Eastern Philosophy
The Art of Non-Action
A Summary of the “Dao De Jing” by Laozi (400 BCE)
The Dao De Jing is one of the most important works in Chinese philosophy. Written almost two and a half thousand years ago, it is, along with the Zhuangzi, one of the foundation texts of Daoism. The English translation of the title is “The Classic of the Way and its Virtue” and is traditionally ascribed to a Chinese sage named “Laozi”.
The central figure in the text: the “Dao”, or “Way”, is a term used to express the underlying natural order and flow of the cosmos. It is beyond all concepts and so impossible to accurately define, yet the notion has parallels in other traditions, such as the Vedic “Ṛta”, the Greek “Logos”, and the Zoroastrian “Asha”.
We proceed now with a simplified abridgment of the text.
By the way, I’m now publishing all of my book summaries under the publication Paraphilosophy. I’d really appreciate it if you could follow — it’s free. 😁
The Dao that can be spoken, is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named, is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of the ten thousand things. The…
