Tao Te Ching

"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended.  This is a most useful, as well as beautiful, volume—and what it has to say is exactly what the world, in its present state, needs to hear." - Alan Watts

RELIGION/ EASTERN STUDIES

    This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive. 

   The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may be have.  If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop looking for results.  In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected.  We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means "to stand under." We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as "virtue" or "strength"—lies always in Tao, or "natural law."  In other words: Simply be.

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Tao Te Ching

"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended.  This is a most useful, as well as beautiful, volume—and what it has to say is exactly what the world, in its present state, needs to hear." - Alan Watts

RELIGION/ EASTERN STUDIES

    This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive. 

   The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may be have.  If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop looking for results.  In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected.  We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means "to stand under." We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as "virtue" or "strength"—lies always in Tao, or "natural law."  In other words: Simply be.

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Overview

"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended.  This is a most useful, as well as beautiful, volume—and what it has to say is exactly what the world, in its present state, needs to hear." - Alan Watts

RELIGION/ EASTERN STUDIES

    This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive. 

   The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may be have.  If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop looking for results.  In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected.  We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means "to stand under." We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as "virtue" or "strength"—lies always in Tao, or "natural law."  In other words: Simply be.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781926487519
Publisher: David Rehak
Publication date: 08/27/2014
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 92
File size: 323 KB

About the Author

ABOUT THE TRANSLATORS

Gia-fu Feng was born in Shanghai in 1919, was educated in China, and came to the United States in 1947 to study comparative religion.  He held a BA from Peking University and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania.  He taught at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and directed Stillpoint Foundation, a Taoist community in Colorado.  Gia-fu Feng died in 1985.

Jane English, whose photographs from the integral part of the book, holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and received her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in experimental high energy particle physics.  In 1985 she found her own publishing business, Earth Heart.  Her books and calendars include Different Doorway: Adventures of Caesarean Born, Mount Shasta: Where Heaven and Earth Meet (with Jenny Cole) and the yearly Tao Te Ching Calendar.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1942.

Chuang Tsu/ Inner Chapter (1974), a companion volume to Lao Tsu/ Tao Te Ching, is a direct outcome of the successful collaboration between Gia-fu Feng and Jane English on the Tao Te Ching.

Read an Excerpt

Tao Te Ching

The Way of Virtue
By Lao Tzu

Square One Publishers

Copyright © 2003 Lao Tzu
All right reserved.

ISBN: 0757000290


Chapter One


VERSE 1


A way that can be walked
is not The Way
A name that can be named
is not The Name

Tao is both Named and Nameless
As Nameless, it is the origin of all things
As Named, it is the mother of all things
A mind free of thought,
merged within itself,
beholds the essence of Tao

A mind filled with thought,
identified with its own perceptions,
beholds the mere forms of this world

Tao and this world seem different
but in truth they are one and the same
The only difference is in what we call them

How deep and mysterious this unity is
How profound, how great!
It is the truth beyond the truth,
the hidden within the hidden
It is the path to all wonder,
the gate to the essence of everything!


VERSE 2


Everyone recognizes beauty
only because of ugliness
Everyone recognizes virtue
only because of sin

Life and death are born together
Difficult and easy
Long and short
High and low--
all these exist together
arrivetogether
Sound and silence blend together
Before and after


* * *


The Sage acts without action
and teaches without talking
All things flourish around him
and he does not refuse any one of them
He gives but not to receive
He works but not for reward
He completes but not for results
He does nothing for himself in this passing world
so nothing he does ever passes


VERSE 3


Putting a value on status
will cause people to compete
Hoarding treasure
will turn them into thieves
Showing off possessions
will disturb their daily lives

Thus the Sage rules
by stilling minds and opening hearts
by filling bellies and strengthening bones
He shows people how to be simple
and live without desires
To be content
and not look for other ways
With the people so pure
Who could trick them?
What clever ideas could lead them astray?

When action is pure and selfless
everything settles into its own perfect place


VERSE 4


Tao is empty
yet it fills every vessel with endless supply
Tao is hidden
yet it shines in every corner of the universe

With it, the sharp edges become smooth
the twisted knots loosen
the sun is softened by a cloud
the dust settles into place

So deep, so pure, so still
It has been this way forever
You may ask, "Whose child is it?"--
but I cannot say
This child was here before the Great Ancestor


VERSE 5


Heaven and Earth have no preference

A man may choose one over another
but to Heaven and Earth all are the same
The high, the low, the great, the small--
all are given light
all get a place to rest

The Sage is like Heaven and Earth
To him none are especially dear
nor is there anyone he disfavors
He gives and gives without condition
offering his treasure to everyone


* * *


The universe is like a bellows
It stays empty yet is never exhausted
It gives out yet always brings forth more

Man is not like this
When he blows out air like a bellows
he becomes exhausted
Man was not made to blow out air
He was made to sit quietly and find the truth within


Continues...

Excerpted from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu Copyright © 2003 by Lao Tzu. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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