The Julião Organization

Simple things for simple people ever since we can remember.

GNU's Not Lao - The GNL Tao Te Ching

 Lao Tse was born in China in 604 BC. Older than Confucius, he held a view that was quite the opposite of the younger man's strict approach to life and honour.
 Lao Tse's motto was "Live a simple life, be free, be yourself, and be close to nature. Do these things and you will be wise and happy."
 Many people have believed, throughout the years, that Lao Tse had a point. Many people still believe that.

 Altough not strictly connected to Taoism, which appeared nearly 700 after Lao Tse's death, his only written work, the Tao Te Ching, or the "Book of the Manifestations of Flow", embodies most of the concepts later picked up by both Taoism and many other oriental religions and philosophical trends of belief.

 Many translations of the Tao Te Ching exist. But Frank Merel went further: he rewrote the Lao Tse classic interpolating it from existing translations, trying to capture not the strictness of the words but the balance, the beauty and the magic of the original work. I personally believe he has succeeded.

 My favorite version is 2.07, particularly the beginning of the text. Sometimes you read something and know it is true. Frank Merel and Lao Tse made it happen for me.

The GNL Tao Te Ching, version 2.07

The GNL Tao Te Ching, version 4.01

The GNL Tao Te Ching, an older version

The GNL Tao Te Ching, version 2.07 accompanied by the original Chinese text (at chinapage.org)

The Tao Te Ching (not GNL) - one of the available translations

The Tao Te Ching (not GNL) - the real thing (in Chinese)