Tao Teh Ching
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- Create Date：2021-06-25 08:53:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Lao Tzu
- ISBN：1590304055
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Summary
Written more than two thousand years ago， the Tao Teh Ching， or “The Classic of the Way and Its Virtue，” is one of the true classics of the world of spiritual literature。 Traditionally attributed to the near-legendary “Old Master，” Lao Tzu， the Tao Teh Ching teaches that the qualities of the enlightened sage or ideal ruler are identical with those of the perfected individual。 Today， Lao Tzu’s words are as useful in mastering the arts of leadership in business and politics as they are in developing a sense of balance and harmony in everyday life。 To follow the Tao or Way of all things and realize their true nature is to embody humility， spontaneity， and generosity。
John C。 H。 Wu has done a remarkable job of rendering this subtle text into English while retaining the freshness and depth of the original。 A jurist and scholar， Dr。 Wu was a recognized authority on Taoism and the translator of several Taoist and Zen texts and of Chinese poetry。
John C。 H。 Wu has done a remarkable job of rendering this subtle text into English while retaining the freshness and depth of the original。 A jurist and scholar， Dr。 Wu was a recognized authority on Taoism and the translator of several Taoist and Zen texts and of Chinese poetry。
Reviews
Himanshi Bathla
，
If you are thriving for improvement in your life or struggling for balance， this is the book for you。 There are many translations which fairly give an understanding of what Taoism is。 An ancient Chinese text that still reflects modern life。 Read it once， it will make you smile， read it again and again， it will be imprinted in your mind :）Happy Reading~HB
Néa
，
This book is poetry to the soul and mind。From company leaders to nation leaders; all of them should read this。 Such a beautiful book that touches on leadership and spirituality。
Remy
，
The Tao Te Ching by Master Lao Tzu is a series of meditations about the Tao-- the Way。 The Tao Te Ching informs both philosophical and religious Taoism。 There is no certainty on the date it is written， but probably between 4th to 6th century BC。 I’ve read it through three times since about October 2020 （today is June 21， 2021） and I highly recommend that people read it at least once in their life。 I haven’t been able to coherently express my interpretation until after reading it a second time， b The Tao Te Ching by Master Lao Tzu is a series of meditations about the Tao-- the Way。 The Tao Te Ching informs both philosophical and religious Taoism。 There is no certainty on the date it is written， but probably between 4th to 6th century BC。 I’ve read it through three times since about October 2020 （today is June 21， 2021） and I highly recommend that people read it at least once in their life。 I haven’t been able to coherently express my interpretation until after reading it a second time， but I did notice and get something from reading it just the one time。 This third reading I felt compelled to write something on my reflections， especially relating to my life experience right now。 The “Tao” is hard to define without reading the book because there is no clear definition besides “the Way。” Lao Tzu writes， “Being and non-being create each other。 Difficult and easy to support each other。 Long and short define each other。 High and low depend on each other。 Before and after follow each other。 Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything。 Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go。” From this， I gather that being a Master of the Tao is being a witness， and specifically witnessing it all yourself。 Additionally， it speaks to how a Master doesn’t favor one version of being over another， but recognizes that all versions （long and short/before and after/etc） exist and are necessary。 For instance， in grief work it is often said that “the only way out is through。” We don’t try to fix our grief， we try to move with it and through it。 Willie Nelson also said these famous words。 A theme in the book is finding the Way in the darkness of silence， which to me， describes also being a witness to yourself and the things that arise from you。 Modern-day mindfulness practices speak to this philosophy of mastery， especially silent meditation。 A quotation from Tao Te Ching that emphasizes this concept is， “。。。the Master travels all day without leaving home。 However splendid the views， she stays serenely in herself。” Lao Tzu emphasizes specifically seeing and loving the world as yourself and having faith in how things are。 Which reminds me of grief work。 In grief， especially complicated/traumatic grief， people often search for meaning and feel existential。 An answer to that is often to touch into your own compassion/empathy/kindness towards yourself， the person you loved/your love （because grief is an expression of love）， and when your window of tolerance/capacity to let more in grows then you practice having that compassion/kindness to others as well。 For instance， the MISS Foundation （grief organization led by Joanne Cacciatore） is specifically famous for its promotion of Random Acts of Kindness in the memory of your loved one。 Many aspects of Buddhism are inspired by Taoism。 A philosophy presented in Tao Te Ching that reminded me of Buddhism is “If you want to be given everything， give everything up。” In Buddhism， a theme is that in order to reach enlightenment， you must lose everything。 Another common analogy for adopting Buddhist attitudes is if your favorite mug you drink water out of breaks， the moment it breaks isn’t when you lost it， it was already broken every time you used it。 Lao Tzu writes， “If you are open to loss， you are at one with loss and you can accept it completely。” This quotation reminded me of the mug analogy I had heard in reading about Buddhism。 Another quotation that reminds me of Buddhism is， “When you realize there is nothing lacking， the whole world belongs to you。” In the second time reading Tao Te Ching， I noticed that the Tao philosophy can potentially be used to justify having balanced political philosophies。 Lao Tzu writes， “When you have names and forms， know that they are provisional。 When you have institutions， know where their functions should end。 Knowing when to stop， you can avoid any danger。” I think it suggests that having a balance of power and control is essential to staying safe。 I’m not sure that it is referring to political institutions specifically， but it reminds me of that idea of a balanced view。 I appreciate a lot how the Tao Te Ching speaks of the future。 There is a meditation about how if you try to control the future， it is like using a Master Carpenter’s tools， and then cutting yourself by accident。 I’ve lived a huge portion of my life， since childhood， focused on the future。 In the suddenness of my partner Brian’s death， I felt right away for the first time like my future was dark。 Not dark because of how I felt， but dark because I literally didn’t know。 It was like walking through a dark tunnel and holding onto the wall because you can’t see your next step。 In the first meditation in Tao Te Ching， Lao Tzu says， “Free from desire， you realize the mystery。 Caught in desire， you see only the manifestations。 Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source。 This source is called darkness。 Darkness within darkness。 The gateway to all understanding。” This quotation about darkness helps me to reframe that the darkness of my future I felt at the beginning， it was not necessarily a bad thing。 That darkness was still leading somewhere， I just didn’t know what it was going to be。 I like to think of the way Lao Tzu speaks of darkness when I feel anxiety about the future or feel like trying to control。 In the beginning of my grief， I latched quickly onto my gratitude for having had Brian in my life （probably because I was conditioned from 107 days into my daily gratitude practice when Brian died） to deal with hard questions。 And I also latched early onto a song called， “I Don’t Need to Know，” because it gave me permission to live without answers and to be in that dark tunnel， not knowing my next step， and that is okay。 The song felt so relevant that one of my most atheist friends said he felt the relevance and hugged me and cried through it too。 I speak a lot in grief counseling about how in the beginning， probably partly due to some numbness， that I was more focused on concepts like gratitude and letting go of the need to know。 As time went on， my grief shifted to a place of seeking control when tough feelings like isolation， rejection， loneliness， deep sadness， etc。 were rising in my heart。 It wasn’t until I started doing more things to take care of today， not the future， like going to the gym， reading， taking things slower than I normally would， that I started to feel better again and have a better attitude。 One day at a time， one step at a time。 The darkness （unknowing） is leading somewhere。 Many times in Tao Te Ching， Lao Tzu states that to be one with the Tao is to be one with the UNknowing。 The final concept that stuck out to me that I’d like to discuss is that of intention。 In other interpretations of the Tao， people will call creative energy/flow the same as Tao。 Referring to Flow is synonymous with referring to Tao。 I think this relates a lot to the idea of intention。 Recently someone shared with me a study in which mice were forced to do some exercise and they didn’t derive benefit - the gist that I gathered was that you don’t get benefit from things you don’t enjoy doing。 In this discussion， we were talking about the gym and it was a great because it was the final push I needed to remove Rowing from one of my pre-set workouts - I generally love going to the gym because it’s peaceful for me and I feel good after， but I hate rowing and it was the one thing my health coach encouraged that I decided to try doing again。 So now I don’t do this。 At the time of hearing about this mice study， I happened to have recently done a reflective exercise in The Body is Not an Apology workbook that made you list things you did in the recent past that made your body feel bad - rowing was one of them！ Bye bye rowing。 Anyway， I’ve definitely felt this in other parts of my life before too - I learned quickly in and out of college that having a job I don’t like will make me depressed and dysregulated。 I strive to have jobs that I like。 I don’t tolerate doing things I don’t like， I don’t think that many people do。 I think it honestly might sow the seeds of mental illness。 What does this mean about intention？ I don’t have a clear answer to what I mean。 I think I mean to say to trust my own intuition or instinct when I don’t like something it probably isn’t benefiting me。 My body and mind will tell me。 For instance， I recently was bidding on houses in another state to move and I decided not to。 It wasn’t feeling good and I stopped。 My body didn’t like the rowing and I had a hard time mentally focusing and keeping form because of it。 Exercise truly is better when you are feeling good because you are more focused。 And what about Flow/Creative Flow？ Well， I think artists describe having a Flow when they are really FEELING it。 That’s the point。 You are in tune with your Tao/Flow connection when you’re feeling that good-flowing-feeling。 It makes me want to do more creative things I enjoy with the INTENTION of just feeling good， just like I go to the gym to do things that make me feel GOOD。 It’s not just about the creative （like me with the gym）， it’s about in each step you take into the darkness of your future， take more steps that make you feel good。 Let feeling good be one of your main intentions in everything。 I’m rambling because Tao is supposed to be a balance ultimately it seems， but I think the balance is that Life is Suffering （Buddhists） and you will suffer even in mostly taking good steps。 Because Life Happens and Life is Suffering。 And when that balance occurs， TRUST that it is okay and part of the natural process。 Feeling good isn’t the goal， but it certainly can be an intention you live with that can help you through life suffering。 Kind of like me leaning into gratitude after Brian died because it was a practice I already had。 It didn’t take away the suffering， but it gave me something else to observe and balance out the suffering with。 I think that Tao Te Ching can be endlessly reflected on， but that’s what I have for now。 。。。more
Ar Ma
，
I enjoyed the notes and commentary by Ursula K Le Guin， to be able to discern between the multiple translations of the text serves to understand it in a new light， getting as close as possible to its intended meaning。 I also praise the form over meaning approach， keeping the verses as beautiful as possible close to their original Chinese。
Pablo
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Contextualización， aforismos y la explicación de estos de la manera más asequible posible。 Si bien es cierto que es abstracto a veces， todo el prefacio y las enseñanzas de después lo complementan perfectamente。
Robert Brazell
，
Ancient wisdom that still applies to today。
Mamduh Halawa
，
Should be read slowly and probably many times over。
IIIIIIKKKKKEEEEE
，
Much like the tao there is great wisdom within the halls of Lao Tzu's mind。 Much like the tao there is great wisdom within the halls of Lao Tzu's mind。 。。。more
Ushoa
，
Me encantó este libro y la filosofía que propone， si bien considero que no todo es aplicable a la vida moderna， definitivamente es un libro sin desperdicio。
Aaron
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The WayA refreshing interpretation。 I enjoyed the spirit the author gave it because it embraces the meaning of the Tao itself。
Seppe Boonen
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I listened to this in audiobook thrice。 I still didn't understand the bigger part of it。 The kind of sacred text to bring with you to a silent retreat in nature or in a religious community。 I listened to this in audiobook thrice。 I still didn't understand the bigger part of it。 The kind of sacred text to bring with you to a silent retreat in nature or in a religious community。 。。。more
Lizzie Murray
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One for life。 I will be meditating on this book for a long time， finding and learning new interpretations。Life changing
Laura Anne
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This book was full of wisdom。 Reading it filled me with a sense of calm。
CB
，
For all the talk of “The Way”， there’s not a ton of practical wisdom。 It’s all very esoteric & vague。 Meh。
Tauri Laane
，
I guess I'd give the book and the author 5 stars for the quality and approach， but the concept of Tao is quite alien to me。 Yes I am at peace， Yes I am achieving for myself and not bragging， Yes I want to live life as it flows and not to swim upstream and fight the reality。。。 But TAO seems to give a false hope that the world could be run this way。 It can't， humans are animals and only without rules and goals they would go back to animal ways - which includes attacking others for their possession I guess I'd give the book and the author 5 stars for the quality and approach， but the concept of Tao is quite alien to me。 Yes I am at peace， Yes I am achieving for myself and not bragging， Yes I want to live life as it flows and not to swim upstream and fight the reality。。。 But TAO seems to give a false hope that the world could be run this way。 It can't， humans are animals and only without rules and goals they would go back to animal ways - which includes attacking others for their possessions。 John Lennon sang - Imagine a world， where 。。。。。。 but no， this world would sadly collapse due to human nature。 Some humans are greedy and ambitious - and it takes only one two rule others。 We have to accept that there are wolves among humans and we can not have society designed 100% for lambs。***But I liked the concept of Tao in war， though。 I am a big fan of The Art of War， which has Tao influences - conquer your enemies without a fight。 The greatest victory is without any battle。 。。。more
Prasant
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Mst read
Malcolm Pinch
，
Goodreads seems to be grouping together reviews of several editions here。 Not helpful when you are wanting to compare translations。
Ana
，
Translation to English belowSi comprendes que todo cambia， cesarán tus intentos de aferrarte。 Me sorprende como este texto， escrito varios siglos antes de la era común， recoge la mayoría de enseñanzas que hoy nos transmiten los psicólogos， si bien dotado de un componente semirreligioso en el que el "Dios" sería el Tao， que la persona plena， el "Maestro"， encarna。 Ha sido muy interesante leerlo y entender algo mejor esta filosofía， aunque recomiendo la lectura del Tao Te Ching junto con otros mate Translation to English belowSi comprendes que todo cambia， cesarán tus intentos de aferrarte。 Me sorprende como este texto， escrito varios siglos antes de la era común， recoge la mayoría de enseñanzas que hoy nos transmiten los psicólogos， si bien dotado de un componente semirreligioso en el que el "Dios" sería el Tao， que la persona plena， el "Maestro"， encarna。 Ha sido muy interesante leerlo y entender algo mejor esta filosofía， aunque recomiendo la lectura del Tao Te Ching junto con otros materiales sobre taoísmo para entenderlo mejor， pues por sí solo puede resultar algo confuso。Leí en alguna otra reseña algo sobre este texto pecando de "sofista"。 Creo que no se debe olvidar que se trata de una especie de poema filosófico， luego es natural que se intente adornar el mensaje con imágenes que， aunque quizá no contribuyan a un mejor entendimiento， sí que cumplen la función de facilitar su aprendizaje y memorización。 En resumen， es un libro muy corto y agradable de leer， y se lo recomendaría a cualquiera interesado en la espiritualidad， la filosofía， la psicología o incluso los libros de autoayuda， y definitivamente a las personas interesadas en la cultura asiática。English:I am surprised by how this text， written several centuries before the common era， gathers most of the lessons now taught by psychologists。 However， it adds a semi-religious component where "God" would be the Tao， and "the Master" the person who incarnates the Tao。 It was very interesting reading it and understanding better Taoism， although I would recommend reading the Tao Te Ching （or Dao De Jing） alongside other materials on Taoism for a better understanding because this text on its own can be a little confusing。I read a review that pointed out this text is "sophist"。 I think it must not be ignored that this text is a sort of philosophical poem， and therefore it's natural that it contains some embellishments that may not contribute so much to the meaning of the text as it does to making it more memorable。 All in all， this text was short and enjoyable， so I would recommend it to those who enjoy spirituality， philosophy， psychology， or even self-help books， and definitely to those who are interested in Asian culture。 。。。more
Graham Cammock
，
Sublime！What a beautiful book， what beautiful philosophy and what a beautiful religion Taoism is。 It’s actually very pleasant reading the Tao Te Ching （Lao Tzu） and you learn much about it， besides the actual scripture itself in this book。 I would advise you to read about Taoism generally before reading the Tao Te Ching， for example， I read Taoism for Dummies first， which really helped me grasp the way （Tao）。 I highly recommend the Tao Te Ching and Taoism in general to anyone with a predilection Sublime！What a beautiful book， what beautiful philosophy and what a beautiful religion Taoism is。 It’s actually very pleasant reading the Tao Te Ching （Lao Tzu） and you learn much about it， besides the actual scripture itself in this book。 I would advise you to read about Taoism generally before reading the Tao Te Ching， for example， I read Taoism for Dummies first， which really helped me grasp the way （Tao）。 I highly recommend the Tao Te Ching and Taoism in general to anyone with a predilection for religions！ 。。。more
T。L。
，
This was my third or fourth reading of this classic。 Not sure I understood it any better than the last times through， but it is always comforting， challenging， and thought provoking。
Kevin Maxwell
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A fantastic little book that challenges conventional wisdom and admires the natural simplicity of life。 A classic， and short read。
Michael Barros
，
If I wasn’t 100% sure Lau Tzu wasn’t a Christian， I’d say that Lau Tzu was a Christian。
Madison
，
*my rating is based on this version of the textThis version of Tao Te Ching is interesting in that each chapter is formatted like an English poem - which made the language and format digestible for me。 The translator Stephen Mitchell also acknowledged that he tried to respect the translation while also trying to see from Lao Tzu's perspective （and invoke that in his version of the text）。 I only know of Lao Tzu's philosophy from the little I learned in AP World many years ago at this point， so it *my rating is based on this version of the textThis version of Tao Te Ching is interesting in that each chapter is formatted like an English poem - which made the language and format digestible for me。 The translator Stephen Mitchell also acknowledged that he tried to respect the translation while also trying to see from Lao Tzu's perspective （and invoke that in his version of the text）。 I only know of Lao Tzu's philosophy from the little I learned in AP World many years ago at this point， so it's hard to know how faithful this was to the original text/meaning of the text， but I found meaning and even took notes on some of the chapters that resonated with me/the way I move through the world （for instance， I found similarities between some of Lao Tzu's chapters and mindfulness/meditation）。 I appreciated the insights I got from reading this， and it was a nice text to read amidst the other genres I've been reading lately。 。。。more
Selma Lyhne
，
Incredibly powerful little book。 Each chapter deserves endless amounts of reflection。 I annotated this book。。。 and let me just admit that it was difficult not to add post-its to every single page。 Truly an enriching book。
Kaiser
，
Went to a Chinese school yet didn't read a single buddhist philosophy work until now！Lots of words of wisdom here that I enjoyed and 10/10 would apply to my life especially the whole "little desire and materialism" life it's preaching。 However， the whole philosophy doesn't apply to my own philosophy of life since I see being "good" as "weak" and "at peace/carefree/passive" as "apathetic and selfish"， but whatever。 To each their own I guess。 Went to a Chinese school yet didn't read a single buddhist philosophy work until now！Lots of words of wisdom here that I enjoyed and 10/10 would apply to my life especially the whole "little desire and materialism" life it's preaching。 However， the whole philosophy doesn't apply to my own philosophy of life since I see being "good" as "weak" and "at peace/carefree/passive" as "apathetic and selfish"， but whatever。 To each their own I guess。 。。。more
DJ
，
Not a bad read， was interesting due to its history， but I didn't walk away with any powerful ideas that stuck with me。 Not a bad read， was interesting due to its history， but I didn't walk away with any powerful ideas that stuck with me。 。。。more
Srinivasan Nanduri
，
A philosophical classic with the principles of Taoism。 To be read， re-read and cherished for life。
Michael
，
Have owned this version of the Tao Te Ching for a while but finally got to it at the suggestion of a friend - it was worth the time！ This version approaches the text in a different way from many other translations， and you read it in a new light as a result。 One of those books that I'll be gladly revisiting in the years to come！ Have owned this version of the Tao Te Ching for a while but finally got to it at the suggestion of a friend - it was worth the time！ This version approaches the text in a different way from many other translations， and you read it in a new light as a result。 One of those books that I'll be gladly revisiting in the years to come！ 。。。more
Sarah Yetman
，
Stephen Mitchell is the finest translator in existence。 I keep a copy with me at all times。
Hạnh Hà
，
Cuốn sách giáo dục con người sống có nhân cách， mọi thành tựu kết quả đều có nguyên nhân sâu xa từ trước。 Nhìn trước được kết cục của mọi sự việc。 Vì vậy muốn có kết quả tốt đẹp thì ngay từ đầu chọn cách nghĩ， sống， hành động lương thiện， nghĩ， sống， hành động nhân đức。 Tôi chắc rằng sẽ đọc đi đọc lại nhiều lần， mỗi lần đọc lại tôi sẽ thẩm thấu được "đạo đức kinh" theo khía cạnh và góc nhìn ở tuổi trưởng thành của mình。 Cuốn sách giáo dục con người sống có nhân cách， mọi thành tựu kết quả đều có nguyên nhân sâu xa từ trước。 Nhìn trước được kết cục của mọi sự việc。 Vì vậy muốn có kết quả tốt đẹp thì ngay từ đầu chọn cách nghĩ， sống， hành động lương thiện， nghĩ， sống， hành động nhân đức。 Tôi chắc rằng sẽ đọc đi đọc lại nhiều lần， mỗi lần đọc lại tôi sẽ thẩm thấu được "đạo đức kinh" theo khía cạnh và góc nhìn ở tuổi trưởng thành của mình。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Tao Teh Ching
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Tao Teh Ching&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Tao Teh Ching&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0