READING PATHS
A first reading
Six short encounters with the book. Begin with familiar images, then return to the opening question.
Like water
上善若水。
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to…
Read chapterThe usefulness of emptiness
三十辐共一毂，当其无，有车之用。
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels;…
Read chapterKnowing yourself
知人者智，自知者明。
He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who…
Read chapterA journey of a thousand miles
其安易持，其未兆易谋。
That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is…
Read chapterLiving things are soft
人之生也柔弱，其死也坚强。
Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and…
Read chapterThe way and its name
道可道，非常道，名可名，非常名。
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)…
Read chapter