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  • Tao Te Ching

  • The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao
  • By: John Minford, Lao Tzu
  • Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
  • Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (160 ratings)
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Tao Te Ching cover art

Tao Te Ching

By: John Minford,Lao Tzu
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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Summary

The original mindfulness book, in a landmark new translation by the award-winning translator of the I Ching and The Art of War

The most translated book in the world after the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, or “Book of the Tao,” is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe. Traditionally attributed to Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher thought to have been a contemporary of Confucius, it is the essential text of Taoism, one of the three major religions of ancient China. As one of the world’s great works of wisdom literature, it still has much to teach us today, offering a practical model based on modesty and self-restraint for living a balanced existence and for opening your mind, freeing your thoughts, and attaining greater self-awareness. With its emphasis on calm, simplicity, purity, and non-action, it provides a time-tested refuge from the busyness of modern life.

This new translation seeks to understand the Tao Te Ching as a guide to everyday living and encourages a slow, meditative reading experience. The Tao Te Ching’s eighty-one brief chapters are accompanied by illuminating commentary, interpretation, poems, and testimonials by the likes of Margaret Mead, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

©2018 John Minford (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The power of the ­Lao-­tzu’s imagery and, ultimately, the simplicity of its message seem to be able to overcome the problems of language and of distance in time and place, so that at the end of the twentieth century, this has become one of the most influential of texts, cherished by people in all walks of life throughout the world.” (From the introduction by Sarah Allan)

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Extremely Confusing, Here's Why:

I am familiarised with many great works from many different disciplines and areas. The Tao Te Ching itself is confusing, indeed how can it not be when the concept of the Taoist Tao is completely inarticulable. This version does, however, add to this confusion. The demarcations between various commentators and indeed Laozi's original text are, while present, not often defined clearly enough atleast in this audio format.

As such one may find oneself listening only to wonder if the had been listening to Minford, Laozi, The Rivermaster or other.

I would recommend also reading an alternate version without commentary first in order to better differentiate between commentary and core text.

Apart from this, highly informative and enjoyable.

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10 people found this helpful

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Discarded

disjointed too much irrelevant information for a book allegedly relating spiritual teachings. Misses the point of the teachings completely

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3 people found this helpful

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audio skipping

there is a problem with audio skipping all the way through, seems like a good book part from that but can't listen to it like this

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when meaning is known words can be discarded...

this gem from a book which is simply delightful to listen to.

worth listening closely to the notes on, who is commenting where,once this is accepted and understood,the book then becomes like a discussion around meaning and context of the writing.

Each commentator then becomes the version of themselves that one may consider to have a certain set of positions.so this then helps the listeners to apply another sort of verification to understand.

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guidance to live by

calming and insightful. has given me a fresh look on life and helped me put certain behaviours to bed.
enjoyed the voice of the narrator

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wonderfully thought provoking

Fantastic version, wonderfully narrated. if you have never read or listened to this ancient wisdom you really are missing out.

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Clarity and Simplicity

3rd translation/interpretation that I’ve studied. A good companion text for my minor role as a teacher of Tai Chi Chuan🙏

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Excellent

The care and attention to detail that has gone into this book makes it a pleasure to listen to. Thank you. Really well read and put together. If you want to learn more about the Dao look no further.

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Inspiring

Good commentaries,good narration,good translation.Wonderful book.Especially useful is the different commentaries by different authors,old and modern.

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Simply beautiful, timeless wisdom

So much of our ancient wisdom is slowly becoming invisible to the eyes and inaudible to the ears of our distracted, consumerist population. Hence titles like this are ever-more crucial to the preservation, translation, and promotion of profound and meaningful methodologies for the art of living.

Gratitude to John Minford for this work—a wonderful translation and commentary of the Tao Te Ching.

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