The Book of Tao, by the Legendary Founder of
Taoism, in the Version Prepared by Lin Yutang
Laotse
A traditional image of Lao-Tzu, Lao-tse or Laotse
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A 2019 Editorial Note:
Helena Blavatsky wrote that Taoism is “a religion
based upon pure reason and spirituality”.[1] In “The Secret
Doctrine”, she added: “[Lao-tse] is said to have written 930
books on Ethics and religions, and seventy on magic, one
thousand in all. His great work, however, the heart of his
doctrine, the ‘Tao-te-King’, or the sacred scriptures of the
Taosse, has in it, as Stanislas Julien shows, only ‘about 5,000
Words’ (Tao-te-King, p. xxvii.), hardly a dozen of pages (…).”[2]
We reproduce below the work “Tao Teh Ching” as translated by
Lin Yutang and published under the title of “Laotse, the Book of Tao”.
It is included in the volume “The Wisdom of China and India”, edited
by Lin Yutang, The Modern Library, Random House, New York, USA,
1955, 1104 pages, see pp. 578-624. We have added footnotes.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
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NOTES:
[1] “Collected Writings”, H. P. Blavatsky, TPH, USA, vol. III, p. 419.
[2] Helena P. Blavatsky in “The Secret Doctrine”, vol. I, p. XXV. Click to see “The Secret Doctrine” in one of our associated websites. (CCA)
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“The Tao Teh Ching”, in the version made by Lin Yutang, was published in PDF by the associated websites on 18 June 2019. It had been previously published as a series of articles in “The Aquarian Theosophist” between April and December 2018.
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