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Everyday Tao Te Ching: A Renegade's Practical Guide to Happiness Today: The Tao for The Rest of Us
Originally written some 2,500 years ago Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching endures as a powerful and relevant guide - for kings, princes and captains - yet modern translations remain difficult to read.In Everyday Tao Te Ching , Texas artist and musician Pat O'Bryan updates the Tao for the twenty-first century. Shedding high-brow language and archaic cautions, Pat offers a Tao Te Ching that would be comfortable in blue jeans and a t-shirt.Simple, yet thought-provoking, chapters paired with powerful photographs create an imminently accessible Everyday Tao Te Ching - the Tao for the rest of us.
214 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 1, 2017
This is a very short book that I read at work. I tend to have a lot of free time there but I prefer to read when I know I won't get interrupted. But this is non-fiction, written in a very simple style you could practically read anywhere.
Living simply, minimalism and getting rid of distractions in life are things I have started focusing on in the past year. This book is really "in tune" with that. I've been meaning to read the Tao Te Ching, but it's pretty low on the pile.
This book essentially distills it down to more straight-forward ideas. Comparing the original with this I would say the author did a decent job, the basic principles expressed are repeated throughout the book a lot, but that isn't necessarily his fault.
My favorite quote from the book was: "True wealth is having exactly what you need and being content."
The best part of the book were the main principles it lays out at the start. These are things like following your path in life that doesn't compete with others, but flows with the least resistance. Don't do your work or art for praise, fame and money; those things will disappear. When the fame and money are gone, what's left is what's real in life. Possessions weigh you down, distract you and you're worried about protecting them. Let go of regret, it is a painful waste of energy.
He modernizes things at times, like in section 19 with, "Turn off your TV. Log off the Internet. You’ll be happier." A similar sentiment is expressed in section 65, relating to ignoring news and current events. I've ignored politics almost entirely for two months now, and my peace of mind has increased more than I thought possible.
Living simply, minimalism and getting rid of distractions in life are things I have started focusing on in the past year. This book is really "in tune" with that. I've been meaning to read the Tao Te Ching, but it's pretty low on the pile.
This book essentially distills it down to more straight-forward ideas. Comparing the original with this I would say the author did a decent job, the basic principles expressed are repeated throughout the book a lot, but that isn't necessarily his fault.
My favorite quote from the book was: "True wealth is having exactly what you need and being content."
The best part of the book were the main principles it lays out at the start. These are things like following your path in life that doesn't compete with others, but flows with the least resistance. Don't do your work or art for praise, fame and money; those things will disappear. When the fame and money are gone, what's left is what's real in life. Possessions weigh you down, distract you and you're worried about protecting them. Let go of regret, it is a painful waste of energy.
He modernizes things at times, like in section 19 with, "Turn off your TV. Log off the Internet. You’ll be happier." A similar sentiment is expressed in section 65, relating to ignoring news and current events. I've ignored politics almost entirely for two months now, and my peace of mind has increased more than I thought possible.
September 4, 2021
«أحد أقوى تعاليم الفلسفة التاوية هو مفهوم (وو وي). يترجم إلى "الإنجاز بدون عمل".
إنه لأمر مدهش مقدار الضرر والحزن اللذين يتسبب فيهما الأشخاص ذوو النوايا الحسنة الذين يحاولون فعل "الشيء الصحيح"»
بات أوبريان
إنه لأمر مدهش مقدار الضرر والحزن اللذين يتسبب فيهما الأشخاص ذوو النوايا الحسنة الذين يحاولون فعل "الشيء الصحيح"»
بات أوبريان
June 29, 2025
Bucktube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GSbW...
The Tao as summarized by Bob Seger.
The Tao as summarized by Bob Seger.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews