Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics)

Phenomal book. It speaks to my mind and soul.

I am a mindfulness meditator and in my humble opinion this is the greatest book ever written.

I had no idea what to expect of this book when It arrived. I turned it over in my hands and it was clearly very short in length, so I decided to just read a few pages while I finished my morning coffee. One and a half hours later I had finished the book entirely, along with my coffee, and I immediately knew upon completion that I would read this book many, many more times in my life. It was a highly profound, dare I say life changing read that dramatically impacted my perspective towards my own happiness and how I interact with others. Written as a collection of very short, almost poem-like chapters, often each occupying less than a single page, this book is a masterfully crafted guide to find real happiness and fulfillment in your life. It is a tome that empowers you, humbles you, and leads you around the pitfalls that so many humans fall into throughout their lives. It is not a modern self help book with life-hacks, habit forming tips, or other such articulations, but rather a fundamental, deep, and moving look at what makes up a fulfilling life. If you are someone who has discovered mindfulness, explores meditation, or ponders philosophy, then this book is, without question, a must-read. And if you are more of a go-getter. A driven entrepreneurial type who is looking more or straightforward advice on building your business, achieving goals and finding ‘success’, then I encourage you more-so than anyone else to pick this book up. It has helped me make difficult business decisions, cut through the unimportant details and roadblocks, optimize my time, and improve my relations with my clients and really everyone else in my life for that matter. It is a book for the true winners, who understand that karma is practical, and that compassion is the path to real success. It is a book that I will cherish for the rest of my life, and I feel indebted to the author and translator for bringing its wisdom into the world.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is a powerful book. This translation renders words for deep thought. There are similarities between the Tao and Jesus Christ. I did reading comparison between this book and The Tao of Christ to understand the similarities. I read another version earlier this year. I prefer this one.

Very insightful

I was a first timer reading of the Tao Te Ching and I found it very impactful. I really enjoyed its message and felt a deep connection with many of the passages. As far as the translation, obviously I can't compare to other versions but I have to say I overall enjoyed it. Stephen Mitchell makes things very readable and understandable, I don't know how close or far any of these translations differ from others, but I did not feel there was any odd language or archaic terms or phraseology that made the ideas difficult to understand, all that came through clearly The switching of genders thing is always jolting to me when I am reading something and then I wonder if they are talking about someone else, at least here we got a warning it was coming. In this specific context it was mostly okay because of the universality of the message and I got used to it after a while. However I still felt there were a few parts where the constant changing of genders, combined with the specific other content in a specific verse that I thought kind of made it slightly confusing. Mitchell says "The Chinese language doesn't make this kind of distinction, in English we have to choose" Uhh, really, Stephen Mitchell? How did you forget about the word "they"? I believe a few theys thrown in would have even made a few of the passages more understandable and the gender less distracting. I am a fan of Stephen Mitchell in general and have enjoyed other work of theirs, but I think they could have executed making the message non-gendered/universal a bit better if it really was so important. to do in the first place.

This a wonderful new translation. Very inspiring

Laozi’s book is as relevant now as it was 2,500 years ago. His advice on how to live a deeper, fuller life and how to be one with “The Dao” is absolutely timeless. If you’re spiritual but not religious (SBNR) like I am, you will get a lot from this book. Approach it with an open mind, keeping your childhood religious indoctrination to the side, and you will come away with some profound insights. I wish I could have met Laozi. After reading this book you will come away agreeing that he was a very profound individual!