Although regarded as one of the wisest books ever written, Tao Te Ching is very short in terms of length.
The received version of the book by the Chinese sage Lao Tzu consists of only about 5000 Chinese characters.
It is made up of 81 verses. Most of them are just a few lines. For example, the verse number 40 consists of only 2 sentences.
Although the book is short, it is by no means something that you can complete in the matter of hours, if you want to truly benefit from the reading. The book is so profound that it requires not only focused attention, but also time and space to understand and reflect upon. As a matter of fact, you can very well spend your whole life reading it, and still find an ever flowing of inspirations and wisdom.
Author and speaker Wayne Dyer said he once devoted one whole year on nothing but the reading the book. Considering that there are 81 versus in the book, it would mean that he spent on average 4 solid days on one verse, even when some of the verses can be as short as 2 sentences
The time and space he gave to each of the verse is no doubt tremendous.
It does not mean that you’d have to spend the same amount of time on the book. It does, however, draw to our attention that we must not underestimate the time needed if we want to truly appreciate the depth of the book.
The best way to read the book is to read just a verse or two in one sitting, allowing you enough time and space to think and reflect.
Some of the verses are very difficult to understand. There are, however, a good number of them that are pretty straightforward and easy to comprehend and put into practice.
You may want to try verses no 33, 22, 24, 43, 64 and 76 as a start.
Start reading Tao Te Ching and enjoy the power of the book today!
