Forget 'embracing yourself' or 'finding yourself', say the authors of this thought-provoking and stimulating work.The book employs the teachings of Chinese philosophers of 2000 years ago, such as Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Xunzi to show us a path through our complicated lives, help us conduct our relationships, face our mortality and generally make more sense of it all. They carry an admirable modesty, acknowledging that all the beliefs outlined in the book may not necessarily be taken on board by all its readers.
Well aware that the popular view of the above-named Chinese thinkers is as 'placid wise men who spouted benign platitudes about harmony and nature,' the authors want to correct their seeming remoteness from our times.
Our values, our social networking and technology, our assumptions may appear to be totally different - more sophisticated and evolved even - but this is superficial gloss. The authors posit a number of myths that they duly reject, myths listed in three chapter headings as follows: We Live in an Age of Freedom Unlike Any Other; We Know How to Determine the Direction Our Lives Will Take; and The Truth of Who We Are Lies Within Us.
These, it seems are not useful mantras. Puett and Gross-Loh argue, moreover, that many of us carry Calvinistic or Protestant ideas of pre-destination about how we plan our lives, be it finding a job, a life partner, thinking big, in other words. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, FD Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan clearly thought big, but they all used positions of weakness effectively - as indeed did Rosa Parks and Gandhi - which made those three US presidents 'perfect Laozian sages,' according to this intriguing 200-page book.
Paddy Kehoe
