{"product_id":"the-uncarved-block-steve-brandl-9798254431145","title":"The Uncarved Block: An Encounter with Laozi \u0026 Zhuangzi","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Uncarved Block\u003c\/b\u003e is a contemplative encounter with Laozi and Zhuangzi for the modern reader. Part philosophical inquiry, part literary rendering, part meditative companion, it brings the \u003ci\u003eDaodejing\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eZhuangzi\u003c\/i\u003e into conversation with neuroscience, embodiment, and the lived experience of being human before the story-making mind takes over.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in a voice that is clear, poetic, and unsentimental, the book begins with an investigation into the nature of self, perception, and consciousness. From there, it opens into fresh renderings of the \u003ci\u003eDaodejing\u003c\/i\u003e and the Inner Chapters of the \u003ci\u003eZhuangzi\u003c\/i\u003e, each presented in three complementary modes: a plain reading, a reflective investigation, and a lyrical verse. Essential passages from the wider \u003ci\u003eZhuangzi\u003c\/i\u003e and a closing epilogue from the \u003ci\u003eLiezi\u003c\/i\u003e complete the journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a scholarly translation, nor a book of spiritual instruction. It is an invitation: to look again at what you are, what remains before naming, and what becomes possible when the grip of certainty begins to loosen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers of Daoism, philosophy, contemplative practice, and embodied wisdom, \u003cb\u003eThe Uncarved Block\u003c\/b\u003e offers not doctrine, but a gate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Steve Brandl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798254431145\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/31\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 330\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.84lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.74d","brand":"Steve Brandl","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48588471009535,"sku":"9798254431145","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-uncarved-block-steve-brandl-9798254431145","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}