
[PLACEHOLDER] – WORK IN PROGRESS
This project of translating and annotating the Tao Te Ching is a personal journey as well as a public offering. My goal is to explore the text from the perspective of a Taoist mystic. The project will be dedicated to the public domain, which means anyone, anywhere, can freely access, use, and share this work. I endeavor to contribute to the ongoing tradition of sharing ancient wisdom openly and inclusively.
This webpage is a work in progress. I will be updating it from time to time as I complete the verses. I invite you to join me on this journey of discovery, reflection, and interpretation.
道德經
-
Introduction
Book I (Chapters 1 – 36): Tao Ching 道經
- Verse 1: The Path and Its Name
- Verse 2: Being and Non-Being Reciprocate
- Verse 3: Fulfill from Within
- Verse 4: The Abyss
- Verse 5: Guard the Center 守中
- Verse 6: The Mysterious Feminine 玄牝
- Verse 7: Heaven Eternal, Earth Enduring
- Verse 8: Be Like Water
- Verse 9: Moderation is the Way of Heaven
- Verse 10: Xuan De, the Hidden Code 玄德
- Verse 11: The Hollow is Its Purpose
- Verse 12: Trust the Heart and Not the Eyes
- Verse 13: Adversity in Body and Being
- Verse 14: Study of the Tao 道紀
- Verse 15: Cultivating Serenity
- Verse 16: Stillness 靜
- Verse 17: Ziran 自然
- Verse 18: A Kingdom in Chaos
- Verse 19: Undyed Silk, Uncarved Wood
- Verse 20: I Am Alone, But Not Alone
- Verse 21:
- Verse 22:
- Verse 23: The Arcane Reveals Ziran
- Verse 24:
- Verse 25:
- Verse 26: Stillness Gives the Capricious a Master
- Verse 27:
- Verse 28:
- Verse 29:
- Verse 30:
- Verse 31:
- Verse 32:
- Verse 33:
- Verse 34:
- Verse 35:
- Verse 36:
Book II (Chapters 37 – 81): Te Ching 德經
- Verse 37: The Tao Enduring is Wu Wei
- Verse 38:
- Verse 39:
- Verse 40:
- Verse 41:
- Verse 42:
- Verse 43:
- Verse 44:
- Verse 45:
- Verse 46:
- Verse 47:
- Verse 48:
- Verse 49:
- Verse 50:
- Verse 51: Ziran and the Hidden Code
- Verse 52:
- Verse 53:
- Verse 54:
- Verse 55:
- Verse 56:
- Verse 57:
- Verse 58:
- Verse 59:
- Verse 60: When Demons Have No Power
- Verse 61:
- Verse 62:
- Verse 63:
- Verse 64:
- [to be continued]
Notes
- The Awakened Ones 聖人 (Shèng Rén)
- The Myriad Beings 萬物 (Wàn Wù)
- On Wu Wei 無為
- On Ziran 自然
- True Names 真名 and True Forms 真形
- The Many Names of the Tao 道
- The Mysteries 玄 (Xuán)