Tao Te Ching Explained Through Stories

You push through every day as if effort alone will get it all done. By evening you're drained, and tomorrow already looks like a fight.

This warmly narrated companion to the Tao Te Ching starts each chapter inside a story. You hear the legend of Laozi at the mountain pass, told openly as legend along with what scholars debate about it. You watch Zhuangzi's cook carve an ox without dulling his blade, and you sit with Zhuangzi as he drums after his wife's death. Each story opens up one Taoist idea, such as wu wei, softness over force, knowing when you have enough, or the uncarved block. You then see how it plays out on an ordinary workday and get one simple practice to try. The original text is not included. Quotations come from the public-domain Legge translation or are paraphrased in plain words.

You finish with a gentler way to handle your work and your days, and a little more room to breathe. Press play and start with the first story.