Tao Te Ching
My number one favorite book. I know of no other text that comes as close to expressing what lies beyond words. The little booklet (it consists of about five thousand characters) begins with the statement: “the Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao.” And then it goes on speaking about the Tao, not in the mode of definition, but in that of allusion, suggestion, provocation. That is its charm, that is why it has cast its spell over generations of readers from East and West. It does not speak to the logical mind: it points to an experience. Like Zen koans, it walks the reader to the edge of an abyss, where the mind stops.
My book Tao Te Ching: Una guida all’interpretazione del libro fondamentale del taoismo (in Italian) is in the bookstores. It includes my translation, excerpts of other translations, commentary and analysis of Chinese text.
URRA/Feltrinelli publisher, Via Natale Battaglia 12, Milano, http://www.urraonline.com, +39 02 289981
From the Introduction (in Italian)
Daodejing Introduction (in English)
Interview about the Tao Te Ching with Gabriella Caramore (in Italian, broadcasted by Radio Tre in the program Uomini e Profeti, Saturday 6 February 2010)
workshops and lectures the valley spirit