Living the Wisdom of the Tao

Dyer's "version" of the Tao Te Ching is terrible. I call it a version because his translations do not match traditional translations, rather, his translations water down the real messages of the Tao. In fact, attempting to reword them goes againsgt the very teaching and value of the Tao. I am not sure what to make of the book, as it is not the Tao, yet also not a self help book. If one is looking to purchase the Tao Te Ching do not purchase this book because it is not even a loose translation. I have not read any of Dyer's other books, and this doesn't affect my opinion of his writing because this is his attempt at the Tao Te Ching, not one of his own original works. However, his version of the Tao makes me question his validity as a wise person or even someone capable of giving self help advice to others because his translations do not even capture the same messages as the original Tao and demonstrate that he does not have a true deep understanding of the Tao.

Buy if you are a follower of Dyer, but do not buy if you wanted a more in-depth or different version of the Tao because it is not either one of those. I am 100% disappointed in my purchase of this book, and now will have to pay more money to buy a real copy of the Tao Te Ching.

After reading 'Change your thoughts, Change your life' and then discovering this summarization with the affirmations - I had to buy it. It's worth the purchase even if it just sits on the shelf. Beautiful design and a comfortable feel to the cover. Wayne spent a lot of time on this project and the work he produced is proof of that. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is connected to the Tao, a fan of Wayne's work, or just wants to add a handsome book to their collection.

Although a beautiful book, I expected more interpretation by Dr. Dyer, given his unique ability to articulate simply the most complex metaphysical thoughts. The affirmations are all right, but a clue as to how to interpret the Tao phrases to our XXIst century existance would have made this book a perfect read.

The cover states this is the complete Tao Te Ching and affirmations. I believe the Tao, as it is called, is pronounced like the "ou" sound in "ouch" with a "T" in front of it. "Tao Te Ching" translates to "living and applying the Great Way". Ancient Chinese prophet and keeper of the imperial archives in the ancient capital of Luoyang, Lao-tzu, recorded his wisdom in the Tao some 25 centuries ago. Reportedly, many scholars consider the Tao to be the wisest book ever written. The Tao encourages you to change your life in a profound way (by changing your way of thinking).

This is what I call a desk-top booklet or a daily reminder booklet, great for keeping at work and reading something from it every day at lunchtime. It is the size of a 5" x 7 " photo and is only ½ inch thick, with a little over 169 pages plus blank pages for notes. There are 81 verses. Each verse is one small page with a page to the left which provides a short affirmation that relates to the adjacent verse. So, you read one verse at the beginning or the day or at lunchtime, then think about what it means to you as you go through the rest of the day. Of course, you can read the verses in the book order or randomly select them. It may also help you to find peace in a stress-filled workplace.

Just keeping the booklet on top of your file cabinet where others can see it even helps a little because it reminds people that there is something "greater" going on. I keep several Dyer desk-top books on top of the file cabinet and invite co-workers to pick them up and look through them during breaks or lunch. I personally found the verses themselves to be more meaningful to me than the affirmations.

Here is a nice example for you:

49th Verse:
"The sage has no fixed mind;
He is aware of the needs of others.

Those who are good he treats with goodness.
Those who are bad he also treats with goodness
Because the nature of his being is good.

He is kind to the kind.
He is also kind to the unkind
Because the nature of his being is kindness.

He is faithful to the faithful;
He is also faithful to the unfaithful.
The sage lives in harmony with all below heaven.
He sees everything as his own self;
He loves everyone as his own child.

All people are drawn to him.
He behaves like a little child."

The adjacent affirmation:
"It is my choice to be kind to those who are kind. It is my choice to be kind to those who are unkind, because the nature of my being is kindness, and that is all I have to give away."

Now, if you read through the 49th Verse above and really ponder its meaning, I think you will see much more than is stated in the affirmation adjacent to the verse. So, my challenge to you is to read it slowly and think about its meaning. Then ponder its meaning as you go through your daily routine. As you treat EVERYONE with kindness and goodness, then you are truly loving everyone. You are seeing the God, the Divine in all people and are living in a state of love and happiness that is beyond what many people experience. Is this not true beauty? Is this not what Jesus tried to teach us? And is this not how a child reacts to others, before he/she learns to behave differently from adults? Think on it for awhile. You CANNOT show unkindness if you only "do" kindness, because kindness is the only way you operate. Therefore, you can only show love, if that is the only way you chose to "be". And as you exhibit love, love is returned to you.

Namaste'
May you find the peace and love of God in all that there is.

If you are searching for an esthetically pleasing version of the classic Tao, this is it. The small book has a nice feel and look to it and its compact size perfect for a meditation area.

Dyer presents the Tao Te Ching with corresponding affirmations.

For those unfamiliar with the work, the Tao was written over 2500 years ago, by the Chinese scholar Lao-Tzu.

Here is the 76th verse:

A man is born gentle and weak;
at his death he is hard and stiff.
All things, including grass and tress,
are soft and pliable in life;
dry and brittle in death.

Stiffness is thus a companion of death;
flexibility a companion of life.
An army that cannot yield
will be defeated.
A tree that cannot bend
will crack in the wind.

The hard and stiff will be broken;
the soft and supple will prevail.

Dyer: "I choose to be strong by being soft and pliable rather than inflexible, brittle and hard."

By the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.

I had been looking at philosophical perspectives on resilience and flexibility. A widely read Chinese friend referred me to Wayne Dwyer's Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations (Hay House, 2008). The Tao Te Ching (the Chinese characters translate, roughly, as "the classic way of virtue") consists of 81 "verses," attributed to Laozi, said to be a sage of the Zhou Dynasty living in the sixth century BC. The verses embrace every form of paradox, of the form "knowing ignorance is strength" (Verse 61) and "When the work is done, it is forgoten./That is why it lasts forever." (Verse 2)

Concerning Wayne Dwyer's work, it should be noted that he does not pretend to have knowledge of the Chinese language. Instead, he credits ten different English translations and commentaries, from which he has made apparently a pastiche. The text reads well, but I cannot judge the validity of the translation. The "affirmations" mentioned in the title are responses and encapsulations by Mr. Dwyer, which are rather poetic and inspiring and do add to the pleasure of reading. Mr. Dwyer, who holds a doctorate in education, has written scores of motivational and self-help books, of which one of the most well-known is Your Erroneous Zones (Avon/HarperCollins, 1995).

The Tao can be read on one level as advice to rulers, on the model of Machiavelli's The Prince, but with an almost diametrically opposed moral tone. Laozi advises rulers to practice humility, restraint, non-violence, trust in the people, and even avoidance of high taxes (see Verse 75). In fact, as to content, there is a closer parallel to Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy.

The Tao on a second level can be read as advice on how to be wise, as with Socrates' injunction, "know thyself." The ideal of knowledge is inwardly directed and highly contemplative. "Therefore the sage does not venture forth/and yet knows,/does not look/and yet names,/does not strive/and yet attains completion." (Verse 47)Again, "Because he does not display himself,/people can see his light." (Verse 22)

The Tao on a third level could be read as advice on the practice of self-mastery, in a manner we often associate with the practice of Zen Buddhism, "Mastering others requires force;/mastering the self needs strength." (Verse 33) Indeed, some scholars argue that Zen derives from Daoism. (See, esp., Ray Grigg, The Tao of Zen (Alva Press, 1994).

Finally, on a fourth level, there is radical, anti-materialist level, a renunciation of wealth and the trappings of power, in favor of an embrace of life forces and enlightenment, the Way: "The poor are enriched./The rich are confounded." (Verse 22) Cf. Christ's words: "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." (Matthew 20:16, King James Version) Also: "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:23. From a Western point of view, Taoism could be seen as a form of idealism and anti-materialism.

Concerning flexibility, Laozi affirms the truth of the "old saying" that "The flexible are preserved unbroken./The bent become straight." (Verse 22) Further, "keeping flexible is called strength." (Verse 52) In the 76th Verse, Laozi contrasts living things, that are "soft and pliable," with the hardness and stiffness of dead things. An army that can't yield "will be defeated." "Stiffness is thus a companion of death;/flexibility a companion of life." He concludes, "The hard and stiff will be broken;/the soft and supple will prevail."

The quality of flexibility can be interpreted on each of these levels. It is an essential quality of the ruler and the sage. It is a necessary part of self-mastery. It is part of the practice of life and the life force, not death.

(The author of this review, Andrew Szabo, is the founder of MindBodyForce.com)

Perhaps the most disappointing book I've ever read on this subject. Rather than translate the Tao de Jing, which he cannot do, Dyer "averages" the translations of others, producing a result that is distinct Dyer and not Lao-tzu. He makes stuff up. The arrongance of his "improvements" has made me realize what a shallow and presumptuous thinker he is.

I like just about everything Wayne had written so I may not be a good one to give an unbiased review. What I like is the message he delivers. It is so positive that I like being around books, songs and people that inspire that level of hope and guidance. This book is another good one. I've read the original Tao and I like what Wayne has done with by matching points of view from different sources. Interesting how the wisdom align yet were so far apart in time. Good info for the Seeker.

The beauty of this book is that it encapsulates the information in exactly the way the scribes of Lao-tzu had probably imagined. It's easy on the eyes, nice to hold and fails to bog down, unlike previous editions that I've seen that often have twenty page introductions, giant prefaces and essays embedded in the prologue. This offering is void of all the nonsense.

Often, other versions and publications of this text is offered up in a dry and unflattering representation which causes the reader to strain the eye to the page, let alone the mind to the soul. This version gives you some of the most straightforward and fluid translations that I've read yet and is beautifully laid-out and well presented.

Dwyer prefaces each verse with a short mantra or prayer version that compliments the following verse very well and lets the mind wander even further along as you read each verse. A brilliant idea and very unassuming.

What more can be said about such a book that hasn't already been uttered?

Internationally renowned author and dynamic, inspirational teacher, Wayne Dyer, offers an opportunity to directly experience the profound wisdom of the Tao Te Ching. This book shares verses by the ancient Chinese prophet, Lao-tzu on virtually every aspect of human existence. Wayne guides, "When we change the way that we look at things, the things that we look at change. This book was created with great love and wisdom and could be your handbook to the more contemplative life.

Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

This is a wonderful book that is inspiring and insightful. I have been studying the Tao for about 20 years, but Dr. Wayne Dyer has a way of sharing this message in a powerful way. I really enjoyed this book!

This nice and very accessible little book filled with verses & wisdom by Lao-tzu was given to me as a gift. For this I am very thankful. I love poetry, I have loved the wisdom of Tao Te Ching for a long time now.

However, I don't quite understand why someone as renowned as Wayne Dyer needs to repackage ancient texts in this way. the store shows 1,125 results when searching for Lao-Tzu. So another book just adds to an already very crowded offering on these teachings.

Christine Maingard, Author of 'Think Less Be More:Mental Detox for Everyone'

This book is an excellent translation and compilation of the verses of the Tao. Dr. Dyer does an excellent job distilling the verses into affirmations as well. I do encourage you to first read each verse, and then read the affirmations, as sometimes I get a lot more than the affirmation out of the verse. Reading the affirmation first can limit your interpretation of the actual verse. However, I find the affirmations to be supportive, and as one person mentioned, a way to extend your application of the Tao personally to your life. The book is also aesthetically pleasing with beautiful graphics, and is small enough to carry around. All in all, a great, supportive book to help you live life with more joy and peace.
Mary K.
[...]

This is an inexpensive book to have sitting around at home, in the office, at the cabin, on the toilet tank, in the briefcase. A pretty accurate translation that makes sense to me. A relevant and friendly translation. I've bought many copies for friends and family.

This Classic is nicely presented . It is a good,handy size, good quality paper and binding, attractively illustrated.
I feel that Wayne Dyer's choice of words in his translation is rather OVER "American" in it's choice of English ,sometimes to the detriment of the material....and less than aesthetic.
And I would have liked more explanatory commentary along with his summery of the original ,given on the left hand page.It is very much "bare essentials".
But this is a wonderful focus on our existence on this planet and good value for the money.