The Tao of Pooh Written by Benjamin Hoff, Book Review Example

According to Hoff Taoism is a philosophy that teaches its followers that any resistance to the natural flow of things and events is absolutely meaningless as nature will always win. Life is not about the events, but rather about the way how we perceive and interpret them. People should be satisfied with their inner selves. It seems to me that the original philosophy of Taoism is much more complex than that described by Hoff as he tried to make it understandable to the general public, but at the same time the essence of the Eastern philosophy was preserved by the author and was communicated clearly and accurately.

Initially, Pooh is the character who incorporates in himself the essence of Taoism – original simplicity is a good thing as it contains in itself the natural power that can be lost when that simplicity is changed. Pooh is not the smartest animal in the Hundred Acre Wood, but by his silly actions he makes no harm. Pooh enjoys doing things spontaneously and in the end they turn out to be the right ones to do, which shows main principle of Taoism – don’t try to change the natural flow of things just use it. Thus Hoff uses Pooh’s personality and actions to describe what it is to be a Taoist.

Taoism is not about thinking, but about doing and this is the main difference between Pooh and other animals – they think about life while he just lives. This principle was demonstrated by Hoff on the example of how other animals in the Hundred Acre Wood don’t fit into it and it can be best summed up by the phrase: “While Eeyore frets and Piglet hesitates, and Rabbit calculates, and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is”. Owl represents Confucians and their tendency to build hierarchies with rules and regulations; Eeyore is a Buddhist in his pessimistic way of accepting life’s events as obstacles that must be removed. The difference is quite clear to me.

I think that Pooh is a perfect example of how Taoism should be applied in everyday life. He is the hero who has total unity and harmony with his inner self and with the events that happen in his life. Pooh doesn’t try to force the flow of things, but simply enjoys them as they come, thus Hoff was absolutely right in using him to explain and demonstrate Taoism.

I think that the author is qualified enough to write such a book, this can be proved by the number of quotes from Taoist philosophers (Lao-tse, Chuang-tse, Li Po, etc.) that he gives and by providing his own translations of passages from their writings, all this shows his proficient knowledge of the subject. Illustrations by Earnest H. Shepard emphasize brilliantly the most important points stated by the author. Most of all I liked the one with a vat of vinegar and how different philosophers react to it. For me the strongest point of the book is the entertaining style of explaining complex things; the weakest one is the ignorance of the fact that it’s quite impossible to become wholly Taoist in approach while living in the western world.

I would definitely recommend this book to be used next year as it explores deep philosophical theme in a quite amusing and simple way thus making it more comprehendible.

In Taoism to yield means to conquer. One can get benefit from becoming aware of what is really happening rather than from trying to force something to happen. If one will use natural forces wisely instead of fighting against them everything will work out as it should. It is positive, because it teaches people to think positively about whatever happens in their lives. On the contrast, in western philosophies to yield means to submit one’s passions and desires to one’s reason which exclude the possibility to simply enjoy the moment.

Before reading this book I thought that Eastern philosophies are somewhat too complex for me to understand and I was sure that I would never be able to apply them to my own life. But now I understand that Taoism is quite a practical teaching. The Tao of Pooh has changed my view of myself as now I’m trying to become more comfortable with my inner self and to enjoy my life as it is without imagining and attempting to solve no-existing problems.

I think that I’m a mixture of Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore. Like Owl I always try to gain more knowledge and very often for the sake of knowledge itself without being able to apply it in everyday life; like Rabbit I want to be perceived by other people as “smart pants”; and from time to time I have the same pessimistic view on my life as Eeyore does. I would definitely like to be more like Pooh and enjoy myself the way I am and don’t try to gain control over things I cannot change.

I think it is quite possible to live like Taoists in our western world, although there would definitely be some problems. Taoism teaches to relax and accept things as they come, but in our modern competitive society it would be tough to do, because while following this approach you’ll simply be left with nothing. However, if everyone followed the principle of loving oneself there wouldn’t be problems with alcohol, drugs, anorexia, etc. I may sum everything up by saying that Taoism truly shows the way to inner happiness, but for me acceptance of things as they are without trying to change them leads to moral degradation as there is no strive for improvement.