Secret of Golden Flower (Hardcover)

This book is divided into sections. The first is Cleary's
direct translation. The second is his commentary for each verse.
The last is an afterward regarding the "technques" espoused in
this book relevant to modern life.

Personally, I would have found the commentary more useful
integrated directly after each verse. The translation is still
highly symbolic, and the commentary adds a little to
understanding what is trying to be said. As it is, I found
myself re-reading the translation verse by verse, at the end of
each verse thumbing to the appropriate commentary. I did not
find the direct translation so poetic that the interruptions
would have destroyed any aesthetic sense from reading it. At
the very least, commentary at the end of each chapter would
have been better.

To a layperson like me, this book provided illumination in
glimpses only. It was hardly direct, clear, or straightforward.
A very strong working knowledge in Chan Buddhism or the
Completely Real School of Taoism would have served me well, but
alas, I don 't have that. The symbolic content was frankly
overwhelming, and it wasn't until I re-read along with the
commentary that I had a sideways understanding of what the goal
of "turning the light around" actually meant.

In fact, much of this book is written like a dissertation.
Cleary spends much of his commentary efforts explaining why
his translation is superior to Wilhelm's, and why Jung's
theories are therefore misguided and/or incomplete since Jung
relied on the Wilhelm translation. I found this decidedly
distracting, but scholars may not.

For someone well-versed in this type of meditation technique,
this analogy-filled work may provide insights in stages. One
verse may be striking now, another verse revelationary only
years later. To me, trying to get a handle on the basic
principles and goals, this was like trying to see Michelangelo's
David through a stained glass-window. The color, the frilly
designs, the artistry of the window obscured my vision of
the very clearly masterful sculpture beyond.

Cleary would have been better-served writing an introduction
emphasizing required reading prior to reading this. For
someone who claims to actually practice this technique, he
never talks about the symbolic in more real terms-- even in
speculation. "Midnight refers to stillness, and water to
hidden knowledge, and fire to creativity..." and commentary
like that led me to respond not "Of course! Brilliant!"
but rather "Thanks a lot, that really helped... not."

I will likely re-read this book in a few years, and hope my
second time around proves more rewarding. Again, I did gain
some small insights... I think.