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Book Overview
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... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0060916087
ISBN13:9780060916084
Release Date:January 1991
Publisher:Harper Perennial
Length:111 Pages
Weight:0.32 lbs.
Dimensions:0.4" x 4.5" x 7.5"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
Passable condition
Published by John Decker , 14 days ago
Couple pages were folded a little. Nothing major. I still thought it deserved a 5* review
Buy it!
Published by A.K. , 11 months ago
Great book- a classic & influential text
A must-read of Taoism
Published by Joey , 12 months ago
Great book!
A Timeless Masterwork
Published by Alex , 3 years ago
When I saw a less than four star rating for this book, I was flabbergasted! How can one rate a world classic so poorly?
Perhaps it's the nature of the book itself. The Tao Te Ching (or Deodejing) is 81 chapters of wisdom, political, spiritual, and advice sayings. Without understanding any of the philosophical background assumptions, the book is difficult to understand and can seem like nonsense at times. The Tao Te Ching is also unique in encouraging reflection and meditation on it's sayings by virtue of it's delicate balance between clarity and ambiguity.
All of this can turn those new to the text away. But if you really want to understand the book, you will find it richly rewarding! Properly understood, the wisdom contained therein is helpful, profound, and a good starting point for exploring other ideas in Taoist, Buddhist, and Indian philosophy.
It's also a calming and beautifully written book, given a competent translation. Most translations are fine, but I definitely recommend Red Pine's, Minford's, Addis and Lombardo's, or any one of ones listed on this site that isn't Stephen Mitchell. Mitchell's translation is not horrible, he just adds too much to the text for my tastes.
As for a good introduction to the Tao Te Ching, Tao: The Watercourse Way is the best I've found. In any case, however, this book deserves five stars. There are great reasons why it is considered such an essential text in so many countries!
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