In The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff uses Winnie the Pooh and his familiar cast of friends from the Hundred Acre Wood to illustrate the basic principles of Taoism. While ancient Chinese religious traditions might seem totally unrelated to British children’s stories, Hoff argues that Pooh Bear is actually a modern Western Taoist. He appreciates the world around him, lives in harmony with nature, and knows how to enjoy himself. He demonstrates how people can live in accord with Tao, or “the Way of the Universe.” Hoff uses excerpts from the Winnie-the-Pooh books and imagined conversations with Pooh and his animal companions in order to illustrate how Taoist beliefs and practices can lead people down the path to wisdom, happiness, and self-improvement.
Hoff starts by telling Pooh about The Vinegar Tasters, a famous Chinese scroll that shows Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-tse (the founder of Taoism) tasting a vinegar that represents life. Only Lao-tse manages to enjoy the vinegar, because only Taoists truly understand and appreciate life.
In the following chapters, Hoff explains several key Taoist ideas. The first is P’u, or the Uncarved Block, which means that things are the most powerful in their simple, natural form. Pooh embodies this principle: he’s as calm, authentic, and uncomplicated as can be. But his other friends aren’t. For instance, Rabbit always hatches clever, complicated, ill-fated plans, while Eeyore is so busy complaining that he can’t stop to enjoy himself. Similarly, Owl cares so much about unimportant abstract knowledge (like how to spell “Tuesday”) that he distracts himself from the actual world. He’s like all the Western scholars who try to study Taoism without really practicing it. Hoff argues that this knowledge is completely different from true wisdom, which is about understanding the inner nature of the world.
Next, Hoff uses Pooh’s song “Cottleston Pie” to explain what Taoists really mean when they say that things have an inner nature. Just as Pooh sings that “a fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly,” people ought to respect things for what they are. Just as he sings that “a fish can’t whistle and neither can I,” people should recognize and accept their own personal limits. Everything and everyone in the world has its own special inner nature, but people often forget theirs and try to be someone else instead.
Then, Hoff introduces the principle of Wu Wei, which means acting without effort. To achieve Wu Wei, people should be like water, which flows smoothly and naturally around rocks, instead of trying to force its way over them. Pooh also exemplifies Wu Wei: he doesn’t try too hard, but rather lets things “just sort of happen.” He trusts his intuition and knows that what’s meant to be will ultimately happen in the end.
The opposite of Pooh are Bisy Backsons, the “almost desperately active” people who are always trying to do something and achieve certain goals. (Their name comes from a note that Christopher Robin left on his door: “GON OUT / BACKSON / BISY / BACKSON.”) Rabbit is a classic Bisy Backson: when Hoff tells him about the Uncarved Block, he starts running around the Hundred Acre Wood looking for it—even though finding it would really require him to stop and reflect. But most Bisy Backsons live like Rabbit: they chase after some “Great Reward” that the world has promised them, then become bitter and disappointed when they realize that the reward won’t really make them happy. North America is full of Bisy Backsons, and it has been ever since the “Miserable Puritan[s],” “Restless Pioneer[s],” and “Lonely Cowboy[s]” started to believe that conquering and developing the land would make them happy. But Taoists know that people really have to conquer and develop themselves through spiritual practices. They learn to enjoy the process of getting to their goals, instead of just the achievement itself.
The next chapter is about “enjoying life and being Special.” In order to succeed, people have to believe in themselves—and one of the best ways for people to believe in themselves is by meeting others who believe in them first. That’s why compassion is the key to wisdom, and appreciation is the key to happiness. Best of all, these things follow the snowball effect—or, in Winnie-the-Pooh, the Tiddley-Pom Principle: the more compassionate and appreciative people become, the easier it gets to stay compassionate and appreciative.
Hoff’s last main chapter is about nothing at all: he argues that people should strive to think, do, and follow nothing if they want to live in harmony with the way of the universe. The human mind tends to create a “Big Congested Mess” by overthinking and overanalyzing anything. In contrast, the mind is clearest and most powerful when it’s empty. Therefore, people should strive to cultivate an empty mind, because this is what allows them to pay attention to the world around them and follow their instincts. The most successful Taoists embrace calm and nothingness until they reach the highest level of enlightenment: that of “the independent, clear-minded, all-seeing Child.”
In his brief concluding chapters, Hoff reiterates his thesis: if they really want to be happy, people should follow after Pooh’s simplicity, intuition, and wisdom. At the very end of the book, Pooh admits that he still has no idea what Taoism is—but Hoff explains that it doesn’t matter, since Pooh is already following it faithfully.
