The third is from the most popular modern translation by Stephen Mitchell.

The tao that can be told, is not the eternal Tao. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. Take this collection of more than 100 versions of the famous opening verse: Men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.Texts as old as the Tao Te Ching are subject to the problems of both translation and interpretation. Wise men don’t need to prove their point Yet your intellect will never grasp them,Īnd if try to practise them, you’ll fail. I let go of all desire for the common good, Less and less do you need to force things,

What difference between success and failure? You can deal with whatever life brings you, And so herewith a selection of verses that I found particularly pertinent during lockdown. Indeed, by emptying ourselves of desire and judgement, we discover universal truths within the very heart of our own being, manifesting as infinite compassion and unabated love. Surrendering one’s life to the Tao, as the Master exemplifies, brings wholeness and inner tranquillity. Its central figure, the Master, lives in complete harmony with the Tao, the irreducible essence of the universe. The 81 verses of the Tao Te Ching were the result.Īlso known as The Book of the Way, the Tao Te Ching is a timeless guide to the art of living.

Fearing his wisdom would be lost forever, the gatekeeper asked Lao Tzu if he would write down everything he knew about the mystical path. When he reached the city gates (some say riding a water buffalo), however, the sentry immediately recognized who he was. The legend goes that, disillusioned with life at the court of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty where he worked as a keeper of the archives, Lao Tzu decided to renounce his civic duties once and for all and head west to live out his days as a hermit. By far and away the most beautiful, both in terms of its exquisite verse and sumptuous graphics, is the illustrated translation by the American scholar, Stephen Mitchell.ĭespite the fact that very little is known about the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu (6th-century BC) needs no introduction, being the alleged author of one of the most famous spiritual texts in the world. OVER THE YEARS, I have collected a number of editions of Lao Tzu’s seminal text, the Tao Te Ching. Enforced solitude has meant that I have rediscovered many of them whilst decluttering my bookshelves and their wisdom has been a welcome relief from pandemic pandemonium. “True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way.” Photograph: Public Domain The solitary path

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu