The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, or the Book of the Dragon, is the classic manual of life, and one of the masterpieces of the world. In eighty-one brief chapters, the Tao Te Ching examines the difficult situation of being alive and offers advice that provides balance and perspective, a calm and generous spirit. This book contains wisdom in practice. It teaches how to work for the good with skill and effortless effort that comes from being in harmony with the Tao (the fundamental principle of the world) and has as much application in governance as in sexual love, in the upbringing of children, in business, and in ecology. The translation - bestseller by Stephen Mitchell was widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture.