In 2014 your National Taoism Examiner, reviewed the first part of Benjamin Hoff’s books on Taoist Philosophy; The Tao of Pooh. The first book was recommended for those “looking for a delightful read”, it can serve as a great introduction to Taoist philosophy and as a nice reminder for those who think they know the Tao.

His second book The Te of Piglet, continues where Pooh left off, but shifts the focus onto the smallest animal in the 100 acre forest/woods, and yet despite his size, also the most courageous and virtuous of Poohs friends. If Pooh is the character that embodies the principle of Wu Wei, then Piglet, according to Hoff, embodies another great treasure of Taoism, Te. Te, or Teh, is usually translated as great virtue, or the highest virtue, or Heaven’s Virtue.

Hoff proposes another adaptation of Te: “meaning virtue in action”. This is a thoughtful and worthy addition to the meanings of Te. What value does virtue have, if it is not put to good use? If your virtue has no action, then why have it? What is the point in being a “good person” if you live in a cave alone, cut off from the world? What is the value of not lying or being deceitful, if you are not around people to be honest and truthful with? Would the virtues of the Sun: providing light, warmth etc…matter to us if there was no Earth, would the Suns virtues even still exist?

According to Hoff:

“Te is not, as its English-language equivalent suggests, a one-size fits all sort of goodness or admired behavior that can be recognized as essentially the same no matter who possesses it. It is instead a quality of special character, spiritual strength, or hidden potential unique to the individual—something that comes from the Inner Nature of things. And something, we might add, that the individual who possesses it may be quite unaware of… (p.23)”

The Te of Piglet addresses these questions and more. Where the Tao of Pooh is very philosophical in nature, The Te of Piglet could be called pragmatic. Hoff definitely shares more of his personal observations, some reviewers called them rants, however, he does relate his observations of the modern world to several Taoist Classics.

The book is divided into 11 Chapters and 257 pages:

• What? Another One?
• Interjection
• The—What Was That Again?—of Piglet
• Very Small Animal
• The Eeyore Effect
• The Tigger Tendency
• Things as They Might Be
• Things as They Are
• The Upright Heart
• The Day of Piglet
• Farewell

A very poignent chapter is The Eeyore Effect and is most applicable in our modern society where many are obsessed with 24 hour news, social media, constant information overload and the Critic among others.

He relates the critic to his version of a Chuang tzu story:

“There is a great bird known as the Peng. Its back appears as broad as a mountain range; its wings are like clouds across the sky. It rises up like a whirlwind until it breaks through the high mist and soars into the infinite blue.

As it glides effortlessly along its journey to the sea, a quail in the marsh looks up at it and laughs. ‘What does that bird think it’s doing?’ says the quail. ‘I jump up and fly a few feet; then I come down and flutter from here to there in the bushes. That is what flying is for! Who is that creature trying to fool?’

…So it is that the knowledge of the smallminded cannot reach to that which is great, just as the experience of a few years cannot equal that of many. The mushroom of a morning knows not what takes place at the end of the month; the short-lived cicada has no awareness of what happens in the seasons beyond. (p. 67)”

It is unfortunate that Benjamin Hoff and Penguin Books had a falling out, since he could have created a truly remarkable collection by exploring, in depth, all of the Winnie the Pooh characters.

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