Have You Read the Tao Te Ching?

I'm going through it again with all the translations I can find. There are significant language differences.

http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=Daodejing&no=1

this one is great as you can mouse over the chinese characters to get a definition.

 

Not yet, as of now I'm reading the Art of War

 

I have yet to read the Tao Te Ching all the way through, but I have read the Tao of Pooh, and would suggest it to anyone. A great paradigm shift.

I'm currently re-reading the Art of War myself. It's an amazing collection of wisdom. I think it should be required reading in college.

 

http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=intro

And other books in similar format

 

I've read a couple of online translations as well as [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dao-Jing-Philosophical-Translation-Mandarin/dp/0345444191"]this[/ame]. I read all the introduction and commentary in the philosophical translation (for pleasure). I will say that you need to be very careful what translation you choose because translators often misconstrue concepts and impose their own culture upon the translation. At worst, this turns into a problem where the author makes Tao into something similar to God. The main issue is the difference between a process ontology and the (much more widely in Western society) subject/predicate dichotomy as the basis for ontology.

Most translations are bad because they cannot escape the subject/predicate way of thinking. To be honest, you can't actually understand the Dao de Jing unless you learn Chinese.

When I first read it, it had a lot of impact on me, but I can't say now. I've struggled significantly with Taoism because I find it so wise yet completely impractical. My basic worldview is too clouded with the view of the world being a cruel, competitive, warlike place to ever really accept Taoism. I tend to think that the Taoists weren't ignorant of how terrible the world can be but that they persisted in their methods in spite of this. To the point that they could accept death peacefully.

 

This is fantastic.
Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

Do you know Chinese?

 

This is cool. Hopefully this can help me improve my chinese.

It's interesting how the chinese seems to be in much simpler language, but can be looked at very deeply; a lot can be inferred. In english, the translation is a lot more detailed; a lot is inferred for you. I feel like there is less interpretation in english.

 

Yeah. Even tough I am pretty much illiterate in chinese and can only read a small handful of characters, by reading the pinying (romanization, basically) I can read it aloud to myself (slowly). From what I can comprehend, I get a very different feel from what is written from any of the translations.

I think if I went through this entire translation it would help me increase my chinese vocabulary and help me recognize more characters

 

Tao Te Ching

I often read from it.
Little phrases have great impact. It is more a book to open and reflect on from time to time.
The paradoxical statements gradually undercut your belief in the world of the ten thousand things.

 

Reading it right now, actually.
This is the one I have borrowed:


Haven't gotten much into it due to time constraints, but I've been wanting to read it for quite some time now.

 

I read it in one of my philosophy courses...


Prof: "Sooo what is the Tao" Classmate answers: "the Tao is everything..." (pauses then thinks about it, drops his head and adds) "and nothing." Bwa ha ha ha haaaaa.

 

Not at all.

It itself is the problem.

 

It reminds me of the freedom in nothingness.

In a place where the absolute does not truly exist, you are free.

 

Yeah I've read the Tao Te Ching. Unfortunately, I can't apply all of it yet and I struggle to grasp the meaning of certain passages. I suppose it would take the rest of my life before I could apply its teachings naturally. Still, I try my best to live my live in accordance with the Tao. I always make it a point to observe the times and circumstances of any situation and tailor my actions accordingly.

Another interesting book you might want to consider with regards to the Tao is the Yijing. The Yijing helps me to extend my intuition so that I can act in accordance with the times and circumstances. In doing so, I learn a little more about the Tao of different situations.

 

Tao Te Ching is a very important book for me. It is the book that made me realize that eastern philosophy can be something real and not just another set of nice stories. Don't ask me to explain it because it resonates within me on a level that I wish I had words to describe, but at this point in my life, unfortunately I don't.

The Stephen Mitchell translation is by far the best (and I have skimmed through quite a few of them.)

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html

It is not some kind of code that can be cracked. It speaks directly to our intuition. If you don't understand some part, don't try to figure it out. Just leave it and maybe you will see it in a new light when you reread it two years later.