The Te of Piglet - Benjamin Hoff

This book was an interesting read. Before reading this I didn't know much about Taoism or about the Chinese culture. I still don't know much, but I have a small glimpse. This book related the ideals of Taoism through the characters of Winnie the Pooh, specifically Piglet. Piglet symbolizes the Virtue of the Small, an important aspect of Taoist beliefs. I definitley appreciated the overlying analogy through familiar characters. I think I was able to pick up on a lot more than I would have otherwise. And, I think a lot can be learned about people in general by reading this book. The virtues and characteristics of each Winnie the Pooh character, and their perspectives on the world, can be related to the people in my life, especially myself.

I definitely recommend this book. It is the sequel to The Tao of Pooh. I want to read that too.

Here are some quotes:

If one wants positive results, one must be positive, and that goodness persistently applied will always triumph over evil, even though it may seem to take a good deal of time doing so.

Transforming negative into positive, you work with whatever comes your way. If others throw bricks at you, build a house. If they throw tomatoes, start a vegetable stand. You can often change a situation simply by changing your attitude toward it. For example, a Traffic Jam can be turned into an Opportunity to Think, or Converse, or Read, or Write a Letter. When we give up our images of self-importance and our ideas of what should be, we can help things become what they need to be.

Is "good" necessarily good? is "bad" necessarily bad? It's considered good to be beautiful, but many people through being beautiful have ruined their lives and the lives of others. It's considered bad to be unattractive, but because of being unattractive, many have come to concern themselves with matters more important than surface appearance and have gone on to make something Special of themselves - in quite a few cases becoming Beautiful in the process....Unattractiveness, illness, and weakness have many valuable lessons to teach to those willing to learn from them.