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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Have never read philosophy before and never expected to become a fan of a book from 400 BC, but this edition of the book looked so beautiful I just had to give it a go. Absolutely beautiful text and messages - it's almost eerie how much the messages still apply to today's world!
I loved that the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching is about not rushing, not trying to be the best, letting nature take its' course: messages our society today desperately needs! The gentle illustrations accompanying the short messages in this edition were fantastic too.
Some of the statements do seem contradictory, and a couple of messages are too self-punishing if taken literally and do need to be taken with a pinch of salt from the reader. Still, for a text from 400 BC, it's unbelievable how much humanity and love it is filled with - certainly a lot more humane than the Christian Bible!
I used to study history and so I thought people in the distant past only really wrote about kings and queens and war and power. It's been a fantastic revelation to read the words of a man separated from me by 2400 years and 5000 miles promoting kindness, love and slow living. 🩷
I loved that the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching is about not rushing, not trying to be the best, letting nature take its' course: messages our society today desperately needs! The gentle illustrations accompanying the short messages in this edition were fantastic too.
Some of the statements do seem contradictory, and a couple of messages are too self-punishing if taken literally and do need to be taken with a pinch of salt from the reader. Still, for a text from 400 BC, it's unbelievable how much humanity and love it is filled with - certainly a lot more humane than the Christian Bible!
I used to study history and so I thought people in the distant past only really wrote about kings and queens and war and power. It's been a fantastic revelation to read the words of a man separated from me by 2400 years and 5000 miles promoting kindness, love and slow living. 🩷
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, War
"Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good."
Tao Te Ching is a collection of the main principles of Taoism which, even if you're not an advocate of religion or philosophy, contains a multitude of useful and essential knowledge regarding humility, meditation, and discipline. Tao Te Ching is a sort of pre-Stoic philosophy book that doubles as a self-help book, containing so much colorful and naturalistic figurative language that it reads almost as a mix between Marcus Aurelius, Machiavelli, and even Heraclitus. Though a short volume, it contains all the knowledge a person needs to live a successful and enjoyable life, as well as how to maintain a healthy self-discipline and self-appreciation. Extremely profound and simple yet powerful, highly recommended from Nietzsche fanatics to Seneca enthusiasts alike.
Tao Te Ching is a collection of the main principles of Taoism which, even if you're not an advocate of religion or philosophy, contains a multitude of useful and essential knowledge regarding humility, meditation, and discipline. Tao Te Ching is a sort of pre-Stoic philosophy book that doubles as a self-help book, containing so much colorful and naturalistic figurative language that it reads almost as a mix between Marcus Aurelius, Machiavelli, and even Heraclitus. Though a short volume, it contains all the knowledge a person needs to live a successful and enjoyable life, as well as how to maintain a healthy self-discipline and self-appreciation. Extremely profound and simple yet powerful, highly recommended from Nietzsche fanatics to Seneca enthusiasts alike.
inspiring
fast-paced
inspiring
slow-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
It is a lot less wowing than I expected for the most read book of all time. Maybe I am just cynical or didn’t understand it. But a lot of it seemed self evident.
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
I've always enjoyed Chinese philosophy, and this book is probably the one that has influence me the most. It's conception of "the way" is how I view the world, and the philosophy of selfishness is how I have chosen to live my life.
i read stephen mitchell's translation years ago and found it lucid but it didn't really resonate with me then. ursula le guin's rendition, on the other hand, is poetic in a way that's really simple yet so affecting. she preserves the imagery and softens it, and her notes at the end of every chapter are a really nice touch. i intend to explore other translations properly - i've compared a few and they vary so much that i see the text in a new light every time.