Parable of the Sower and the Tao te Ching

[mayflow]

I haven't read the book "Parable of the Sower" but Merrytrees topic of it and somethings said by Alcyone on that topic got me thinking about the Tao te Ching. Well, you know, the mind when left to play will make a lot of free associations. One of which is to wonder about a title like "Parable of the Sower" - I'm not so much a Christian but the quote attributed to Jesus was (I believe) "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" - and of course according to Merrytrees the book is quite much about empathy, and especially when dealing with difficult situations.

How this got me thinking about the Tao te Ching which is an ancient Cinese text by Lao Tzu is a strange connection but some sort of odd synchronistic set-up that the Universe used this forum and Alcyone and others here achieve. Maybe it was created by "The Way?"

Well either way - here are a couple of translations on the opening verse of the Tao te Ching.

1
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

-translation = Stephen Mitchell

The Way that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not real.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.

To experience without abstraction is to sense the world;
To experience with abstraction is to know the world.
These two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.

Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.

translation from: http://www.taoteching.org/

 

[ZenCat]

I've had a copy of the Tao te Ching since I was 15. I've always got it within easy reach when I need a couple of moments of meditation and reflection.

Interestingly, how it affected me and how I understood it as a teenager and how I perceive it/how it affects me now are very different.

This is the edition I have. The accompanying photography is beautiful, as well.

Some which have become my favorites:

5

The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.

16

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

If you don't realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.

44

Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success of failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.

 

[gOpHeR]

I had not previously heard of the Tao Te Ching, but from what you've both quoted, I believe I have a new reading assignment.

 

[Zero Angel]

I also liked "The Art of War (Denma Translation)", it goes well with the Tao Te Ching. That version of the AoW has some very useful essays in it, although the translation is much more vague and poetic than some other of the AoW translations out there. It often makes reference to the Tao as a fundamental force which governs 'victory and defeat'.

 

[dylan]

If y'all are into the Tao Te Ching, you might also be interested in the I-Ching (aka "The Book Of Changes"). It's based on the same wisdom that Lao-Tzu's book is based on, but can also be used as an oracular / divination device, similar to tarot cards. In the I-Ching there are 64 "hexagrams" (graphic symbols made up of 6 broken or unbroken lines), and these 64 hexagrams represent 64 archetypal situations, and by tossing coins and reading the results, you can get insight on whatever your current situation is. It's pretty cool. And even if you don't believe in that kind of stuff (oracles and the like), the wisdom in the book is just astounding.

 

[Black Swan]

If y'all are into the Tao Te Ching, you might also be interested in the I-Ching (aka "The Book Of Changes"). It's based on the same wisdom that Lao-Tzu's book is based on, but can also be used as an oracular / divination device, similar to tarot cards. In the I-Ching there are 64 "hexagrams" (graphic symbols made up of 6 broken or unbroken lines), and these 64 hexagrams represent 64 archetypal situations, and by tossing coins and reading the results, you can get insight on whatever your current situation is. It's pretty cool. And even if you don't believe in that kind of stuff (oracles and the like), the wisdom in the book is just astounding.

Thanks for posting, I just remembered that I received a book about I-Ching as a gift and I completely forgot about it until now. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[alcyone]

Scary...Ive been used as the universes whore!

No just kidding, you've paid me a grand compliment mayflow! For that you have my gratitude.

I too am intrigued by the Tao Te Ching and am going to pick up a translation on my next run to the bookstore. Any particular translation I should look for?

 

[Individuation]

ZenCat: Hi, those chapters that you quoted are from Stephen Mitchell's book, right? I'm wondering how the edition you have translates them, could you post them?

 

[mayflow]

Scary...Ive been used as the universes whore!

No just kidding, you've paid me a grand compliment mayflow! For that you have my gratitude.

I too am intrigued by the Tao Te Ching and am going to pick up a translation on my next run to the bookstore. Any particular translation I should look for?

Haha! Universe's whore. Well, I hope it was as good for you as it was for the Universe!

The quotes I put here were from Stephen Mitchell, which is available free online.

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

Thomas Cleary has a translation and I consider him one of the premeir translators of Eastern languages, but I don't find his free online. Here are many versions of chap 1 including Cleary's: http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/tao-te-ching.htm

 

[ZenCat]

ZenCat: Hi, those chapters that you quoted are from Stephen Mitchell's book, right? I'm wondering how the edition you have translates them, could you post them?

No, I posted my quotes from the edition I've always had, picture of the cover posted in an earlier post. Well, that's the 25th Anniversary Edition, which I have now. I had an earlier one back in the late 70's.

My version is translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/s...-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Gia-Fu FengHere are the reviews from Amazon

Amazon.com Review
Scholars say that the original Tao Te Ching is a poem. Like a poem, this version of the Tao Te Ching is not meant to be read in one breath from front to back, but is to be at intervals internalized and contemplated. Jane English's haunting black-and-white photos that undulate in and out on every page act as glycerin elixirs, helping the words slide into our souls for patient digestion. The photographs--of a glistening spider web, cloud-enveloped mountain tops, reflections on water, leaves in the sunlight--are as serenely lyrical as the ancient text, itself.

Review
"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended." -- Alan Watts --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. Offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive.

Language Notes
Text: English, Chinese (translation)

From the Publisher
"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended."--Alan Watts

From the Inside Flap
Available for the first time in a handy, easy-to-use size, here is the most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. This new Vintage edition includes an introduction and notes by the well-known writer and scholar of philosophy and comparative religion, Jacob Needleman.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679776192/?tag=infjs-20