http://daily-tao.blogspot.com/
I created a blog especially for this, but I wanted to share this in a thread on MW for everyone's benefit. I will post each new verse and its comments regularly and invite others to share their own interpretations of each verse. Bear in mind, that the Tao is not to be understood with the mind and analysis, but with the heart and soul.
Before I begin, I will preface it with the intro from the blog:
I recently decided to re-immerse myself in the Tao Te Ching, one of the oldest books still in existence - and certainly one of the wisest and most profound. It presents an approach to life which is almost quite alien to our materialistic, consumer-driven modern society, but which I feel is more important than ever and is a way of reconnecting us to a more natural, balanced and peaceful mode of living and experiencing life.
I have at least four different translations of the Tao Te Ching and what I have done is mix and match from each, to re-create each verse in the manner which I feel best reflects the message imparted by Lao Tzu. I have mainly based it upon the translations/versions of Stephen Mitchell, John H McDonald and Jonathan Star.
I also decided to offer up a couple of paragraphs for each entry sharing my own experiences and intuitive understandings as to what the words (which are often enigmatic, cryptic and sometimes paradoxical) are pointing to. After meditating upon the verse in question, I simply open myself to whatever words come to mind. My comments may or may not fit in with the 'conventional' understandings of whichever verse, but I nevertheless endeavour to share what is true from my experience.
I hope you enjoy this blog, which will eventually include all 81 verses of the Tao Te Ching in what may or may not be a daily basis (I'll aim for daily, and I'll see how I get on!) Please feel free to share your own comments as to what each verse means to you and how you interpret the timeless wisdom of Lao Tzu.
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