In this post you will find a summary of the best ideas from the Tao Te Ching. This book is often referred to as the classic user manual for life. This version consists of 81 one-page chapters of the best of Laozi’s wisdom. Many good quotes and rules of living can be taken from the book. It can be read several times, and you will get more out of it each time.
Also on YouTube: The Tao Te Ching Summary
If you would like to watch the Tao Te Ching summary in video format, have a look at this video I put out on YouTube. If not, you can keep reading below!
Words and actions
“The master doesn’t talk, he does.”
– Laozi
The Master’s words are in perfect harmony with his actions, because he does not SAY he will do something, then DO something else. A perfect example of Laozi’s simple and concise wisdom.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
This well-known quote can be translated into something like this in Norwegian: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Isn’t that a nice thought? No matter how much someone has achieved, whether it is Alexander the Great or Abraham Lincoln, they too had to start their journey with one step.
Is the grass greener on the other side?
“People enjoy their food, enjoy themselves with their family, spend the weekend working in the garden, and enjoy what is going on in the neighbourhood.
And though the next village is so near that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking, they are content to die of old age without ever going to see it.”
This has to be one of the most beautiful passages in the book. It can be interpreted in several ways, and one of them is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. You can actually be completely happy where you are right now. It makes me think about my own perception that it was so important to go to a bigger city and study, and get away from little Verdal with its 15,000 inhabitants. 5 years later, after many dead ends, I’m back, and have found that it’s actually pretty nice here.
About the Author: Laozi
There is really not much to say about Laozi, the author of the Tao Te Ching. He may either have lived at the same time as the great Confucius, around the 6th century BC. (others say he lived in the 4th century BC); he may have been an archivist in one of the small Chinese kingdoms; we will probably never know for sure.
One thing that is clear from what he has written, however, is that he cared deeply about society and the welfare of his fellow men.
About the translator: Stephen Mitchell
Stephen Mitchell is the translator of the Tao Te Ching. Born in Brooklyn in 1943, he was thoroughly educated at Amherst, the Sorbonne, and Yale. He has also written, translated, and edited dozens of books.
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