Selections from the Tao Te Ching:

   One / Two
   Three / Four
   Five / Six
   Seven / Eight
   Nine / Ten
   Eleven / Twelve
   Thirteen / Fourteen
   Fifteen / Sixteen
   Seventeen / Eighteen
   Nineteen / Twenty

Lao-Tzu is the name of the author of the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching (Book of the Way).  For hundreds of years, the Tao Te Ching (click to buy) has been a central work in the canon of spiritual literature.

Legend has it that Lao-Tzu, having decided to leave his province in China, was stopped by a gatekeeper.  The gatekeeper, sensing the innate wisdom in the man, begged Lao-Tzu for a record of his thoughts.  Lao-Tzu agreed, and immediately penned 81 short poems that are now known as the Tao Te Ching.

Having fulfilled his request, Lao-Tzu then rode away.

The Tao Te Ching is a Zen-like collection of ideas.  It leads the reader down a sometimes-cryptic, often-inspiring path, tossing forth such thoughts as, "We meet [the Tao] and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back."

After immersing oneself in the flow of the Tao Te Ching, one often feels ready to let go, throw off the bounds of rational thought, and relax into the intrinsic harmony of nature.