Abstract

"Time, and in particular timelessness, plays a key role in Daoism, both in its more speculative and practical dimensions. This book explores different aspects of its vision in close comparison with other thinkers, religions, and cultures. It alternates presentations of a more theoretical, speculative nature with those that focus on concrete life situations, discussing in turn issues of personal perception, philosophical speculation, visual representation, self-cultivation, and meaning in life. Contributors explore the psychological potentials of time perception, examine what exactly constitutes a situation, outline Daoism's holistic worldview, compare Laozi and Plotinus, and examine Daoist versus Greek geometric models of the cosmos. They further study the role of Daoist notions in New Wave Taiwanese cinema, relate Daoist ideas to modern thinkers and its cultivation techniques to Zen Buddhism, trace the relevance of the Yijing to the Jungian concept of synchronicity, and explore the problem of boredom and predictability in prolongevity and immortality. The book as a whole offers a wide range of topics and perspectives, engaging with new materials while stimulating innovative insights and opening new avenues of exploration. A must for all interested in the nature of Daoism, issues of time, and comparative philosophy"--