Both in its illustrious beauty and its simplicity in describing the nature of every facet of the universe, the human condition and man himself, I am calling this the best piece of spiritual literature ever written.
I have used this as a meditation/pondering tool for 10 years and pick it up every morning to read one verse and a corresponding story from it. I cannot say how many hundreds of times I've gone through it but I never tire of it. It is my very favorite text and have had several other-worldly spiritual awakenings as a result of being overcome by the energy elicited from this book.
You either get the Tao or you don't. In fact, it says that in one of the verses (#38). If you feel the Tao - truly feel it - you know what I am talking about. Feeling is how the Tao transmits and assimilates, rather than through cognitive understanding. The teachings of Lao Tzu are beyond anything describable in terms of ordinary logic.
I remember being in Barnes and Noble looking for something else after being with Tolle's Power of Now and meditating with that text; itself, a magnificent treatise. I started poring over the many versions of the Tao, and this book literally fell off the shelf at my feet. There’s a message from your Higher Power if there ever was one.
Master Ni's version of the Tao te Ching is the most clear, beautiful and eloquent version I've seen. I have purchased many of these and given them away over the years, and nobody has ever called me to tell me how much they love it and use it, not once. It's not for everyone and definitely not mainstream-exciting like, say, Candy Crush or Call of Duty.
BUT - a fellow named Brian Browne Walker loved it so much he actually wrote, as an homage to Master Hua Ching Ni, author of this, TheGreatest Works of Lao Tzu, a shorter, more concise - almost pocket-sized - version of the Hua Hu Ching portion (the stories) in his own words, called The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu.
I felt it necessary to obtain permission from both of these incredible authors to use passages in a book I have been working on for years about the spiritual experience and recovery from alcoholism. In doing so I discovered that Master Ni, from Santa Monica, CA, was not aware that Mr. Walker had paid him such tribute in releasing The Unknown Teachings in his honor.
Both are fantastic and have great value, at least to me. Both authors were indeed gracious as well. I also highly recommend Tolle's Power of Now.
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