Thomas ClearyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThomas Cleary (born 1949) is a prolific author and translator of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian and Muslim classics, and of the Chinese Art of War tradition of strategy and statecraft.[1][2][3] He lives in Oakland, California in the United States.[3]Life and workCleary "got into Buddhism... in [his] teens",[1] and was driven to research Buddhist texts because he "wanted to learn".[1] He usually translates texts that are not yet available in English; however, he has made some exceptions for books he felt had English translations that were "too limited," such as Sun Tzu's The Art of War.[1] Cleary received a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University as well as a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law,[4] but has had minimal involvement with the academic world, claiming that "there is too much oppression in a university setting,[1]" and that he wants "to stay independent and reach those who want to learn directly through [his] books.[1]" He reserves some praise for his alma mater, though; "a good thing about Harvard was language training was done by native teachers. You did not find that everywhere.[1]"Cleary's first publication, with his brother J.C. Cleary was the translation of the Zen koan collection, The Blue Cliff Record (ISBN 1-59030-232-X). Cleary also translated the monumental Avatamsaka Sutra (Huayan Jing / Flower Ornament Scripture).Cleary's most widely disseminated translation has been of the Chinese classic The Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa) by Sun Tzu. Another major translation is of the commentaries of the 18th century Taoist sage Liu Yiming, who clearly explains the often impenetrable metaphoric coding of the main Taoist texts dealing with the transformation of consciousness and the fusion of the human mind with the Mind of the Tao.In 2000, Cleary's various translations of Taoist texts were collected into 4 volumes by Shambhala Publications as The Taoist Classics. Following the success of these publications, a five volume collection of Buddhist translations was collected as Classics of Buddhism and Zen. Cleary's recent translation of the Qur'an has been praised by Muslims who know English[who?] and Arabic.[citation needed] Another outstanding translation from the Muslim wisdom tradition is Living and Dying with Grace.Partial bibliography of translations Thomas Cleary (translator) (1999). Zen and the Art of Insight. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570625169. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2000). Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570625886. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2002). Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record: Zen Comments by Hakuin and Tenkei. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570629129. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2002). Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570629495. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2003). The Book of Balance and Harmony: A Taoist Handbook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590300770. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2004). Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781570628832. Thomas Cleary; J.C. Cleary (2005). The Blue Cliff Record. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302323. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 1). Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302187. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 2). Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302194. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 3). Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302200. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 4). Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302217. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2005). Classics of Buddhism and Zen: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary (Volume 5). Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302224. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2005). Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302491. Zhuge Liang; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2005). Mastering the Art of War. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590302644. Liu I-ming; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). Awakening to the Tao. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590303443. Cheng Yi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). I Ching: The Book of Change. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590304037. Miyamoto Musashi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2006). The Illustrated Book of Five Rings. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9780834805651. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2009). Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590306888. Thomas Cleary (translator) (2009). Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590306857. Sun Tzu; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2009). The Art of War. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307434. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2009). Training the Samurai Mind: A Bushido Sourcebook. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307212. Thomas Cleary (2009). The Way of the World: Readings in Chinese Philosophy. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307380. Miyamoto Musashi; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2010). The Book of Five Rings. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590308912. Torei Enji; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2010). The Undying Lamp of Zen. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590307922. Lao-Tzu; Thomas Cleary (translator) (2011). Tao Te Ching. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590308967. Thomas Cleary (editor and translator) (2012). The Taoism Reader. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590309506. Thomas Cleary (editor) (2012). The Zen Reader. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 9781590309469.References Staff. "Interview with Thomas Cleary". Sonshi.com. Retrieved 2009-07-10. Burton-Rose, Daniel. "The Lit interview: Thomas Cleary". San Francisco Bay Guardian Online. Retrieved 2009-07-10. Staff. "The Qur'an, Translated by Dr. Thomas Cleary". Fons Vitae. Retrieved 2009-07-10. Brief biography. Staff. "Thomas Cleary". Shambhala Publications. Retrieved 2011-01-01. Brief biography plus book titles.Authority control VIAF: 64046437 ISNI: 0000 0001 2136 4581 BNF: cb121647431 (data)Categories: ChineseEnglish translators Buddhist translators Translators of the Quran into English Harvard University alumni 1949 births Living people Shambhala Publications booksNavigation menu Create account Log in Article Talk Read Edit View history Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Wikimedia ShopInteraction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact pageTools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Data item Cite this pagePrint/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable versionLanguages ???????Edit links This page was last modified on 1 April 2014 at 02:38. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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