A Warrior Blends with Life:
A Modern Tao
by Michael LaTorra
June 24, 1993
North Atlantic Books
order
here
Tao Te Ching, or The Classic of the Way and its Virtue, is considered to contain the
essence of Taoism. For 2,500 years, this book has been a major influence on Chinese thought, shifting it from a preoccupation
with Confucian rules of day-to-day conduct to concern with a more spiritual level of being. Author Michael LaTorra's training
in internal martial arts and his understanding of the new physics influence his reading of the Tao Te Ching, grappling with
the vicissitudes of contemporary culture and the ever-shifting nature of reality.
Clear, concise advice on how to implement the Tao
into everyday life. Very helpful on the Path of Awareness. Highly recommended!
—Paul Schroder
I've read many spirituality books and
this one is very good. It contains advice you'll find elsewhere like "keep everything simple," advice often attributed to Taoism.
It also contains Latorra's interesting interpretations of the Tao Te Ching such as "when there are free markets, the people's needs
are met." But by far my favorite part of the book are the very beginning and very end. It tells Lao-tzu's story of leaving the
palace on an ox and meeting a guard at the edge of Chinese territory when he gave the guard the Tao-teh-ching. I plan to buy
a copy of this book for my taoist sister for her birthday. Latorra also has comments about the afterlife about a paradisaical
earthlike realm where people still live and die, one realm lower than heaven but 6 realms higher than earth. The story of the
guard is continued at the end of the book to a beautiful conclusion. In my own conclusion, I recommend this book highly.
—Hadar Shapir
