The Tao Te Ching — “Book of the Way and its Power” — is among the most translated
books in history. Its opening line declares the problem of its own project: the Way
that can be named is not the eternal Way.
Its method is the aphorism, often paradoxical: the sage acts by not acting; the soft
overcomes the hard; knowing others is intelligence, knowing oneself is wisdom. Beneath
the philosophy is a political vision — a ruler who leads by not getting in the way —
and beneath both is the intuition that the Way runs through everything that isn’t
forced.
Connections
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Related
Laozi — Legendary author of the Tao Te Ching — foundational figure of Taoism, possibly historical, possibly composite.
Dao — The Way — the nameless, flowing source and pattern of all things in Taoist thought.
Wu-wei — The Taoist practice of effortless action — doing without forcing; acting in accord with the natural grain of things.
Taoism — A Chinese philosophical and religious tradition centered on the Tao — the nameless way underlying and flowing through all things.
Sources
Tao Te Ching, trans. D.C. Lau (Penguin Classics, 1963) — A widely respected English translation with Chinese-facing text