The Tao or Dao, has many meanings. The Path or the Way are most common. Most associate concern and discussion of The Dao to Lao Tzu or Lao Zi, but the Dao is of great importance in ancient and modern thought, and to other great thinkers like Confucius, Zhuang Zi, Han Fei Zi, Chu Hsi, and so on. The Dao is central to much Confucian, Daoist, Legalist, and modern thought: e.g. Han Fei Zi wrote the first treatise on the Dao De Jing, reading the text as a political treatise, the Dao is central to the Confucian text The Doctrine of the Mean.

Though Taoist thought & Taoism, and the Dao, are broader than Lao Zi (old Master), here we first present the complete text of the Dao De Jing.

The Dao De Jing has been read in more than just a political light: it's been read as a document of mysticism, a philosophical treatise, a buddhist text, even as a text on macrobiotics. One thing that is certain is the Tao Te Jing, or however you want to say it (or mean it - The Way & Power, The Way & Its Power, The Way to Virtue, Power's Dao, Virtue's Way, etc.), is internally inconsistent if you try and box it in to one way of reading it. Whatever way you find yourself reading the text, Enjoy!

We will always be adding to our own book collection, but one excellent online resource for books is at Project Gutenberg.


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