I finally brought this book Decoding the Tao Te Ching by Sim Pooh Ho, edited and translated by Tekson Teo. Tao Te Ching 道德经 is authored by Laozi, a great enlightened Chinese philosopher about 2500 years ago. I think it would be great if the translator had included the whole chapters in Chinese characters and the English translation side by side. I wanted to see if the translation is accurate and how he interpreted so I copied the Chinese characters from the internet. At the same time, I can also improve my Mandarin.
Even though you can finish reading the entire book which has only 5000 plus Chinese characters in 81 Chapters within a day, the teaching is profound and needs time to digest the essence of Laozi's teaching. I read a few chapters and find some similarities to Buddha's teaching such as Emptiness, Universe law of Cause and effect karma and keep to the middle path. It’s a fair system . If someone steal from your daughter, there should be consequence for the thief to prevent theft from happening again and protect the society. That is why I find Singapore's strict law and enforcement safe for society.
For example, on Emptiness is not nothingness but there is function to it on Chapter 11 and karma on Chapter 30.
11) 三十辐，共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。故有之以为利，无之以为用。
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.
The following are my favourite chapters from Tao Te Ching。
以下是我喜欢的道德经章节。
1) 道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。无名天地之始；有名万物之母。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼。此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，衆妙之门。
8) 上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处衆人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。
25) 有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立不改，周行而不殆，可以为天下母。吾不知其名，字之曰道，强为之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。域中有四大，而王居其一焉。人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。
42) 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和。人之所恶，唯孤、寡、不谷，而王公以为称。故物或损之而益，或益之而损。人之所教，我亦教之。强梁者不得其死，吾将以为教父。
81) 信言不美，美言不信。善者不辩，辩者不善。知者不博，博者不知。圣人不积，既以为人己愈有，既以与人己愈多。天之道，利而不害；圣人之道，为而不争
【第一章】道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。无名天地之始，有名万物之母。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼（jiào）。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄，玄之又玄，众妙之门。
From https://www.daodejing.org/
I was surprised to see Laozi in this Science fiction book. Very interesting. Don't judge anything from the surface. Observe further.
