James Miller. Daoism A Short Introduction. (Oxford: Oneworld Publications 2003). Pp. xviii+174. ISBN 1-85168-315-1, £11.99/ US$17.95 

Italian translation by M. Ghilardi. Daoismo: una introduzione. (Roma: Fazi editore 2005). xiv+234. ISBN 8-88112-604-4. €13

Republished as Daoism: A Beginner's Guide (Oxford: Oneworld Publications 2008).

From the Preface

Daoism is an organised religious tradition that has been continuously developing and transforming itself through China Korea and Japan for over two thousand years. Now it has spread around the globe from Sidney to Toronto and includes among its followers people from a whole range of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Day by day, Daoism is truly becoming a world religion, but as it does so, it seems to resist being pinned down in neat categories. Not many people know what Daoism is, and when people do have an understanding of it, often it is quite different from someone else’s. One reason for this is that the history of Daoism is a marvellous history of continuous change rather than a linear progress or development. Daoism has no single founder, such as Jesus or the Buddha, nor does it have a single key message, such as the gospel or the four noble truths. Rather Daoism bears witness to a history of continuous self-invention within a vast diversity of environmental contexts.

In fact the human experience of change or transformation in our bodies and in the world around us lies at the heart of the Daoist experience in much the same way that faith in an eternal, unchanging deity lies at the heart of the Jewish-Christian-Islamic religious system. Whereas Western religionists seek to place their trust in an unchanging and invisible stability that somehow transcends the fleeting experience of time, Daoists recognize and celebrate the profound and mysterious creativity within the very fabric of time and space itself.

The most influential Daoist text, Daode jing (Scripture of the Way and its Power, c. 4th century B.C.E.) names this mysterious creativity “Dao”, which can be translated quite straightforwardly as “way” or “path.” The first line of the standard version of the text enigmatically warns, however, that “Dao can be spoken of, [but it is] not the constant Dao.” No wonder, then, that Daoism has taken a vast array of forms within the East Asian cultural context. This book is a short introduction to Daoism that takes seriously the task of naming the Dao, all the while acknowledging the constant change that continues to take place within Daoism. The way I have chosen to do this is to settle on eight keywords or fundamental themes that I believe lie at the heart of Daoism in its various cultural and historical forms. In each chapter I focus on one of these themes using it as a lens or a spotlight to illuminate a key aspect of the Daoist tradition.

Table of Contents

• Historical Introduction
  Proto Daoism
  Classical Daoism
  Contemporary Daoism

1. Identity
   Daoism as Chinese religion
   Daoism as lineages of transmission
   Daoism as universal path
2. Way
   Way
   Power
   Communication
3. Body
   Qi: The breath of life
   Correlation, synchronicity and resonance
   Longevity practices
   Transcendent bodies
4. Power
   Daoism millenarianism
   Daoist messianism
   Daoism in contemporary China
   Negotiating with destiny
5. Light
   The development of Shangqing Daoism
   Light practices
   Contemporary visualization practices
6. Alchemy
   Alchemy and the quest for immortality
   Laboratory alchemy
   Internal alchemy
   The Way of Complete Perfection
   Transformation
7. Text
   The religious origins and functions of Daoist texts
   Transformations of meaning in Daoist texts
8. Nature
   Natural space as sacred space
   Marvellous nature
   Caverns and texts
   A Daoist aesthetic of spontaneity

• Glossary of Chinese Terms
• Bibliography
• Index

Reviews of Daoism: A Short Introduction

"As the preface explains, the book is intended largely for college students, and Miller’s presentation is clearly shaped by the author’s classroom experience regarding questions and concerns raised by students encountering Daoism for the first time. For example, Miller observes that “Daoists construct their ways of being religious in quite different ways than we might expect” (x). The work is filled with useful heuristic generalizations regarding such differences, such as the following: “the human experience of change or transformation in our bodies and in the world around us lies at the heart of the Daoist experience in much the same way that faith in an eternal, unchanging deity lies at the heart of the Jewish-Christian-Islamic religious system” (ix). Teachers and students of comparative religion will thus find here an excellent starting point for looking at Daoism as today’s scholars now understand it. ... [A]s a comprehensive “short introduction,” this nuanced and well-informed book succeeds extremely well." Russell Kirkland, University of Georgia, in Daoist Studies (Internet: December 2, 2004).

"His stated goal is not only to introduce Daoism generally, but “specifically to introduce what it means to someone, like myself, who lives in the twenty-first century Western cultural context” (p. x). Indeed, one of the strengths of this work is its discussion of the interplay between the history of Daoism and contemporary Western attempts to make use of Daoist ideas and practices. ... The structure of the book makes it relatively easy to use as a classroom text. It does not have to be read in a linear fashion, and so it will work well as a supplement to primary texts and lectures regardless of the order in which various themes are discussed. It will also be a good tool for leading students away from popular one-dimensional views of Daoism." Erin Cline, Baylor University, in Journal of Chinese Philosophy 31.4 (December 2004): 547-9.

"This book has a host of strengths, not the least being its combination of brevity and thoroughness. Writing such a book is not easy and Miller has done us all a great favor. Although he eschews an historical approach to his subject, Miller’s “Historical Introduction” (just over fourteen pages) is excellent by itself and I can easily see instructors using it when covering Daoism in “world religions” surveys.... Overall Miller’s Daoism: A Short Introduction is excellent and I am eager to try it out. Reading it has also stimulated new ideas for my own scholarly explorations – something I did not expect from an introductory text." John M. Thompson, Christopher Newport University, in Teaching Theology and Religion 8.2: 123-4.

James Miller. Daoism A Short Introduction. (Oxford: Oneworld Publications 2003). Pp. xviii+174. ISBN 1-85168-315-1, £11.99/ US$17.95