PDF Summary:The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff

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The second man, Buddha, shows a bitter reaction to the vinegar. Buddhists believe that a being must rise above their earthly desires to attain a state of Nirvana. They contend that the modern world is full of traps and illusions that draw people in and lead to pain. The essence of life is bitter from society’s obsession with the pursuit of personal satisfaction and subsequent suffering.

The third man, Lao-tse, the author of the oldest book on Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, shows a happy reaction to the vinegar. For Taoists, there is harmony between heaven and earth at all times that is readily found by anyone at any moment.

Lao-tse sees Confucianism as laws run by men, which disrupts the natural laws of the heavens that mirror back to the earth. The more human interference with the natural state of things, the more distance created between humans and the harmony of the universe. Life becomes sour when you try to manipulate nature and ignore the natural order of life.

Lao-tse sees Buddhism as an unnecessarily negative perspective of the world. Rather than providing traps that lead to pain, the world is full of opportunities for lessons that teach you how to live in...

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Pooh illustrates two principles of the Uncarved Block: 1) a willingness to be spontaneous and the ability to be successful in those spontaneous endeavors and 2) the state of accepting things for what they are.

For instance, Pooh and Piglet were sitting around deciding who to go visit one morning. Pooh suggested they visit everyone, but Piglet thought they should have a reason for visiting. Pooh came up with a reason—it was Thursday. They could simply go around wishing everyone a happy Thursday. Piglet had to admit that even though Pooh doesn’t have much Brain, things always turn out right for him.

The Problem with Knowledge

In the world of Pooh, Owl represents the Brain, or scholar. In Chinese culture, the scholar is the embodiment of knowledge and signifies the way of Confucianism. The scholar seeks knowledge simply for the sake of having it and guards it closely. The knowledge is disseminated to the general public using pretentious or overwrought language to create distance between the reader and the information. If we can’t understand what the scholar is saying, they can remain superior and unchallenged. The priority is to prove their own intelligence, not...

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2. Everyone has limitations.

Your limitations or weaknesses can be blessings when you acknowledge them. When you recognize and understand your limitations, you can work with them in the right way to make them beneficial and turn them into strengths. In contrast, ignoring limitations creates trouble for you and everyone around you. When you force yourself in directions or situations you aren’t designed for, you disrupt the natural order of life, which has ripple effects.

An example from the world of Pooh is Tigger’s assertion that tiggers are capable of anything. Tigger tells Roo that he can climb trees better than Pooh, and to demonstrate, he climbs to the top of a tall tree. But once in the tree, he is unable to come down and gets stuck. Everyone else must come and risk their safety to help Tigger get down from the tree.

Acknowledging limitations doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of rising above them. But you must be realistic about what you have to start with. For instance, if you are physically weak, you can grow stronger through any number of activities. But you must accept the present limitations of your muscles to know the right path to move down.

The Chinese...

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Pooh and Piglet’s birthday presents for Eeyore are good examples of how following the path before you can lead to unexpected satisfaction.

When Pooh discovered it was Eeyore’s birthday, he went home to find a suitable present. Piglet also wanted to give Eeyore something and went home to find something special. Pooh decided the best present was a jar of honey, so he grabbed one and set off toward Eeyore’s house. But along the way, Pooh started to feel hungry. He sat down and was relieved that he’d thought to bring a jar of honey with him. He ate the whole jar of honey before he remembered why he’d brought it in the first place. Instead of panicking, Pooh decided the jar was still a good gift and stopped to have Owl inscribe it with the words “A Very Happy Birthday.”

Piglet had decided to give Eeyore a balloon left over from a previous party. He secured the balloon against his chest to make sure it didn’t fly off and ran all the way to Eeyore’s, wanting to beat Pooh there so it would seem like he’d remembered on his own. His mind was so filled with the gratitude Eeyore would show him that he didn’t see a hole in the ground. He tripped and landed on the balloon,...

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How the History of the Backson Affects the Present

The first-known Backsons were the Puritans, who landed in the New World and set about manipulating it in every way possible. They worked tirelessly to cultivate the vast land for agriculture, but their efforts failed. They were close to starvation before the native residents helped them learn to farm according to the cycles of nature. Although things got better, this Backson society could not sit still during the off season, and they continued to force the land to bend to their will.

Centuries later, the result of manipulating this once naturally fertile land using chemical stimulants is fruits and vegetables that have no flavor and a small amount of nutritional value. What would have happened if the Backsons had viewed the land as beautiful and rich and found a way to live with it harmoniously?

From this group, a line of descendants grew under this standard of work to conquer and receive their just rewards. We see this ideology at play in modern society, where many do not see the world as a friendly place full of natural power. Instead, the world is a place to continue conquering, and anything or anyone that gets in...

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Tz’u, or Caring and Compassion

Taoists refer to this belief in oneself as Tz’u. This belief comes from the heart, and as Lao-tse wrote in the Tao Te Ching, the “heart” is the first gift from which courage and wisdom grow. We all have the ability to be happy and use our gifts effectively. Some of us just choose not to. This decision is likely influenced by knowledge and cleverness, which come from the brain, not the heart, so they do not involve compassion. A lack of compassion equals a lack of wisdom, and a lack of wisdom equals a lack of courage.

When you are courageous enough to believe you are special and capable of living harmoniously with the world, you’ll stop seeking outside validation. You’ll believe in the goodness of your power and no longer feel the need to compete. This is the first step in the Tiddely Pom Principle, for as Lao-tse wrote, “A thousand-mile journey starts with one step.”

Wisdom, joy, and bravery are not distant concepts standing at the end of a long tunnel. They are immediately available as soon as you choose to start living with them. If you want to be happy, you must be grateful for what you have and who you are. If you want respect,...

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Lao-tse said, “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” To truly start a journey toward wisdom, you must allow the mind to clear so the avenues to its other powers can be revealed. Therefore, the path to wisdom is the path of nothing.

Think about your last big idea, something others might refer to as a “stroke of genius.” Where did the idea come from? Likely, if you trace it all the way back to the beginning, you’ll find it came from nothing. Most of these revolutionary ideas are not born from laboring over information. They come during moments when you forgot to be thinking about something else, like when you first wake up. But you don’t have to wait for these moments to sneak up on you. You can create them intentionally using the childlike mind.

The Childlike Mind

The goal of the childlike mind is to allow the brain to achieve the same freedom it had when you were curious and observant. As a child, you didn’t know enough to structure the world into knowledge capsules, so you were open to playing and learning with abandon. When you moved into adulthood, you used your experiences, abilities, education, and social...

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Each of us has the Clever Rabbit, Scholarly Owl, Negative Eeyore, and Simple Pooh inside. We typically give the rabbit and owl space to play until we become unsatisfied; then, we complain like Eeyore. This process leads to nothing useful.

If you want to be truly wise and happy, you must become Pooh, seeing the world through a childlike wonder. That attitude may be difficult to locate, but if you can, you will find your way through the forest.