Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet, The: The principles of Taoism demonstrated by Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-10 05:51:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Benjamin Hoff
- ISBN：1405293772
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Is there such thing as a Western Taoist？ Benjamin Hoff says there is， and this Taoist's favorite food is honey。 Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and his companions， the author of this smash bestseller explains with ease and aplomb that rather than being a distant and mysterious concept， Taoism is as near and practical to us as our morning breakfast bowl。 Romp through the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh while soaking up invaluable lessons on simplicity and natural living。
Reviews
Maian
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Absolutely loved this one！
OG Garbage Tea
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3。8/5Two books into one。 Two different levels of enjoyment as well。First book The Tao of Pooh was borderline phenomenal。 Mixing Pooh in to explain Taoism is such a creative and ingenious idea。 It was enlightening， fun， cute， and important。 The second book however。 The Te of Piglet。 Was Garbage。 To say it Nicely。There are three of my friends that want to read this book。 I am telling each one of them to just read the Tao of Pooh part and ignore the Te of Piglet。
Brice Sewell
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The Tao of Pooh （4 stars）: Humorous introduction to the basic tenets of Taoism through children's literature and witty comparisons to modern life。 By no means a comprehensive dive into the belief system and its current forms， it prepares the reader to seek more for themselves。 A wonderful read for one new to the area。The Te of Piglet （2 stars）: Clearly a later addition that "piggy" backs off the first installment （originally conceived as a standalone）。 While the author's voice comes through much The Tao of Pooh （4 stars）: Humorous introduction to the basic tenets of Taoism through children's literature and witty comparisons to modern life。 By no means a comprehensive dive into the belief system and its current forms， it prepares the reader to seek more for themselves。 A wonderful read for one new to the area。The Te of Piglet （2 stars）: Clearly a later addition that "piggy" backs off the first installment （originally conceived as a standalone）。 While the author's voice comes through much more clearly than in Pooh， this is with the sacrifice of primary source comparisons。 There are moments when the author's voice becomes a bit too clear where he posits his personal opinions with little relation to Taoist principles。 。。。more
Zoe Marras
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The Tao of Pooh was mainly lovely and heartwarming with simple messages about just being。 The Te of Piglet however， although lovely in parts， mainly seemed to be dismissive of beloved characters Eeyore & Tigger and their traits。 It seemed to fail to consider that Eeyores and Tiggers also have an important place in the world。 It also felt like a bit of a telling off to humans for using microwaves and a lecture on global warming and all that is economically wrong with the world。 These parts， altho The Tao of Pooh was mainly lovely and heartwarming with simple messages about just being。 The Te of Piglet however， although lovely in parts， mainly seemed to be dismissive of beloved characters Eeyore & Tigger and their traits。 It seemed to fail to consider that Eeyores and Tiggers also have an important place in the world。 It also felt like a bit of a telling off to humans for using microwaves and a lecture on global warming and all that is economically wrong with the world。 These parts， although accurate， made for a bit of a gloomy read and I mainly chose this book to feel enlightened。 Perhaps I should just read an actual Winnie the Pooh book。 。。。more
Lai Thu
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Some concepts are arguable， of course unavoidable for a kinda-philosophy book， but for the most parts its still peaceful and calm。 The great Philosopher Winnie the Pooh never fails to comfort me， and the book to me deserves a solid 5-star。
Elvera
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Everything was so on target with this book。 Good job， Benjamin Hoff。
Reviews by Kasandra
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Really good read， love the concept。
Guardian Yang
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Very cute portrayal of interaction between author and Pooh！
F。 Lugo
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I encourage everyone to read it， you'll be surprised。 I encourage everyone to read it， you'll be surprised。 。。。more
Noah Oanh
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This book arrives at the right time after I just finished re-reading Tao Te Ching （ LAOdsuh）。 It reminds me how to appreciate， learn from and work with whatever happens in everyday life。 From the Taoist point of view， the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness。 And Winnie the Pooh has a certain ways of doing things which seems strangely close to the ancient principles of Taoist philosophy。 Pooh does many silly things in his life， but they turn out alright at the end。 Just l This book arrives at the right time after I just finished re-reading Tao Te Ching （ LAOdsuh）。 It reminds me how to appreciate， learn from and work with whatever happens in everyday life。 From the Taoist point of view， the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness。 And Winnie the Pooh has a certain ways of doing things which seems strangely close to the ancient principles of Taoist philosophy。 Pooh does many silly things in his life， but they turn out alright at the end。 Just like an uncarved Block， he comes to enjoy the simple， quiet， natural and the plain。 Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work， odd as they may appear to other at times。 They are not using BIG WORDS， or trying to be SUPERIOR。 Keep Things are as they are。 In other words， everything has its own place and function。 When you know and respect your own Inner Nature， you know where you belong and don't belong。 A fly cant bird but a bird can fly。 One man's food is often another man's poison。 Once you face and understand your limitations you can work with them， instead of having them to work against you。 Your limitation can be your strengths。 The book reminds me about Wu Wei， means no going against the nature of things and we will operate on the principal of minimal effort。 Try to hard it wont work。 Enjoy the process， enjoy our surroundings and appreciate being alive。 All of us can enjoy life， some just don't。 The hardest part of the practice I think is keeping your mind clear and become a child again。 The Wise are Children who Know。 Their minds have been emptied of the countless minutes something of small learning， and filled with the wisdom of Great Nothing， the Way of Universe。 That is the first book about Pooh。 The second book I think it is less interesting for me because it did focus more on negative parts of life especially life in America which brought some bad vibe to the second part。 But I guess what writer try to do - try to turn negative to positive， try to embrace the underdogs， the weakness， the sensitives， the smalls in life just like our Piglet。 Our Piglet - who craves for security， who wants to be somebody， may appears the least significant of Pooh characters。 Yet he is the only one who grow and change to better。 Not like Eeyore's who is always afraid and don't want to look stupid， only see what they want to see。 Writer is true to say that modern's man difficulties， dangerous beliefs， feelings of loneliness， spiritual emptiness， personal weakness are caused by his illusions。And is it good necessarily good？ and is it bad necessarily bad？ Bad things could be gift to help us grow， problems to solve， situations to learn to avoid， habits to change， conditions to accept， lesson to learn。 things to transform。 Many societies observes that being Sensitive， Modest， Small is weak but it is not。 If you know yourself well it is definitely your strength not weakness。 Your Happiness depends on your Attitude towards things。 That is it。 。。。more
Dante Kraus
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From the very beginning of Winnie-The-Pooh: The Tao of Pooh & the Te of Piglet you are caught up in this ride and you never really knew what was going to happen next but knew whatever it was it was going to be exciting。。。
Chris Smith
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3。5 stars。A wonderful and insightful book on brilliant life lessons demonstrated through the story of Pooh， Piglet and friends。
Jovana
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An uplifting， inspiring and easy to read book。 4 stars for the "ranty" The Te of Piglet。 An uplifting， inspiring and easy to read book。 4 stars for the "ranty" The Te of Piglet。 。。。more
Sena
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Too much Pooh not enough Taoism。 Well， the premise is very cute: Benjamin Hoff claims that Winnie the Pooh- the hunny eating silly old bear of Hundred Acre Woods- is one of the great Western Taoist masters， and he tries to back it up passages from the Pooh books。 The analogies are nice。 Pooh is natural and simple， he's chill， he goes with the flow， his actions are effortless and unforced。 And some of the bits of Hoff's wisdom （Pooh's wisdom？） I really enjoyed。 When you discard arrogance， complex Too much Pooh not enough Taoism。 Well， the premise is very cute: Benjamin Hoff claims that Winnie the Pooh- the hunny eating silly old bear of Hundred Acre Woods- is one of the great Western Taoist masters， and he tries to back it up passages from the Pooh books。 The analogies are nice。 Pooh is natural and simple， he's chill， he goes with the flow， his actions are effortless and unforced。 And some of the bits of Hoff's wisdom （Pooh's wisdom？） I really enjoyed。 When you discard arrogance， complexity， and a few other things that get in the way， sooner or later you will discover that simple， childlike， and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun。 The Confusionist， Dessicated Scholar is one who studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge， and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group， writing pompous and pretentious papers that no one else can understand， rather than working for the enlightenment of others。 （That hits a bit too close to home。 *Glances at pending paper reviews nervously。*）What can be just as hard to see as problems-in-the-making is that a good many "problems" aren't really problems to begin with。 People who don't see situations for what they are often struggle against difficulties that aren't there and create difficulties in the process。 Or turn small difficulties into large ones。 。。。 As the Chinese saying puts it， "Painting legs on the snake。" Gotta love Chinese sayings。 Alas， there are some passages that make one think Benjamin Hoff is a bit on the crazy side。 Despite the fact that quite a few people have seen and communicated with earth angles and nature spirits， and that more than one spiritual community has grown luscious fruits and vegetables by cooperating with them and following their instructions， descriptions of these beings are generally dismissed as "fairy tales。" And a lot of the time， he doesn't really come across as someone who knows in detail what he's talking about。 Like this part with microwaves:The latest Popular Radiation devices is the Microwave Oven， which bombards food with high-frequency electromagnetic radiation， irritating it until it heats up。 This sort of Perversion of Nature is perfectly safe， authorities insist- if it weren't， the Wonderful Machines wouldn't be on the market。 Maybe the authorities are correct this time， just for once。 On the other hand， maybe they're not。 So he's angry at microwaves for being Perversions of Nature （I adore how that's Capitalised）。 He's angry at them for heating up food too quickly。 But that's not even my biggest problem with these books。 My biggest complaint is this: I feel like I haven't learned much。 And I actually really wanted to。（Maybe i am an Owl？） I don't feel enlightened much either。 （Am I a Piglet？ Am I an Eeyore？） Maybe I should have tried Tao Te Ching instead of Tao of Pooh。 。。。more
Ross
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First book was enjoyable and serene。 Second was disjointed and seemed to be a preachy tirade of opinion。
Liever
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Een fijne aangename en vrolijke kennismaking met taoïsme
Emily
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Tao of Pooh thoroughly enjoyable。 Learned about Taoism。 Had a very peaceful cadence。 The Te of Piglet I did not finish。 Perhaps too much reading them back to back。
Alyssa
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I really enjoyed The Tao of Pooh and recommended it to several people — but I'll be embarrassed if they read The Te of Piglet on my recommendation。 While the first book was probably simplistic， it did convey some very useful ideas in a delightful way。 The second book， however， was apparently Hoff's 1990s twitter account of angst and failure to empathize with anyone who wasn't him。 I really enjoyed The Tao of Pooh and recommended it to several people — but I'll be embarrassed if they read The Te of Piglet on my recommendation。 While the first book was probably simplistic， it did convey some very useful ideas in a delightful way。 The second book， however， was apparently Hoff's 1990s twitter account of angst and failure to empathize with anyone who wasn't him。 。。。more
Bree Taylor
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I finished the Tao of Pooh and was incredibly uplifted and ready to give this book five stars。 I texted the person who gifted it to me and shared my amazement and how much I loved this book。And then I read the Te of Piglet。 Which was less spiritual and childlike and more a collection of quotes from spiritual leaders and Winnie the Pooh than anything else。 I struggled to find a common thread other than "industrialism is bad and the western world has killed the planet。" Odd considering the book wa I finished the Tao of Pooh and was incredibly uplifted and ready to give this book five stars。 I texted the person who gifted it to me and shared my amazement and how much I loved this book。And then I read the Te of Piglet。 Which was less spiritual and childlike and more a collection of quotes from spiritual leaders and Winnie the Pooh than anything else。 I struggled to find a common thread other than "industrialism is bad and the western world has killed the planet。" Odd considering the book was published almost 30 years ago and the descriptions felt like they could have been written about the last four years。It's a tough omnibus to review。Tao of Pooh - 5 stars。Te of Piglet - 3 stars （rounded up from 2。5） 。。。more
Chris Drake
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This is a combination of two books。 The first （the Tao of Pooh） is genuinely enjoyable and thought provoking。 Unfortunately， the second （the Te of Piglet） feels more like the author felt he had an axe to grind against some aspects of western culture rather than teaching the more positive Taoist principles。 Still some interesting ideas， but not as strong as the first book。
Birgit
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Maybe my English was to bad for this， or it isn't that easily described。。。I may give it another try sometimes later。 Maybe my English was to bad for this， or it isn't that easily described。。。I may give it another try sometimes later。 。。。more
Patsy
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This is a fun and encouraging book！ I love how the author has conversations with Piglet， Winnie-the-Pooh， Eeyore， Rabbit， Owl， and Kanga。 Benjamin Hoff has great insights about positivity， spirituality， and how to better care for our environment。 I am not sure this would give you enough solid information about this book， but being a lover of all the Pooh characters， I found it funny， delightful， and profound for myself。
Katherine
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The first part（book， there’s two in one here） was cute and playful and easy to follow along。 I really lost traction halfway through the te of piglet， it felt less insightful and more just filling the page with words。
Punia
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Made good use of Pooh characters to explain Taoism in an easily understandable way。 As a Pooh fan， absolutely love the excerpts and pictures contained from A。A。 Milne's original works。 There were charming and encouraging quotes to help us reflect on life in a different way:1。 The Pooh Way: Let it go and let it be。 2。 Embrace difference: "A fly can't bird， but a bird can fly"。 3。 Slow down and be present。 However， the author seems to have made quite a bit of assumptions and complaints about the w Made good use of Pooh characters to explain Taoism in an easily understandable way。 As a Pooh fan， absolutely love the excerpts and pictures contained from A。A。 Milne's original works。 There were charming and encouraging quotes to help us reflect on life in a different way:1。 The Pooh Way: Let it go and let it be。 2。 Embrace difference: "A fly can't bird， but a bird can fly"。 3。 Slow down and be present。 However， the author seems to have made quite a bit of assumptions and complaints about the way how the Western modern society works （especially in the Te of Piglet） and generalised too much the ideas in Taosim and use it against certain groups of people say intellectuals and people who enjoy being busy （based on my limited learning from school） and might have painted a few of Pooh characters quite negatively :（ 。。。more
Thea
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Enjoyed this book 😊
Heather
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4 stars for The Tao of Pooh， 2 stars for The Te of Piglet （which was a political rant - so different from the prior book）。
Penny
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I would have given The Tao of Pooh 5 stars and the Te of Piglet 2 stars。 The former is timeless and the latter is already dated。
Rebeca Ravara
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it was really good， with all the excerpts and explanations， it mad the whole idea of taoism very clearly expressed to me which I loved。 i like to read books in which I do not feel as if I am inferior to the writer， and Hoff clearly wanted to make that one of his priorities。 all of the concrete examples were perfect， and the references to original Taoist philosophers really helped me understand fully each principle。 the idea to mix it in with winnie and piglet was adorable， and I could really rel it was really good， with all the excerpts and explanations， it mad the whole idea of taoism very clearly expressed to me which I loved。 i like to read books in which I do not feel as if I am inferior to the writer， and Hoff clearly wanted to make that one of his priorities。 all of the concrete examples were perfect， and the references to original Taoist philosophers really helped me understand fully each principle。 the idea to mix it in with winnie and piglet was adorable， and I could really relate to piglet。 i had a wonderful time reading this， however， I do feel it was quite biased against any other philosphy/religion， and it put itself up on a high horse as if to say Taoism is 100000x better than any other philosophy， to which I was like ok queen calm down。 either way， loved it， thank u so much my dear solomon 。。。more
Lisa
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Enjoyed Tao of Pooh， well written， with a rather positive outlook。 Te of piglet， writing felt rather disjointed with the stories and examples being really extended and amost abruptly inserted。 Difficult to finish and message/s were harder to appreciate。
Jonson Chong
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