dynamictao

Hi, Rene, I just get back to the Forum. My condolence. It is always a personal loss. I shall always remember my short meetting with him. Wayne

After all these years, I only have time to look at this book from a single angle. At least from this angle, the TTC is a clear philosophical work that deals with the same problem as cited by the Presocratic (Parmenides and Heraclutis) and the Buddha. It is about: How do we deal with our habits of dualistic views, thinking, acting, etc. There might be other medium, mysticism, in it, since, if we are able to go back to Oneness, we will see the world in many other forms. But I am not there at all.

I would take the first verse as "The Ghost (Spirit) and God never die." in the same spirit as "Wu and Yu never die." Any two opposites will always appear together to represent a reality, such as Tao. I use Spirit, since Ghost may induce spurious meaning. But Ghost 鬼 is interchangeable with Valley 谷 because they have the similar sound at ancient time. Spirit and God are two opposite manifestation modes of Tao as a whole. Spirit (or Ghost)「谷」and God 「神」may be treated as a pair of opposites. A common interpretation is “The spirit of the valley never die.” However, 谷 (Valley) and 鬼 (Spirit, Ghost) are interchangeable, and refer to the un-manifested whole of Tao. The manifested whole of Tao is God (神) and the un-manifested (implicit manifestation) is Spirit (Valley). This pair also appears in Chapter 39 and 60.

This is my interpretation. The "God" in TTC Chapter 60 appears as an holistic order (represented as Tao). It is not a personified God in the Tao Te Ching, but it could be easily construed to be a theistic god. This “god” is also observed in the Yi-Chuan易傳as: “God is prior to the differentiation of Yin and Yang.” Heng (True) Tao 恆道 is an undivided whole, whose manifestation in the phenomenal world is called, by Lao-tzu, as “the god 神” in Chapter 60. This god is Oneness. All objects are then subject to the power of this “god.” All objects seem to be driven by the forces that bind them together. Such forces drive every object to conform to the Oneness nature of Tao (as God) . In Chapter 4, the primordial lord (象帝) is the power that that creates the phenomenal world, by separating "One" into heaven and earth (as symbolized in 帝).

Here is my new translation [Excerpt from Kindle Book: Tao Te Ching: An Ultimate Translation] While embracing Oneness with body and soul, can we keep them un-separated? In harmonizing our Chi into tenderness, can we become as tender as an infant? In cleansing the Profound Vision, can we make it spotless? In caring for people and managing a country, can we rely not on knowledge? In opening our gates of heaven, can we keep them in submission? With far-reaching knowledge, can we not take it as wisdom? It brings into being without differentiation. It acts for them without anticipating from them. It nurtures them without controlling them. This is the Profound Te. Note: "Profound" maintains the wholeness, without fragmentation.

Sure I will comment on them. It is good to be back after all these years.

I have not update my first book: Dynamic Tao and Its manifestation since it was published about 9 years ago. That translation still has the some "illogical" notions, such as "Yu comes from Wu." This is found probably not correct. I have two Kindle books coming soon. One for the principle and logic. The other one is a new translation: Tao Te Ching: An Ultimate Translation [This one is available now, the author name Wayne L. Wang]. Most of the discussion of the new interpretation is available for free browsing at Amazon. I will try to comment on all Chapters, but they will be based on the new understanding.

Duplicate entry.

I just find that there was a topic on this Chapter [TTC Study] Chapter One of the Tao Te Ching. But this has not been discussed for a few years. Now, the interpretation of Chapter 1 is new. Of course, I am convinced that this interpretation is valid, but who knows? I would be happy to discuss this interpretation. Please comment. The eBook is on Amazon.

Here is my final translation of Chapter 1. I have translated the word Heng 恆 as "True" and Xuen 玄 as "Profound." Heng means Oneness or wholeness, so whatever is qualified with Heng has reality. Xuen is the state without clear separation of Wu and Yu. Tao may be talked about, but it is not the True Tao. Names may be described, but they are not the True Names. Wu names the beginning of the myriad things; Yu names the mother of the myriad things. However, In True Wu, we observe mysterious appearance; In True Yu, we observe fading boundaries. Both appear simultaneously, as different manifestations of the same (Tao). Profound upon Profound, they are the gateways to all mysteries. This is a new platform to have a logical interpretation of the whole Tao Te Ching. The detailed discussion of the analysis can be read in the free preview of [Tao Te Ching: An Ultimate Translation. by Wayne L. Wang] - my new Kindle eBook. For discussion of Heng, see Wang, (James) Qingjie (2000). Heng Dao and Appropriation of Nature - A Hermeneutical Interpretation of Laozi. Asian Philosophy, 10(2), 149-163. “Heng and Temporality of Dao: Laozi and Heidegger,” in Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, vol.1, no.1, pp.55-71. Winter 2001.