It's had many translators. Don't know Farkel's favorite. I'm out of town right now and have no access to my books, but this online one is good:
http://www.carleton.ca/~rgray/TaoTeChing/
Very very small book.
What have you read that helped you?
by yesidid 22 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Farkel
:I was on amazon and there seems to be two versions of this book. One by Stephen Mitchell and one by Gia-Fu Feng. .. Can you tell me what's the one to read? thank you Well, I suggest you try the version written by the author, Lao Tzu! Seriously, Lao Tzu was credited as the author, but he was not the only author. That "little" book was also a compliation of thousands of years of wisdom from many sources. It's better to think of Tzu as a compiler of wisdom, rather than an originator of it. If you want my opinion of which edition to buy, I suggest you buy an annotated one. It costs a few bucks more, but will give you lots of insight on the whys and wherefores of what is in the pages. It's sort of like having as a companion the "AID" or "Insight" books for the Tao! The only difference is, there's no bullshit in the Tao. Just the way it is. The Tao is a very small book as has been noted in this thread. I'm a pretty smart guy. It tooke me a full three MONTHS to read those hundred or so pages. Sometimes, I would read half a page and sit down for hours (sometimes even days) and contemplate the wisdom and simplicity of that half page. Hope that helps.
-
Introspection
The word on the street is that Stephen Mitchell does not know the Chinese language, and funny enough various little blurbs about the guy that's appeared recently has even credited him as the author. Evidently he pulled together his version from several translations of others, I don't know if you'd call that a paraphrase or just a big jumble. Chinese is my first language and I don't recall seeing anything in Mitchell's version that resembles the original text. Incidentally, Thomas Merton said something about the Tao Teh Ching having similarities with the gospel - I can't remember what was said exactly but since he's like a Christian guy that might be a selling point for Christians. Of course, the one way to see if you like it is to read some of it.
You can find many sites if you do a search on Google or something, but here is one that lets you do side by side comparisons of different translations by use of frames.
-
blacksheep
Steve Hassan's
"Combating Mind Control" helped me immensely. -
gumby
I remember regularly working with a certain brother during the truth book campaign a ways back.
He always would use the illustration that the Truth Book, other than the bible, .....and Tao's little red book had the highest publishing numbers.
I also consider Francois a wise man, and he also recommends the book highly.
Gumby
-
peacefulpete
I'll also endorse Steve Hassan's book. I do not always agree with his opinion but his techniques and insight into the cult mind are peerless.
-
Introspection
He always would use the illustration that the Truth Book, other than the bible, .....and Tao's little red book had the highest publishing numbers.
Umm.. Do you mean Mao's little red book? The word tao means way, Mao is Mao Tsetung, that former leader of communist China.
-
Ghost of Esmeralda
The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Also, anything ever written by Dr. Phil McGraw, the man is my hero.
~ghost
-
-
SixofNine
Perhaps Farkel, Gita, and Introspection could enlighten me (ptp), what do you recommend reading first; the Tao de Ching, the Tao te Ching, or the Tao teh Ching?