Peace for the Soul
81 Verses of Tao Te Ching
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About the Resources and Authors
Deborah Hart Yemm writes:I will add some information in the comments section below about the resources and authors that are used for this study guide. Anyone adding content…
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Verse 81 - Living Without Accumulating
81st Verse True words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not true. Good men do not argue; those who argue are not good. Those who have virtue do not look for faults; those who look for faults have no virtue. Sages do not accumulate anything. but give everything to others; having more, the more…
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Verse 80 - Living Your Own Utopia
80th Verse Imagine a small country with few people. They have weapons and do not employ them; they enjoy the labor of their hands and do not waste time inventing laborsaving machines. They take death seriously and do not travel far. Since they dearly love their homes, they are not interested in…
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Verse 79 - Living Without Resentments
79th Verse After a bitter quarrel, some resentment remains. What can one do about it? Being content with what you have is always best in the end. Someone must risk returning injury with kindness, or hostility will never turn to goodwill. So the wise always give without expecting gratitude. One…
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Verse 78 - Living like Water
78th Verse Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water. But for attacking the hard, the unyielding, nothing can surpass it. There is nothing like it. The weak overcomes the strong; the soft surpasses the hard. In all the world, there is no one who does not know this, but no one can master…
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Verse 77 - Living by Offering the Surplus
77th Verse The way of heaven is like drawing a bow: The high is lowered, the low is raised. When it is surplus, it reduces; when it is deficient, it increases. The Tao of mankind is the opposite: It reduces the deficiency in order to add to the surplus. It strips the needy to serve those who have…
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Verse 74 - Living with No Fear of Death
74th Verse If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve. There is always a lord of death. He who takes the place of the lord of death is like one who cuts with the blade of a master carpenter.…
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Verse 76 - Living by Bending
76th Verse A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life; dry and brittle in death. Stiffness is thus a companion of death; flexibility a companion of life. An army that cannot yield will be defeated. A…
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Verse 75 - Living by Demanding Little
75th Verse When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the people's benefit; trust them, leave them alone. Contemplation/Meditation Verse I place fewer and fewer demands upon others, and especially on my self.…
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Verse 73 - Living in Heaven's Net
73rd Verse Bold action against others leads to death.Bold action in harmony with the Tao leads to life.Both of these thingssometimes benefitand sometimes injure. It is heaven's way to conquer without striving.It does not speak, yet it is answered.It does not ask, yet it is supplied with all that it…
I have personally been studying the 81 Verses of the Tao Te Ching since August 2007, choosing to gain a broader perspective by reading different versions by a diversity of authors.
In this group is an Index of links for each verse that will take you to any verse you wish to explore.
Members of this group are welcome to add their own favorites or comment upon those versions shared by me.
I have also included biographies for each of the various authors I have selected.
I recommend to you also the other Daoist/Taoist group here at PFTS, where you may gain an even broader perspective on Taoist thinking.
I have personally found studying these ancient 81 verses quite satisfying. I hope to write my own version of the Tao Te Ching from a naturalist/mystic's perspective someday.
It has been a joy to share the Tao Te Ching with you here. I have a deep appreciation of it's wisdom.
Deep Bows to ALL
who travel the Way -
Deb