Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching

A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way

By: Ursula K. Le Guin

Narrated by: Ursula K. Le Guin

Length: 1 hr and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In this landmark modern-day rendition of the ancient Taoist classic, Ursula K. Le Guin presents Lao Tzu’s time-honored and astonishingly powerful philosophy like never before. Drawing on a lifetime of contemplation, she offers an unparalleled window into the text’s awe-inspiring, immediately relatable teachings and their inestimable value for our troubled world.

©1997 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2009 Shambhala Publications

Critic reviews

“Each day I open this book at random and receive a contemplative gift. These words are akin to water in the desert. (Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge)

“The type of work which the great Polish poet and Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska meant when she spoke of ‘that rare miracle when a translation stops being a translation and becomes...a second original.’...The whole of Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching is well worth savoring - as much for the ancient substance as for Le Guin’s stylistic splendor.” (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings)

“A student of the Tao for several decades, Le Guin has created an English text that will speak to modern readers in a fresh and lively way, while conveying the humor, insight, and beauty of the original.” (Lion’s Roar magazine)

“Among the many translations of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Ursula K. Le Guin’s new version is a special treasure - a delight. There is something startlingly fresh and creatively alive here, brought forth by Ms. Le Guin’s intuitive and personal ingenuity.” (Chuangliang Al Huang, founder of the Living Tao Foundation and coauthor (with Alan Watts) of Tao: The Watercourse Way)

sublime

i just loved the presentation and she captured the essence of lao tze's wisdom so well. it is a very useful audiobook to center with

I’ll listen to this again, and again

I was originally put off by the background music of this recording. I even returned it. But I really like the Tao Te Ching from other translations and I re-purchased it because I wanted to hear LeGuin’s version.

I’m glad I did. It is a strong book that makes the ideas relevant and alive in their presentation. Once I gave it another chance I forgot about the background music.

I highly recommend this book. I suggest giving it a complete first listening even if you don’t like the music. It might grow on you.

The payoff is you get a beautiful and thought provoking work by Ursula K. LeGuin, the famous science fiction and fantasy writer.

great translation,

great translation, good narration but i did not care for the background music; finding its volume a distraction and its presence unnecessary

One of my favorite translations

Years ago I decided to find the best English translation of Dao De Jing. I learned that there are many bad ones, but even the ones that seem to balance well with the impossibility of translating poetic philosophy (or philosophical poetry) like this classic, have all very different approaches. LeGuin's translation is easily one of my favorites. It is the one that seems to go beyond words and talk directly to the experience of living these insightful poems, without becoming a new age cliche (like the awkwardly popular Mitchell translation).

Some translations make me laugh, some make me think, and some make me cry. This has all of those qualities. It will speak mostly to the ones looking for a deep, feminine, wise interpretation of the text. If you are interested in a more literal or academic translation, this is not it. But this is one of the most beautiful, most compassionate and also one of the most understanding English translations of Dao De Jing that I have ever read,

LeGuin's soft, timeless reading is beautiful and gives the text another level of depth. Doesn't matter if you're new to the text of if you already know other translations, this will give you a beautiful perspective into this classic that has changed my life many times, and no doubt will keep on doing so many more times. I can't praise this version high enough!

Great version, not so great production.

I love Ursula LeGuin’s version of the Tao Te Ching. I was excited to hear her read it. I found the music distracting and even jarring at times. Is worth the $5.00 I spent on it.

Breathe in, breathe out.

If you’re having trouble calming down before bed, this is an especially well produced version to listen to of this specific translation.

A treasure.

Read with depth and subtlety, with an atmospheric soundtrack, this interpretation is mesmerising. Love hearing Ursula K Le Guin read, it is a legacy that I am sure will bring great meaning and joy to many.

Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching

Very enlightening way of living from almost 3000 years ago. May I learn how to live by the Tao, the WAY.

The music is great, actually.

I can't believe people are criticizing the music here! I actually think it's phenomenal and fits the content of the text perfectly -- in each chapter in a different way. This is a great text to sit and listen to, with your eyes closed, out on a porch alone (or in my case on a city rooftop). It's truly unbelievable that the original text was written 2,500 years ago, considering that all of it still applies today as a guide to living well, and even to understanding consciousness itself. Plus, Le Guin is the perfect person to provide a poetic interpretation of past translations. Couldn't be better.

A Gateway to understanding life

Listened to this years ago and lost the recoding. Feel gratitude deeply for rediscovering this translation and narration by one of our sages.