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After two and a half years, we've reached the very last episode of the Tao te Ching! I'm not sure what's next for me, but at least for now, I'll stop regular posting here as I focus on some other pressing things in life and brainstorm possible future ideas.

This chapter is a nice summary of three of the key themes of the Tao te Ching that we've focused on in these last few years:
1. Wisdom over learning
2. Using too many words
3. The selfless ideal

See more and contact me at www.coreyfarr.com

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Chapter 80 presents Lao Tzu's vision of the ideal society, the "Taoist utopia". Although it is not a "realistic" picture at first glance, writing it off would be a big mistake. The chapter not only praises minimalism and simple living, but also contains a thinly veiled but cutting cultural critique that is just as relevant today as it was 2600 years ago.

1. The simple life - minimalism and Christian activist Shane Claiborne's "Irresistible Revolution"

2. The cultural critique - overpopulation, overdevelopment, industrialization, and insatiable desires

3. A clarification - is this chapter really idolizing a boring, antisocial life?

See more at www.coreyfarr.com

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