Reddit mentions of Tao Te Ching

> So people who are spontaneous are attractive because people have really good bullshit detectors. I go into some of the evolutionary game theory about why we’d be very worried about hypocrisy and people pretending to be something they’re not, and why we develop, through biocultural evolution, this tendency to like people who seem like they’re not trying.

Speaking of things that should set off your bullshit detectors . . .

Don't waste your time or money on this rehashed Orientalism. There are good and even free translations of the Ching available; the source material is infinitely better than some watered down magic system in a self-help book. Classics are classics for a reason.

Oh I forgot to mention, don't get the James Legge translation, it's terrible. This is my favorite, but it seems to be out of print: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-New-Translation/dp/B000RIWJIG Though I see that there is a kindle version.

The Stephen Mitchell translation is also very good. A bit less poetic, a bit more in the modern vernacular: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451

Mises, the economist? I didn't know he referenced Lao Tzu.

This is maybe a topic better suited to /r/taoism; you may want to ask there.

First realize that Taoism has several faces, which are sometimes vague and overlapping: Philosophical Taoism, which is conveyed through writings and is debated ad nauseum in online forums; Religious or Ritual Taoism, which involves a lot more form and ritual than one might expect; Folk Taoism, which arises in part from local cultures and traditional beliefs; Art Taoism, which is conveyed in countless internal energy and martial arts practices, among others; Enlightenment Taoism, which aims at complete attainment of the Tao. To make your way through all this territory it's helpful to know your own deepest interest and aim.

• For a good commentary along with scholarly translation, Ellen Chen's Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary is hard to beat.
  
  
• For an interpretation (loose translation) easily accessible by westerners, leaning toward practice rather than scholasticism, and illuminated by a realized practitioner, I recommend Stephen Mitchell's Tao Te Ching.
  
  
• For its beauty and intuitive expression of Taoist sensibilities, and its recent reworking to more closely reflect the original Chinese language, I like the oversized (photos included) 2011 version of Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English's Tao Te Ching.
  
  
• Other sources include Lao Tzu's Wen-Tzu: Understanding The Mysteries, translated by Thomas Cleary, and his Hua Hu Ching: Unknown Teachings Of Lao Tzu, translated by Brian Walker.
  
  
• As to learning more about Lao Tzu, other Taoist writers, and Taoism in general, it seems that some Zen teachers have a more lively and to-the-point teaching than other widely available discussions. Alan Watts' writings were very popular, if skewed by his own shallow understanding of some of the topics. Direct contact with living teachers is almost invariably the best way to attain the Tao (as opposed to just learning history and philosophy). The Kwan Um School Of Zen, its deceased master Seung Sahn, and its teachers are excellent sources for practice that allows the Tao to unfold in your life. Zen Master Seung Sahn's The Whole World Is A Single Flower includes several koans (Zen teaching questions) based on Taoist sayings; if you have training in koan practice this can be a useful resource. (Note that the translator Stephen Mitchell, above, was a student of Z M Seung Sahn.)
  
  
• True Taoist masters can be difficult to find, in part because the breadth, complexity, and rigor of the teachings make them less accessible, and partly because they have to some degree been suppressed in their home nation China. Taoist teachings are apt to appear within the context of some Qigong, Taiji, Bagua, and other energy cultivation/martial arts practices. Some more popular figures (some of whom appear in internet blogs and videos) mash up their own philosophy with Taoism.
  
  
• For a basic introduction to the Taoist way of thought, The Tao Of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff is surprisingly deep yet well organized. (I found the follow-up book a bit contrived.)

Totally! There are a ton of translations, but I'm partial to this one (or here, if you would prefer to buy it). Some scholars say that it's not a very scholarly translation, but it's much more accessible and poetic than a lot of the other translations out there. This translation actually speaks to me; others, I'm like, wtf is this about...

this one? http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Stephen-Mitchell/dp/0060812451

read the stephen mitchell translation of the tao te ching if possible.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397964505&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+mitchell+tao

• http://www.amazon.com/The-Middle-Length-Discourses-Buddha/dp/086171072X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451
  
  
  
  And if you want to more obscure but real religions:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Wicca-Kaatryn-Macmorgan-Douglas/dp/0615150942
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Doctrine-H-P-Blavatsky/dp/158542708X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Book-Law-Illustrated-Aleister-Crowley-ebook/dp/B00I45A54Y
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Dianetics-Modern-Science-Mental-English/dp/140314446X
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Bible-Anton-Szandor-Lavey
  
  
  And if you want to be very snarky:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Principia-Discordia-Malaclypse-Younger/dp/1559500409
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/The-Gospel-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster/dp/0812976568
  

Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain -- a book that explains in mesmerizing detail why music makes us feel good

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Stephen Mitchell translation -- a book that explains (among a plethora of other gems of wisdom) why letting go is the only way to gain.

I crack open my copy of The Tao Te Ching now and then.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451

^It's ^pronounced ^'Dow ^de ^Ching' ;)

Books similar to this had an interesting perspective in my oppinion, there is a particular book on it that ill try to find when I get home and give you the title of it.

The book I am talking about had a westernish approach to an eastern philosophy or more to the point it translated certain confusions that come from the different thought processes.