The Tao Te Ching Summary (Plus PDF)

A 400BC-year-old book that gives you a test of the ancient school of philosophy, Taoism (or Daoism). The Laozi who invented Taoism will teach you three principles of life; Simplicity, patience, and compassion while doing so, you can master the art of living right.

It’s one of those books that you should read at least once. You will get to learn a lot from the minds of Laozi.

The Tao Te Ching Summary

A Chinese philosopher Laozi wrote this book 400 BC ago, surely it won’t be easy to read. It has been translated many times yet it’s still hard to read and hard to understand what Laozi is trying to teach us.

I have tried my best and I will try my best to simplify this book for you but before you start reading The Tao Te Ching, make sure you know these things…

• The Book was written years ago and has been translated many times but still, the English is a bit hard to understand. So if you’re learning English then this is not the best book to start from.
• The author doesn’t explain anything, so you will have to understand what Laozi is trying to say to you. In short, it’s not for beginners, it goes a bit deeper into spirituality.

As I have said, The Laozi trying to teach us Simplicity, patience, and compassion.

As Laozi says, if we can understand the real meaning of life by accepting reality and seeing things as it is, by doing so we can master the art of living rightly.

That being said, let me share with you three lessons from the book.

I’m keeping my promise, this is the mini-ebook of The Tao Te Ching by Laozi. So download right now and read wherever you want for free. Happy Reading.

Let go of Everything

We all know, that everyone will die one day, and no one is immune. The time will come and even you have to go but before you leave your body, live the life you want to live.

Laozi says, when you go to bed, tell yourself “There will be no tomorrow.”

Whatever problem you have, leave those aside, go to sleep, and tell yourself “If I wake up tomorrow, I will live in reality rather than questioning the past or thinking about the future.”

Related: 15 Must-Read Books in Life

Life is beautiful and it’s simple too, don’t make it hard. If you have hands, legs, ears, and eyes then you have everything. Don’t complain about anything, accept the reality, and live in the movement without doubting yourself.

Let go of your ego, jealousy, anger, and hate, and understand that all of them are just a feeling, you’re the one who is reacting.

This doesn’t mean, you will never feel those emotions. This simply means, be aware of yourself all the time even when you get angry, and ask yourself, is this necessary? 

You Made Mistake

One of the worst things you can do is to ignore the mistakes you made and please yourself that it wasn’t because of me, it was because of my friends, employees, or family.

Instant, Accept that you made a mistake and fix it because every problem has a solution. You just have to find it in the right direction but before that, you will have to admit that you made a mistake.

I know, admitting your mistake is hard but if you find the courage to do so then you will free yourself from other people’s opinions. You will only care about what you think about yourself.

So own your mistakes and learn from them.

The Real-Me

Never hate someone or wish bad for someone because he/she said something bad about you or your family.

When you were born, you didn’t know the meaning of the F or N-word. Those were just a word till you get to know the meaning behind it.

So accept that words are just words which we humans have meaning.

Even what you’re feeling at this movement will change in a few hours. You just have to understand the meaning behind it.

Understand, why you get angry, why you hate XYZ person, why I’m obsessed with ABC person, and why you’re not able to forgive yourself.

Understand how our mind works and how we behave in certain situations.

The Tao Te Ching Lessons

• Words are Words, you don’t have to get upset because XYX person is saying because that hurts your belief.
• Whatever mistakes you have made, own them and learn from them. Never ignore your mistakes or even failures.
• The past is gone, the future is yet to come but the reality is you’re living in the present. So be in movement and try not to overthink about the past or future.
• The greatest power in the world is not the money but to understand yourself fully and doing what matters the most.
• Life is as beautiful as you’re. Don’t make it too complicated, just be yourself.

The Tao Te Ching Quotes

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

“When there is no desire, all things are at peace.”

“If you understand others, you are smart. If you understand yourself, you are illuminated. If you overcome, others you are powerful. If you overcome yourself, you have strength. If you know how to be satisfied, you are rich. If you can act with vigor, you have a will. If you don’t lose your objectives, you can be long-lasting. If you die without loss, you are eternal.”

“When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.”

“If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it.”

“The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.”

“The further one goes, the less one knows.”

“Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.”

“Love is a decision – not an emotion!”

Conclusion

Frankly speaking, I have bought three translated versions of The Tao Te Ching to fully understand the mind of Laozi and I feel at a certain level, I have a bit of understanding of what he was trying to teach us.

Also, I love to read old books because I get to understand people and their thoughts.

In the end, I will say, It’s a good read and you should read it if you love to explore ancient times.

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