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This is an introduction to the Tao te Ching. Throughout the journey of my own introspection no one piece of wisdom has been at my side more than the Tao te Ching, and it is an honor to present the Way in this light. The Tao te Ching speaks to everybody on many different levels of understanding. The Tao is a book that is felt rather than intellectualized, and it can be read in its entirity in one afternoon yet contemplated for a lifetime.
Tao Te Ching Introduction - Read By Jacob Needleman
The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders
There is something formlessly created
Born before Heaven and Earth
So silent! So ethereal!
Independent and changeless
Circulating and ceaseless
It can be regarded as the mother of the world
I do not know its name
Identifying it, I call it "Tao"
Forced to describe it, I call it great
Great means passing
Passing means receding
Receding means returning
Therefore the Tao is great
Heaven is great
Earth is great
The sovereign is also great
There are four greats in the universe
And the sovereign occupies one of them
Humans follow the laws of Earth
Earth follows the laws of Heaven
Heaven follows the laws of Tao
Tao follows the laws of nature....
The world has a beginning
We regard it as the mother of the world
Having its mother
We can know her children
Knowing her children
Still holding on to the mother
Live without danger all through life
I drink from the great mother's milk...
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