The Tao of Pooh

What Hacker News says

1. wjncOct 2026
   What a wise reflection and a powerful concept of 'moral accounting' as something to not hold on to. The Tao of Pooh has left my hands seconds ago. The 1983 paperback first edition, with yellow pages than smell of sweet old paper. Thank you for reminding me of that gem.

   The thing with loss and emotional maturing is that it is a long and painful process. To try to answer the question "Should a medical diagnosis reshape the past?":

   Yes, for all the love you have. Let it. Even if it's false. Narratives that help you find peace and understanding are what you need. Think deeply on that the position of the father /might/ be right, but even false can be a wise position. It is so unlikely that a mother held her child and not loved the child fully and with the intention to raise it right. Circumstances (medical, life, ...) can get in the way. But hold on to that intention.

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2. shaggie76Jul 2026
   This post immediately reminded me of the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (a charming introduction to Taoism). I think it's one of the rare books I've read more than twice and I highly recommend it.
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3. mikestewApr 2025
   The Tao of Pooh is awesome.

   (But holy crap, avoid the follow-up title, it redefines “off-the-rails” in comparison to the first book.)

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4. zer00eyzApr 2024
   Till you have spent time with a text from one of the "eastern schools of thought" you might naively see them as "religion".

   The problems is that they are more nuanced and complex than that. Hinduism, buhddism, Taoism are all lifestyles, thought processes, philosophys, self help, educational, informational... They dont fit in the neat little bucket that western thinking wants to put things in. This is one of those things that you wont find a satisfactory explanation for and needs to be experienced, consumed, lived rather than taught in a rote manner.

   I highly recommend that you start with something like Sidhartha by Herman Hesse, and maybe the Tao of Pooh as just a primer on how different these things are. Getting past the surface of hinduism is going to be a battle that would require not only some reading but engaging with actual hindus (who are almost always happy to share).

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5. everydayDonutAug 2023
   I've practiced mindfulness and meditation for many years until I found "The Tao of Pooh", which, if you're not familiar, outlines the basic tenets of taoism. It has completely changed me and made me feel whole for the first time in my life, and I don't have to practice anything to achieve it.

   Early on in my life I was drawn in by proverbs and other pieces of wisdom, in an attempt to fill in the gaps of what I thought was missing, to fix myself and make me feel whole. Then mindfulness presented itself to me and it gave me a feeling that everything just worked - it was simple and applied to everything; but I couldn't hold onto it. I wanted to just be, and be ok. Non-dual mindfulness felt like the answer to that problem, but while it sounded right in theory, I still felt that it was something I had to achieve or maintain.

   When I read The Tao of Pooh, everything clicked for me. I could be myself without trying. My whole life has become open-ended. It also helped me to understand something that always nagged at me - how could some people appear to be mindful from birth, without having read anything about mindfulness? - People who seemed to always grow and learn in a way that upends their nature continually (nature vs. nurture?), while I felt that there was always something I was missing.

   The answer(for me) was 2 things -an ability to see myself as whole, despite the capacity for personal growth; -and complete/lazy faith in my intuition.

   (Intuition being this kind of thing that everyone is born with - and so in my view, the only thing that could transcend the differences between every living being. The differences in access to teachings, wisdom, philosophies, religion, culture, etc.)

   I'm curious if anyone here has felt similar with meditation/mindfulness, or has had experience with both that and taoism and what that journey was like for you.

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6. dreadnipSep 2022
   The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac

   The Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff

   Both offer a fictitious and simplistic introduction to eastern philosophy. Growing up as an atheist in Western Europe, I never realized just how deep the influence of religion on our culture, traditions and history was. These books gave me a playful look at Buddhism and Taoism, right when I needed it. Shifted my entire worldview.

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