Carry Tiger to Mountain: The Tao te Ching for Activists

Description

"Stephen Legault's marvelous ability to connect the experiences of the present leaders of social causes with the wisdom of the ancients shows us all that there is a passage through the often-seeming[ly] insurmountable obstacles of the present, a way that enables all who care to be successful in their personal and professional lives."—Brock Evans This fascinating and useful book is a modern-day interpretation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching for social activists and leaders within various activist movements in western civil society. It's a thoughtful examination of how the Tao, and Taoist thought, might be applied to the challenges, conflicts, and obstacles that activists and concerned citizens face as they fight contemporary battles regarding such issues as poverty, workers' rights, environmentalism, freedom of expression, gender and sexual equality, and social justice. The book also includes a verse-by-verse interpretation of the Tao te Ching's 81 "chapters"; the Tao te Ching is one of the most important historical works of Chinese philosophy, and is the basis of Taoism (or Daoism). Carry Tiger to Mountain is a timely book about the role of spirituality in activism in the twenty-first century, and how we—not only activists per se, but those for whom issues of social and political justice are important—can forge new paths in their daily struggles to make the world a better place, and at the same time restore personal balance to their lives. Includes an introduction by Dr. Jim Butler, a political activist for the past 30 years who is also a Buddhist monk.