The Original Wisdom Of The Dao De Jing

The Dao De Jing is a classic of ancient Chinese philosophy and one of the great wisdom texts of world literature. To recover its original meaning P. J. Laska sets aside the long commentarial tradition of paradox and mysticism and re-interprets the work as a coherent natural philosophy and holistic ecological teaching concerned with the "constancy" of the life community as a whole. In this new translation and commentary the ancient "Way of the Sages" is presented as biocentric political ecology teaching that "Great governance does not cut," but acts to protect the community of life from the "excess, extravagance and extremes" of accumulationist designs. The commentary on each translated verse is designed to convey the holistic understanding of the world-process that the ancient sages' used to guide human designs toward simplicity and integration with nature and away from hierarchical instruments of domination.

This text offers an opportunity to internalize and directly experience the great wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, a collection of verses authored by the Chinese prophet Lao-tzu. Although just 81 short verses, the Tao encourages readers to change their lives by literally changing the way they think.

For twenty years, Gordon J. Van De Water has collected editions of the world classic the Tao Te Ching and pondered this ancient, yet still vibrant Chinese text of wisdom literature. Written in the sixth century before the Common Era and ascribed to Lao Tzu, a venerable sage, it offers a guide to life based on adherence to the Tao or Mother Nature, those forces and powers that govern and shape both the world and human nature. Its eighty-one verses repeatedly emphasize seeking harmony through simplicity, the rejection of the trappings of material wealth and the arrogance of power, and identification with the great underlying forces of the universe. Many of the verses also offer practical wisdom for those in leadership positions. So fascinating has been the compressed wisdom of the Tao Te Ching that it has been translated into many languages more often than any other book except the Bible. Van De Water has sought to strike to the heart of this highly compressed and often enigmatic text by creating a plain English version that highlights the continuing relevance of the Tao Te Ching for our complex and oft troubled times. His interpretation also includes an introduction, selected translations and interpretations in English by pioneering scholars, and an extensive bibliography of translations and interpretations in English.

The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu is one of the most widely read and deeply cherished books in the world, a work many consider the wisest book ever written. In his introduction, translator Brian Browne Walker says, "It is less a book than a living, breathing angel." In his new translation, Walker stays close to the direct literal accuracy of the Chinese characters while producing a modern, exceptionally clear version that has the ring and voice of Lao Tzu, a man who may or may not have been a single individual. "I have come to think of Lao Tzu less as a man who once lived," Walker writes, "and more as a song that plays, eternal and abiding."

"Ursula K. Le Guin, a student of the Tao Te Ching for more than fifty years, offers her own thoughtful rendering of the Taoist scripture. She has consulted the literal translations and worked with the scholar J. P. Seaton to develop a version that lets the ancient text speak in a fresh way to modern people, while remaining faithful to the original Chinese. This rendition reveals the Tao Te Ching's immediate relevance and power, its depth and refreshing humor, illustrating better than ever before why it has been so loved for more than 2,500 years. Included are Le Guin's own personal commentary and notes along with two audio CDs of the text read by the author, with original music composed and performed by Todd Barton."--Publisher's website.

The Dao De Jing is one of the richest, most suggestive, and most popular works of philosophy and literature. Composed in China between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C., its enigmatic verses have inspired artists, philosophers, poets, religious thinkers, and general readers past and present. This new translation captures the beauty and nuance of the original work. In addition, the extensive and accessible commentary by Moss Roberts sheds light on the work’s historical and philosophical contexts and shows how the Dao De Jing addresses topics of relevance to our own times, such as politics, statecraft, cosmology, aesthetics, and ethics.

The bestselling, widely acclaimed translation from Stephen Mitchell "Mitchell's rendition of the Tao Te Ching comes as close to being definitive for our time as any I can imagine. It embodies the virtues its translator credits to the Chinese original: a gemlike lucidity that is radiant with humor, grace, largeheartedness, and deep wisdom." — Huston Smith, author of The Religions of Man In eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao—the basic principle of the universe.

A new translation of this timeless Chinese classic by Lao Zi who in his work Dao De Jing proposed a complete moral philosophy and way of life based on the laws of nature and mankind's built-in intuition about the real nature of the world.