TTC: Informed by an Oral Tradition?

[cheya]

Some TTC translators say that their translation is "informed by an oral tradition", stating that the TTC is just the bare bones of an instruction manual that requires input from the oral tradition to flesh out its meaning. Two such versions that come to mind are Waysun Liao's translation, Nine Nights with the Taoist Master, and John Bright-Fey, in his book, The Whole Heart of Tao. I'm sure there are others that make similar claims.

 

Waysun Liao says a TTC translation from a non-practitioner, or someone not informed by a lineage of oral tradition, however beautiful the words, totally misses the essence. He compares it to a manual on swimming that was written many centuries earlier by a master swimmer, and then translated and retranslated multiple times by people who have never even been in the water! Each translation by a non-swimmer builds on the translations of other non-swimmers, and with each translation, the meaning creeps further and further form the original. For those claiming to be informed by the oral tradition, only those who currently "swim" and have been taught the "rest of the story" from an oral transmisison can accurately convey the original meaning of the TTC.

 

Does anyone have any input on this idea that some translations are informed by an oral tradition and are thus closer to the original intent?

Any favorite translations making this claim?

 

As an aside, I did notice with John Bright-Fey's book, that when I first read it in the book store, I thought it was brilliant, and bought it immediately. A few days later I opened it to find I couldn't understand what he was talking about at all, and couldn't imagine why I had bought the book! Then a couple weeks later, picked it up again, and it was all clear again! Something about my mood or state of mind/consciousness opened or closed a door of understanding. I actually found a paragraph in the book in which he describes this very phenomenon!

[Guest tao4joe]

Some TTC translators say that their translation is "informed by an oral tradition", stating that the TTC is just the bare bones of an instruction manual that requires input from the oral tradition to flesh out its meaning. Two such versions that come to mind are Waysun Liao's translation, Nine Nights with the Taoist Master, and John Bright-Fey, in his book, The Whole Heart of Tao. I'm sure there are others that make similar claims.

 

Waysun Liao says a TTC translation from a non-practitioner, or someone not informed by a lineage of oral tradition, however beautiful the words, totally misses the essence. He compares it to a manual on swimming that was written many centuries earlier by a master swimmer, and then translated and retranslated multiple times by people who have never even been in the water! Each translation by a non-swimmer builds on the translations of other non-swimmers, and with each translation, the meaning creeps further and further form the original. For those claiming to be informed by the oral tradition, only those who currently "swim" and have been taught the "rest of the story" from an oral transmisison can accurately convey the original meaning of the TTC.

 

Does anyone have any input on this idea that some translations are informed by an oral tradition and are thus closer to the original intent?

Any favorite translations making this claim?

 

As an aside, I did notice with John Bright-Fey's book, that when I first read it in the book store, I thought it was brilliant, and bought it immediately. A few days later I opened it to find I couldn't understand what he was talking about at all, and couldn't imagine why I had bought the book! Then a couple weeks later, picked it up again, and it was all clear again! Something about my mood or state of mind/consciousness opened or closed a door of understanding. I actually found a paragraph in the book in which he describes this very phenomenon!

Good Morning, I think I agree with waysun liao in almost all cases of meditation and energy work. Others have some good ideas but without calling themselves taoist or practice what they want us to learn, do they really have the mind and heart to intepret taoist writings? so I would first see if what someone is writing has meaning in their own life or like many times they are looking to change important text to fit into modern lifestyles.. i.e. 5 minute buddhism books, or my favorite zen notebook... "it will bring peace to your hectic day", ha.. And you having clear thought and open heart gave you the room to see something in the tao te ching that you had'nt earlier.. beautiful!