Scholar Warrior: An Introduction to the Tao in Everyday Life

I have been interested in the Asian martial arts and Asian (Zen, Taoism, Shintoism etc.) philosophy most of my life. I recently picked up this book (Scholar Warrior: An introduction to the Tao in everyday life by Deng Ming-DAO) for a bargain price. It is one of the most detailed books I have read lately on not just the philosophy of Taoism, but it also has numerous Qigong exercises and meditation routines. The drawn illustrations are clear and easy to understand, but it is best to have a Qigong instructor to properly guide you in doing the movements.This 352 page text is organized into three books. The first book (Beginnings) covers factors on becoming a scholar warrior, the “three treasures” for health, the marrow washing classic, northern star Qigong and herbs. The second book (Philosophy and issues) explains “Tao: grounding yourself philosophically.” It also focuses on the masters and student issues and resolving doubts. The final book (Meditation and transcendence) explores “Daoyin: the bridge from exercise to meditation.” “Meditation: the heart of Taoism.” “Withdrawal: the opportunity to be spiritual.” “Returning to the source: the ultimate wisdom.”If you are interested in learning various aspects of the philosophy contained in Taoism, this is a book you may want to read.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Haiku Moments: How to read, write and enjoy haiku).

This is the second time I have to buy the book - long time ago our German Shepherd puppy tried to read it too but he ended up chewing it. Today he is 11 years old and still knows how to pick a good book.I love the way the author presents his vast ocean of knowledge to the reader. The book is a must for everyone seriously looking for information beyond the physical part of the Martial Arts. We must learn not only to fight but to heal ourselves and our opponents, and most important - to stay healthy and to keep going. This is the way of the Warrior Scholar.Buy this book and read it, then read it again and again! You will not regret it.Cheers!

Lots of good content. Unfortunately the how to sections are inadequate

The Good: Thoroughly enjoyed the exercise sections, and there is plenty of valuable advice to assume personal responsibility, and to "practice, practice, practice" living in harmony with life, above all, accepting that which occurs without judging it.....The "Faults of a Student" section was excellent, pointing out many of the (self-erected) obstacles the beginning Taoist will encounter. On page 253: "Look within. All the answers are inside you". Truer words were never written.The Not-so-good: A major turn off for me was the authors spirited support of the old-school TCM diet, with it's dead animal in every pot and every medical "herbal" remedy......Seahorses, ducks, lambs, pigs, fish, sea dragons, chickens, cows, rabbits, frogs... all are to be killed then cooked with Chinese tonic herbs. In his opinion, the only valuable protein is animal protein, and his view is that of the ancient animists, that we absorb energies from the animal. See the TCM habit of using tiger penis, dried and ground for virility, for example. I disagree completely. Just not necessary, in my opinion, no matter the "tradition" behind it. The author also has absurd (and rigidly recommended) views regarding how and where to meditate too lengthy to go into here...Suffice to say that his ideas are often impossible to implement in a 21st century city, and society in general.I really enjoy 365 Tao, but I cannot recommend this book.

For those with an interest in Taoism, particularly from the Warrior Monk / Scholar Warrior perspective, this is a fascinating book that covers a broad range of topics from philosophy to instruction for specific physical exercises to herbalism. Ming-Dao Deng has authored a number of other books, including one on the I Ching; those that I've read have been uniformly excellent.

An exceptional book. I've been studying qigong for years and I have returned to this book many times. The exercises, done properly, will certainly yield results. Persist in doing at least the first 10 exercises every day or every other day for at least 1 month. Then stop for one month. Repeat the process three times and you'll see a definite pattern; you'll feel amazing while practicing and life will seem powerfully lacking when you are not. I can't speak to the recipes contained in the back, but the meditations and exercises have been of exceptional value to me.

Looking for the essence of Tao? How can you find something so elusive? I'm not certain but this is a good place to start. I cherry picked my way through it. This author has several very good books on the same subject which are are worth your time. Check out 365 Tao. The simplest answer is always the best. Take it easy man.

I had a copy of this wonderful books for years and gave it to my daughter. Decided it was time for me to have it in my library too.

This book is now quite old, however at the time it was ahead of its time for the information it contained. I bought my 1st copy about 15 years ago and found the book to be very practical, mostly due to the useful Qi gong routines included, very few books at that time were available that had good clear, effective Qi gong routines, Qi gong was seen as something mystical and secret. Deng Mind Dao was one of the first authors to produce a useable book on Qi Gong and Taoism. The most useful thing I found about this book is the set of exercises Dao refers to as the "Marrow Washing Classic" Qi gong. I have numerous books on Qi Gong and have also studied Yoga for years, however this set of exercises is very interesting as they are not produced anywhere else. I have never seem them printed in any other book, the nearest to this set are the "Yi Jin Jing" produced by the Chinese Health Qi gong association, however Deng Ming Daos set has 24 exercises, nearly double that of the Chinese health associations, Deng Ming Daos also seems somehow more complete a system. Dao states that these are based on the original exercises taught by Bodhidharma, many claim to know the genuine set of these exercises (if there is one) and many authors have produced works showing these exercises. I cannot say for certain if this is the original set taught by Bodhidharma and to be fair, neither does the author however I can say that they are an extremely effective, powerful set of Qi gong exercises that stretch, relax and tone the entire body. Dao also emphasises the importance of gathering and collecting the QI in the dantien after the practice, something that surprisingly few Qi Gong authors seem to mention. From my own personal experience this is ESSENTIAL if Qi gong is to be safe and worth your while doing, otherwise it will cause more harm than good. The book is well worth a purchase for the "marrow washing classic" exercises alone.Despite the effectiveness of this Qi gong set there is scant information about The Marrow Washing Classic shown in this book. This site is the exception:http://www.tatatao.org.uk/chi-gung-and-nei-gung/the-marrow-washing-classic/

Really interesting, well explained in a ‘modern’ understandable way. Would definitely recommend.

This book is well written, structured and fluid to read. It captures a lot of practical elements of Tao and its philosophy appliable to everyday's life. It is pleasently direct, practical and honest which is refreshing in the cloud of rather "soft" and unprecise Tao books. I can recommend this gem to everybody who is searching for inner balance and philosophical guidance, or is just interested in this topic.As much as I enjoyed most of the chapters, it's deliberately chosen overall scope of Tao also includes a chapter of Qigong exercises (quite practicable with some experimenting), a chapter of Chinese cooking recipes (really!) linked to health issues as well as a chapter of Chinese herbal lore. Though these might be valuable from a traditional point of view, I as a European will only get costly, low-quality Chinese herbs, so it's best to skip this chapter and if interested buy a localized herbal guide to build your knowledge.Nevertheless it's an excellent book with many valuable chapters!

amust

excellent book