conversation about what works and what doesn't.
Winnie the Pooh has always been a great collection of characters, with Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl and Pooh all having drastically different outlooks on life, and managing to maintain friendships all the same. I think what this book highlighted for me was how useful it is to be able to see multiple perspectives on life while acknowledging that they all have strengths and weaknesses. Pooh is, in this book, the one who has the "right" perspective, but it's clear that he can't figure out everything on his own. The familiar characters are a very useful tool for looking at life with a bit of detachment, …
The Tao of Pooh is one of the most interesting concepts for a book that I've ever read. The author writes in first person, but includes Winnie the Pooh as a character with whom he's having a conversation about what works and what doesn't.
Winnie the Pooh has always been a great collection of characters, with Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl and Pooh all having drastically different outlooks on life, and managing to maintain friendships all the same. I think what this book highlighted for me was how useful it is to be able to see multiple perspectives on life while acknowledging that they all have strengths and weaknesses. Pooh is, in this book, the one who has the "right" perspective, but it's clear that he can't figure out everything on his own. The familiar characters are a very useful tool for looking at life with a bit of detachment, while still acknowledging feelings (a difficult balancing act for me personally). An excellent book for looking at suffering, the cause of suffering, the path through suffering and the end of suffering. Highly recommended.
"The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff is a charming, non-academic introduction to the main ideas of Taoism using examples illustrated from the characters in "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House on Pooh Corner" by A.A. Milne.
The book has a way of teaching its main ideas without be didactic, effortlessly educating the reader in a way that does not feel like being taught. The playfulness of the text is appropriate for a book of Taoism, a religion that is known for its joyful inscrutability. The book does not take itself too seriously. Much of the text consists of first-person conversations between the author and characters from the stories that keep the book moving along. And yet its subject matter is serious and the silly bits are supplemented with quotations and analysis of many of Taoism's main teachings - the Uncarved Block, Inner Nature, the Tao, Tz'u (compassion), etc...
This text can …
"The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff is a charming, non-academic introduction to the main ideas of Taoism using examples illustrated from the characters in "Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The House on Pooh Corner" by A.A. Milne.
The book has a way of teaching its main ideas without be didactic, effortlessly educating the reader in a way that does not feel like being taught. The playfulness of the text is appropriate for a book of Taoism, a religion that is known for its joyful inscrutability. The book does not take itself too seriously. Much of the text consists of first-person conversations between the author and characters from the stories that keep the book moving along. And yet its subject matter is serious and the silly bits are supplemented with quotations and analysis of many of Taoism's main teachings - the Uncarved Block, Inner Nature, the Tao, Tz'u (compassion), etc...
This text can be used as a good jumping off point for a person interested in exploring Taoism and Eastern Religions. It is also a good book for people looking for insights about the negative way modern society functions and possible solutions presented in this ancient wisdom tradition.
Pooh is my role model. I reread Milne's books every year or two, and always get something new out of them. So I had really hoped to enjoy Tao of Pooh... but I didn't. I still love the idea of this book, just not this particular implementation.
I found it ironic that Hoff rails against being Clever, because that's how his writing comes across to me. Smug, self-assured, Possessing of Truth. Even more than a little preachy.
The important thing is, we don't really need to know. We don't need to imitate Nearsighted Science, which peers at the world through an electron microscope, looking for answers it will never find and coming up with more questions instead. We don't need to play Abstract Philosopher, asking unnecessary questions and coming up with meaningless answers. What we need to do is recognize Inner Nature and work with Things As They Are. …
Pooh is my role model. I reread Milne's books every year or two, and always get something new out of them. So I had really hoped to enjoy Tao of Pooh... but I didn't. I still love the idea of this book, just not this particular implementation.
I found it ironic that Hoff rails against being Clever, because that's how his writing comes across to me. Smug, self-assured, Possessing of Truth. Even more than a little preachy.
The important thing is, we don't really need to know. We don't need to imitate Nearsighted Science, which peers at the world through an electron microscope, looking for answers it will never find and coming up with more questions instead. We don't need to play Abstract Philosopher, asking unnecessary questions and coming up with meaningless answers. What we need to do is recognize Inner Nature and work with Things As They Are.
How did you get to that great Truth, Mr. Hoff? Did inspiration come upon you out of the blue, or did you spend time reflecting and wondering and asking questions and learning? And now that you have that Truth, shall we just take your word for it that it is The One Truth and that it should also apply to us, without our own journey of learning?
Hoff likens Pooh to the Uncarved Block. A worthwhile metaphor, but ultimately self-defeating: simple and pure as Pooh may be, he bears (har!) the imprint of Milne and of our own reading self. Hoff interprets him one way, I another, and you yet another. Is there a right way? A wrong way? I like to think that my interpretation is right for me, at this moment in time, and is subject to reinterpretation in a future reading.
Again, I love the idea behind this book. I love finding Tao in Winnie-the-Pooh. But I think I will have to find my own.
