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It’s been a tremendous blessing to read some of the incredibly deep and rich classic texts that left me truly inspired. I’ve regularly been significantly impressed with the depth of Daoist texts over the years. 1.) What are some favorite texts or group of advanced texts? 2.) What language should be studied to access this source material? 3.) Are there any recommended resources to learn the language within the spiritual context?

I would just like to start an archive of everyone's favorite sayings and so forth, as well as accompanying discussions and interpretations of them, how the lessons are applied to life, and why they're particularly your favorites. I apologize if there is already such a thread, and this may be merged with it, if so. One of my favorites is this story by Lieh Tzu- On the way to Song, Yang meets a man at the town of Ni. The man has two wives, one is very attractive and the other one is quite plain. But the man favors the not so attractive one. So Yang asks him why. The man answers:"The pretty one knows she is pretty. I don't. The plain one knows she is plain. I don't. A bad person knows he is bad. I don't." Yang says:"I will remember what you just said. The Saint behaves as a Saint, by his own volition." How does everyone see this? I also very much like the painting, The Vinegar Tasters. It perfectly shows how Tao's approach is starkly different to the other school's of thought.

I am beginning what some will call a difficult, yet rewarding goal. In the next year or so, I will be reading and writing on the well known "Dr.Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," known as The Harvard Classics. My goal is to finish 51 volumes in the next year. I hope is to use this Blog as my Journal, which will enable me to engage with my thoughts, ideas, confusions, logic, and analytical triumph in understanding these classics. Once I complete 51 volumes of "The Harvard Classics," I intend to dive into the Great Books also known as the "Great Books of the Western World." I know that there are many other important works of the Eastern Canon and other cultural importance's out there, which I intend to read, but I have to begin somewhere. I will write up a more in-depth summary of Dr.Eliot's "The Harvard Classics," and the Mortimer Adler's "The Great Books of the Western World," as I proceed to read,review,annotate and chew on these classics. I will proceed to write about each book,page and paragraph as I see fit. If you'd like more information, or simply looking to chat about these historical classics, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] This is a beginning of self-education and self-improvement and I hope you will join me. You can follow my journey on my Blog - http://www.leonbasin.blogspot.com