Dao De Jing

Filled with timeless wisdom, the Dao De Jing is one of the most influential Chinese books in history. Seemingly overflowing with paradoxical contradictions (much like the heart sutra of Guanyin), what is presented in the text is what one should understand on an instinctive level, not on a rational level. In this text, Laozi will claim that beauty is ugliness; and ugliness is beauty - weak is strong; and strong is weak. With Laozi using water as an ultimate example of what is strong, meditate on this: If you hit a stone hard enough, it will break. What happens if you hit a body of water with the same force?

All chapters have been compiled in this order:

Traditional Chinese version
Simplified Chinese version
Pinyin version (how to pronounce the Chinese characters)
English translation

I have chosen this particular layout especially with Chinese learners in mind, but it should not deter non-Chinese speakers, as an English version of all chapters is provided after the Chinese versions have been presented. Moreover, being confronted with the Chinese version of this text is an excellent and best way to engage with the Daodejing for ultimate comprehension of what the mythical Laozi meant by his philosophy.