Laozi

"Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching is not only the single most important text in Chinese spirituality, it is probably the most influential spiritual text in human history. In the past, virtually all translations of this text have been produced either by sinologists having little poetic facility in English, or writers having no ability to read the original Chinese. David Hinton's fluency in ancient Chinese and his award-winning poetic ability combine both of...

Excerpt from the book: The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things. Always without desire we must be found, If its deep mystery we would sound; But if desire always within us be, Its outer fringe...

First published in 1934, this translation of Lao Tzu's Tao Tê Ching-unlike previous translations-is based not on the medieval commentaries, but on a close study of the whole of early Chinese literature. The Tao Tê Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism, and strongly influenced other schools, such as Legalism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism. Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters,...

The book Tao Te King is divided into two parts. The first part deals with Tao: which, meaning Unity, also means path, way, meaning. The second part refers to Te: efficacy, a way of agreeing, of attuning, and which is usually translated as "virtue", but in the sense that this word has in classical pre-Christian Latin: "strength".

The Dao De Jing exists on the border between poetry and philosophy, embracing both mythos and logos. Its poetic form can stand alone, but it is enriched when its timeless ideas are analyzed and explained through careful scholarship. For example: "He who knows others is knowledgeable. He who knows himself is wise." These words resemble Socrates' account of his own quest in Plato's Apology. Ancient philosophy, both in China and in Greece, places self-knowledge...

Hemos seleccionado para ustedes 100 grandes citas de Lao Tzu perfectas para la meditación. Lao-Tzu fue un filósofo y poeta de la antigua China. Es conocido como el reputado autor del Tao Te Ching y el fundador del taoísmo filosófico, y como una deidad del taoísmo religioso y de las religiones tradicionales chinas. Figura central de la cultura china, Lao Tzu es reclamado tanto por los emperadores de la dinastía Tang como por el pueblo moderno....