Notations on the Mysterious: A Daoist Commentary on the Dàodé jīng 道德經 (Daoist Commentary Series) Hardcover – March 13, 2026

A Daoist contemplative commentary on the Dàodé jīng rooted in an applied, committed, and lived Daoist perspectiveInformed and inspired by the Daoist scholastic sub-tradition and Daoist commentary literature, here Komjathy offers the first tradition-based Western Daoist commentary on the Dàodé jīng道德經 (Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power; DZ 664; LZ* 4; ZH 553), with specific attention to its contemplative and mystical core. Drawing upon his revolutionary, revisionist Dàodé jīng: A Contextual, Contemplative, and Annotated Bilingual Translation (2023) as the base-translation, Komjathy provides systematic, line-by-line commentary on the entire classical Chinese Daoist source-text. Each chapter includes a guiding chapter title, an opening introductory paragraph, and then the line-by-line commentary. The chapter titles are derived from the given chapter and also informed by those of Héshàng gōng 河上公 (Elder Dwelling-by-the-River; ca. 160 CE?). The accompanying commentary is comprehensive and inclusive, meaning that it addresses every line even when there is only minimal accompanying commentary. Rooted in the author’s pioneering Daoist contemplative hermeneutics with a bilingual sensibility, Notations on the Mysterious gives deep attention to Daoist contemplative practice in general and apophatic meditation in particular, including informing views and principles. In the process, Komjathy offers important insights into what he identifies as the “Seven Core Contemplative Chapters” as well as later Daoist approaches, including the so-called “Nine Practices” (jiǔxíng 九行). The book also contains seven new appendices that provide a variety of resources for deeper engagement and application. Here is a commentary that not only enables fuller exploration of the classical Chinese Daoist source-text on its own Daoist terms, but also encourages readers to participate in Daoist ways of reading, interpreting, and applying the Dàodé jīng. The latter include as a Daoist practice manual and guidebook for Daoist being and living. From Twofold Mysteriousness to Non-Contention. Read more