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Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 25, 2025
Best to be like water, Which benefits the ten thousand things And does not contend. It pools where humans disdain to dwell, Close to the Tao.
Live in a good place. Keep your mind deep. Treat others well. Stand by your word.
Make fair rules. Do the right thing. Work when it's time.
Only do not contend, And you will not go wrong.
Live in a good place. Keep your mind deep. Treat others well. Stand by your word.
Make fair rules. Do the right thing. Work when it's time.
Only do not contend, And you will not go wrong.
January 22, 2026
This translation by Stephen Addis & Stanley Lombardo is my favorite to read. Rather than being literal, it is poetic and evokes what I imagine to be the clarity and subtleties of the original. Not much commentary, but perfect for reading and contemplation.
June 14, 2025
Imagine a translucent, luminescent river flowing harmoniously along a valley. Bending and curving around the massive rocks or simply moving without a care in the world. This is the most accurate analogy I can offer of the Tao.
The book, I assure you, changed my life and will change others’ lives, too. It’s funny, really, how I’ve selected the very book I dreaded, as the one of the most beneficial. But alas, it’s true. Tao Te Ching reshaped the little strings in my mind and tuned them. Tao was like an awakening for me, a flash of light in the darkness. So why, you might ask, was Tao Te Ching so groundbreaking for you? How did it help you grow as a person?
Well, to that, I have several arguments. Tao Te Ching reveals a complex philosophical stance that demolishes contemporary societal norms and opens a new way of living. Society tells you domination and force gives you strength, while Tao assures you that it comes from within. Society tells you to selfishly take what you want and relish in it, while Tao asserts that moderation is key. Society tells you to artificially achieve perfection while Tao grounds its values in effortless action. Society tells you that control gets you to desired outcomes while Tao illustrates the power in surrender. All of these ideals ground a person and remind them what truly matters. Inner peace. Harmony. Effortlessness. Going with the flow. Before this book, I was a maniacal perfectionist control freak. I was the epitome of everything Tao rejected. I was morbidly stressed, forceful, unstable. But upon closer thought, I saw flaws in my daily perception of life. You have a test and can’t seem to finish it? You can always do better on the next one. You have to initiate conversation with new people? Be adaptable, calm. You have achieved something beyond the value of the world? Let the achievement speak for you. You want things to go your way? Sometimes, they don’t.
... but that’s okay because the universe knows what it’s doing.
Tao has truly changed me as a person. It rendered me more connected to the world around me and gave me the ability to unwind. Not to say that I’m perfect and embody every ideal Tao presents. I simply try my best to live my life with less control, less worrying, less excess. I have not only learned to think critically and reevaluate my world, but I’ve gained inner clarity. And you will too. Embody Tao. Embody wu wei. Be the soft, delicate, adaptable river and flow with life naturally. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
The book, I assure you, changed my life and will change others’ lives, too. It’s funny, really, how I’ve selected the very book I dreaded, as the one of the most beneficial. But alas, it’s true. Tao Te Ching reshaped the little strings in my mind and tuned them. Tao was like an awakening for me, a flash of light in the darkness. So why, you might ask, was Tao Te Ching so groundbreaking for you? How did it help you grow as a person?
Well, to that, I have several arguments. Tao Te Ching reveals a complex philosophical stance that demolishes contemporary societal norms and opens a new way of living. Society tells you domination and force gives you strength, while Tao assures you that it comes from within. Society tells you to selfishly take what you want and relish in it, while Tao asserts that moderation is key. Society tells you to artificially achieve perfection while Tao grounds its values in effortless action. Society tells you that control gets you to desired outcomes while Tao illustrates the power in surrender. All of these ideals ground a person and remind them what truly matters. Inner peace. Harmony. Effortlessness. Going with the flow. Before this book, I was a maniacal perfectionist control freak. I was the epitome of everything Tao rejected. I was morbidly stressed, forceful, unstable. But upon closer thought, I saw flaws in my daily perception of life. You have a test and can’t seem to finish it? You can always do better on the next one. You have to initiate conversation with new people? Be adaptable, calm. You have achieved something beyond the value of the world? Let the achievement speak for you. You want things to go your way? Sometimes, they don’t.
... but that’s okay because the universe knows what it’s doing.
Tao has truly changed me as a person. It rendered me more connected to the world around me and gave me the ability to unwind. Not to say that I’m perfect and embody every ideal Tao presents. I simply try my best to live my life with less control, less worrying, less excess. I have not only learned to think critically and reevaluate my world, but I’ve gained inner clarity. And you will too. Embody Tao. Embody wu wei. Be the soft, delicate, adaptable river and flow with life naturally. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews