Quiet Door - A First Step Through the Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching has been read for two and a half thousand years. It has been translated hundreds of times. It has rested on the shelves of philosophers, mystics, generals, and tired parents. And yet, for most modern readers, it remains slightly out of reach — a famous book everyone has heard of and few have actually read.The Quiet Door is an invitation to read it.In 81 short chapters, S. Y. Kelake offers Lao Tzu's classic text in three layers: the verse as it was written, a plain prose paraphrase in everyday English, and a warm reflection on what the chapter has come to mean to one reader, with examples drawn from ordinary life. The voice is that of a father speaking to his children — patient, gently amused, and unhurried.This is not a scholarly edition, and it is not a self-help book. It is a reader's companion, the kind of book you keep on your shelf for years and return to when life slows down enough to ask the questions Lao Tzu was asking. Read straight through, or one chapter at a time — there is no wrong way to begin.Go gently. Hold lightly what confuses you. Come back often.