The Tao of Pooh

A short, playful introduction to Daoism that uses A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh as its teacher. Hoff writes himself into the book in conversation with Pooh, and sets Milne's stories beside passages from Laozi and Zhuangzi. It opens with the traditional painting known as The Vinegar Tasters, in which Confucius finds the vinegar sour, the Buddha finds it bitter and Laozi finds it sweet, as an image of the Daoist acceptance of life as it is. Pooh, simple and unhurried, stands for the Uncarved Block (pu), the natural state before cleverness and ambition. Other characters show what Daoism rejects: Owl's dry learning, Rabbit's cleverness and Eeyore's gloom. Chapters explain wu wei, acting without forcing; inner nature, through Milne's nonsense rhyme Cottleston Pie; and the restless Bisy Backson, always rushing to be somewhere else. Scholars treat the book as a loose popular reading of Daoism rather than an account of its history or texts.

It is a gentle, memorable first taste of Daoist ideas such as simplicity and effortless action, and a good bridge to reading the Daodejing itself.