Benjamin Hoff
Benjamin Hoff
Benjamin Hoffis an American author. He is best known as the author of The Tao of Poohand The Te of Piglet. In 2006, he denounced the publishing industry and announced his resignation from book-writing. His book, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, won the American Book Award in 1988...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
animal men people
Whether many people realize it yet or not, man, the Inferior Animal, has by now proved himself incapable of keeping his own species - and others - alive for very much longer. So the earth has begun its own plan to set things right.
animal men perfect
In the Age of Perfect Virtue, men lived among the animals and birds as members of one large family. There were no distinctions between superior and inferior to separate one man or species from another. All retained their natural Virtue and lived in a state of pure simplicity.
moving reality men
But down through the centuries, man has developed a mind that separates him from the world of reality, the world of natural laws. This mind tries too hard, wears itself out, and ends up weak and sloppy. Such a mind, even if of high intelligence, is inefficient. It drives down the street in a fast-moving car and thinks its at the store, going over a grocery list. Then it wonders why accidents occur.
men tree shadow
There was a man that hated his footprints and his shadow, so one day he thought that if he ran fast enough, his footprints and shadow would not be able to follow him and then he never ever had to look at them again. He ran and he ran as fast as he could, but the shadow and the footprints had no problems keeping up to him. And he ran even faster and all of a sudden he fell dead to the ground. But if he been standing still there hadn't been any footprints and if he had been resting under a tree his shadow had been swallowed of the trees shadow.
spiritual loneliness men
Modern man's difficulties, dangerous beliefs and feelings of loneliness, spiritual emptiness,and personal weakness are caused by his illusions about, and separation from, the natural world.
american-author began book explained principles
That was when I began to get an idea: to write a book that explained the principles of Taoism through Winnie-the-Pooh, and explained Winnie-the-Pooh through the principles of Taoism.
american-author basic concerned happens learning particular simply whatever
But the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life.
spiritual clubs infinite
The Infinite Universal Power is more than just a narrow-minded gatekeeper to a spiritual County Club.
summer ocean ice
A well-frog cannot imagine the ocean, nor can a summer insect conceive of ice. How then can a scholar understand the Tao? He is restricted by his own learning.
thinking things-in-life rainbow
Those who think that the rewarding things in life are somewhere over the rainbow 'burn their toast a lot,' said Pooh
attachment suffering desire
To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering.
believe use imitating-others
We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it.
taken drug relief
Practically everything from hairstyles to lifestyles is endorsed as some sort of drug to be taken Now for Instant Relief.
purpose phrases use
Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time.