The Tao Te Ching was definitely an exciting book for me because of my study of

philosophical studies this summer. I did a broad study of many philosophical ideologies and the

Tao was by far one of the most intriguing due to its passive nature. I enjoyed learning more

about the Tao and how people lead their lives with those views. The message from the book was

very intriguing in how it described the energies present in the universe. With the text being

ancient and having many translations, I also found it interesting how the author’s translation

differed from countless others, as this is the fourth most translated book in the world. But even

with the wide ranges in translations, there was constant repetition in verses that seemed to carry

close to the same meanings, which made me wonder if some of the verses had lost their original

meaning throughout the years and if there was more to the ideology than we know about.

Many of these ideas are ones I have implemented in my personal life. The idea of letting

life guide you through the “way”. For instance, I am taking the path that is best fit for me, not

focusing on the politics of my world, and trying to become the best version of myself. Helping

others around me learn to let small things go is another thing that I hold with pride. The Tao Te

Ching was by far my favorite literary work I have studied while in the IB program