ABSTRACT
The Daodejing (DDJ) also known as the Laozi must be ranked as one of the most important spiritual classics of world literature; and as a sacred text, a document of religious practice and reflected belief. The "received" version of the DDJ is divided into eighty-one "chapters" consisting of slightly over 5,000 Chinese characters as edited by Wang Bi for a commentary he wrote on the work. The DDJ is the record of experiences and teachings of practitioners, thus the title sometimes used of the text, the Laozi is not a bad fit. The goal of the practice of unity with the Dao as represented in this text is something no less than the biospiritual transformation of one's being. Michael LaFargue is among the small number of recent scholars to offer a theory of the original historical context of the component DDJ logia.
