The Book of the Way of Life by Lao Tzu, called in Chinese the Tao Te Ching, is second only to the Bible in the number of foreign translations in the world. The origin of this book and the personality of its author are shrouded in many legends, about which the famous translator Vladimir Malyavin tells in detail in his preface. The very word "tao" means the path, and, moreover, at the same time the path of the universe, life and human perfection. And “de” is the inner fullness of life, invisibly, but firmly binding all living things. The main secret of Lao Tzu seems paradoxical: in order to become yourself, you need to eliminate your private "I" | in order to have power, one must not desire it, etc. And the secret of reading Laozi is to comprehend the inner depth of meaning that wisdom inspires, revealing a different and opposite meaning in each judgment. Reading "The Book of the Way of Life" will be fruitless if it does not reveal the uselessness of abstract ideas, does not lead to a revolution in the very way of perceiving the world.The publisher's layout has been saved in a4.pdf format.