Richard Bertschinger - The Writings of Lao Tzu
in Nine Volumes

At around the time of the unification of China, over two-thousand years ago, a small text appeared. Revised and authorised by the later Han (c. 200 AD), during China’s imperial expansion, it became the text of the Taoists, a motley crew – who could only have been born in China.
The Tao-te Ching, the writings of Lao Tzu  exist as some eighty-one chapters (eighty-one is nine times nine, nine was the Heavenly number) and is divided into two halves – the first concerned with the Tao, the Way or Path, the second the Te, its virtue or power. Taoism points to something more than words - and this small book provides a key to a subtlety of thought, a gentle touch distinctly Chinese.

This is a work of inward cultivation, a spiritual tract giving instruction in breath-control and meditation, as well as a treatise on government.

Well then, what is the Tao?  And what are Yin and Yang?  Answer: On one side of the divide lie the Mother, the root, the Tao, no name, no form, not-having and wu-wei; while on the other side stand her children, Yin and Yang, the branches, the ten-thousand things, name, form, possession and action. But ultimately there are no sides or distinctions.   only the One.  I commend this book to the reader. Take time to dip into the text and savour it. Practice your qigong. In a troubled world, an ounce of good thought is worth a barrow-load of action. 32pp


---


The Writings of Lao Tzu Vol.1 - The Tao which can be Told Is Not the Constant Tao