What is the Tao te Ching?

Exploring one of the most influential spiritual books ever written

I was speaking to a friend the other day about my favorite spiritual books. We agreed about Be Here Now, by Ram Das, the Way of Zen by Alan Watts, The Course in Miracles, and a few others. Then I mentioned one that was not on his list. The Tao te Ching. He knew I had been working on a translation and meta-analysis of the book for over four decades but I had never spoken much about it, even after I had completed it and had it published.

When I mentioned it was on my list of favorites, he asked me to tell him more about it, and I did. Below is the essence of what we discussed.

The Tao te Ching is one of the most influential texts of spiritual wisdom ever created. Also known as the Lao Tzu or Laozi, it is traditionally credited to the 6th-century BC Sage Lao Tzu.

This Book, consisting of 81 poems or entries is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism and is also a lifestyle guide to spiritual seekers of all stripes. The title, Tao Te Ching translates very roughly as “the way of integrity”. In its 81 verses, it delivers a treatise on how to live in the world with goodness and integrity: an important kind of wisdom in a world where many people believe such a thing to be impossible.

As one explores thousands of years of history before Western influence came into the East, particularly to China and India, one can see the patterns of many distinct but complementary approaches weaving through spiritual, emotional, physical, and cultural life. This is especially apparent in three of these threads: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Each of these affects the other and has been influenced by each other. The Tao te Ching helps clarify ideas in all three great traditions.

While Buddhism and Confucianism have made a mark on the lives of billions of people, Taoism has been hidden in plain sight. Practiced by Chinese and other Asian peoples for centuries, it has always exhibited a type of spiritual schizophrenia. On the one hand, it has as many rites, rituals, ceremonies, creeds, temples, priests, and sacred texts as the most dogmatic of orthodox faiths — certainly more than many Buddhist traditions.

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