We will discuss the Tao Te Ching (Pronounced Dao De Jing or Daodejing) which is a classic Chinese text that dates from around the 6th century BC. Its name comes from the opening words of its two sections: dào "way," Chapter 1, and dé "virtue/power," Chapter 38, plus jīng "classic." According to tradition, it was written around the 6th century BC by the sage Laozi (or Lao Tzu, "Old Master"), a record-keeper at the Zhou Dynasty court. The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated, although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC. The text is fundamental to the Philosophical and religious Taoism (pronounced and also spelled Daoism).
The book isn't very long (about 50 pages) so it shouldn't take too much time to read.
Meeting Information:
Location: Plaza Branch Library, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
Time: 7:00 PM
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Text of "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu available free on-line. For those who read Chinese there are hyperlinks to Chinese text.
http://www.chinapage.com/gnl.html
In the book, "A Million Little Pieces" by James Christopher Frey, the "Tao Te Ching" is named as a source of strength for overcoming drug and alcohol addiction.
http://t.co/WLChkERE
The following quotation is from "Travels With Herodotus" by Ryszard Kapuściński, Ryszard Kapuþsciþnski, Klara Glowczewska (Translator):
"In their message to the simple man, however, Confucianism and Taoism have a common denominator: the recommendation of humility. It is interesting that at approximately the same time, and also in Asia, arise two other intellectual disciplines, Buddhism and Ionian philosophy, which offer lesser mortals the identical advice: be humble. (p. 68)"
Some favorite quotations from the Tao Te Ching:
http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/100074-tao-teh-ching
Quotation from Lecture 7 of lecture series "Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition" by the Teaching Co.:
"Confucianism is associated with hierarchy, order, social responsibility, conformity, moralism, activism, service, and seriousness.
Taoism on the other hand prefers the ideals of individualism, freedom, non-conformity, nature, retirement, tranquility, mysticism , and wit.
Taoist philosophers are funny in ways that Confucian philosophers almost never are. .... Both Confucianism and Taoism are suspicious of competition. ... They're suspicious of words being used other than their regular meaning, and they dislike coercion. ... They are both looking for social harmony and they both claim to have found the way."
Here's a LINK to a review of "Tao Te Ching" by Bernie, a member of our group.
Nine people attended our April 27 meeting. We spent most of our time comparing translations. Translations varied. Discussion was great. As Bernie said, “It don’t mean a thing, without Tao te Ching….” Those in attendance included Bernie, Cindi, Tim, John Q, John, Bo, Kathryn, Marty, and Clif.
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