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TOP 10 MYTHOLOGY BOOKS (HONORABLE MENTION: ZEN & TAO)

 

The sound of one hand clapping.

I don’t just have a top ten mythology books, or my usual twenty special mentions. I also have honorable mentions.

My usual rule is that I have no cap on the number of individual entries I can list as honorable mention for any given top ten if there are enough entries beyond my top ten or special mentions – and I tend to just list them in chronological or date order, usually date of publication for books.

However, for mythology books, I have some different rules, except the lack of any cap or numerical limit on honorable mention.

My primary rule is that I have honorable mentions for books in selected subjects of mythology, where there are enough entries for that subject (potentially racking them up for a top ten in that subject) – as here, with the subject of Zen Buddhism or Taoism.

And within the honorable mentions for a particular subject, I rank them in tier rankings and numerical sequence albeit with some degree of chronological or date order.

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

(1) LAO TZU – TAO TE CHING

 

If only there had been some law requiring any foundational religious text be written by its founder like a university exam – within a prescribed time limit of an hour, or two at most.

Surely that would eliminate much of the source of religious conflict, which at heart often seems to be wars of literary interpretation. My book is better than your book. All those long rambling religious texts – really, less is more. Of course, that would also eliminate most, if not almost all religious books – there goes the Bible for one .

But it would leave the Tao Te Ching, jotted down by its founder Laozi or Lao Tzu as a literal afterthought or postscript, at the request of a city sentry to record his wisdom for the good of the kingdom before being permitted to pass – and literally ride off into the sunset on a water buffalo because he was that awesome.

Of course, that is probably pure legend in every respect, including the historicity of Laozi himself, but who cares when it’s that cool? And it’s apt enough for the source of Taoism, with its emphases on living in balance, naturalness, spontaneity, simplicity and detachment from desire – particularly living in the moment and wu wei, or the art of doing nothing effectively.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

(2) DAISETZ SUZUKI – ZEN AND JAPANESE CULTURE

 

Zen and Japanese Culture was for Daisetz Suzuki, a lifelong student and teacher of Zen whose works popularized it in the West, his magnum opus – ” a classic that has influenced generations of readers and played a major role in shaping conceptions of Zen’s influence on Japanese traditional arts”. In it, he connects Zen to art, haiku, tea ceremonies and the Japanese love of nature – and above all to the philosophy of the samurai and swordsmanship. It is this last that particularly appeals to me, as I’ve always found swords to have a metaphorical resonance to life and how one lives it.

“Life is one long battle; we have to fight at every step…that if we succeed, it is at the point of the sword, and that we die with the weapon in our hand”

Or in my own words, I hold two swords – one in my hand and one in my heart.

 

RATING:
A-TIER (TOP TIER)