On Thinking About The Dao de Jing (Tao te Ching)

[Albion]

Friends of Dao,

 

  I've been doing some thinking this morning. Someone that I know, and admire very much, studies only one version/translation of the Dao de Jing (Tao te Ching).

 

For years, until the last few months I've been doing the 'busy beaver' thing and studying a lot of different DDJ/TTC translations.

 

Up until the last few months when I finally broke down and started studying the 'Tao Te Ching--A New Version For All Seekers' translated by Guy Leekley. You can find some reviews at Amazon.com  about it here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Version-Seekers-ebook/dp/0979150949/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472232980&sr=1-1&keywords=Tao+Te+Ching+A+New+Version+for+All+Seekers

 

​Anyway, Guy Weekly's TTC has just a wee bit of a Buddhist slant in it, but it's still very good, and I "accidentally" found it, and have been using it since then. 

 

I've been reading/studying the Feng/English TTC beside Weekly's TTC as of late, which I find helpful.

 

But this morning I got a paper copy of 'The Way of Lao Tzu'--[Tao-te ching] by Wing-Tsit Chan, it's wording is from circa 1963, but it's different from the online version, in a fairly large way.

 

I got this TTC for 99 CENTS! And it's in very, very good condition! I mean WOW!!

 

So, here's my question, maybe settling down and only using only ONE version/translation of the DDJ/TTC is a pretty good idea.

 

That way you can 'sink yourself' (in a good way!) into one translation, and learn what that translation has to say to YOU.

 

I'm NOT suggesting that we ever avoid studying and learning new things about the DDJ/TTC, but in fact, just the opposite, that we learn from one translator to the point of letting her/his words become a real PART of us!

 

If I had not seen this work for someone else, I might not have thought this through at all, in fact!

 

So, thanks to that person, you know who you are (in more ways then ONE!  lol)!!

 

Anyway, these are the thoughts that have been rattling around in my mind this morning, I thought that I'd write this down here, and toss it out there for discussion.

 

I hope that's it's taken in the good spirit in which it's written.  :-)

 

Your Friend in Dao,  Differently Abled Daoist

[Marblehead]

Hi DAD,

 

It is true that different translations speak to us (the individual) better than all others do.  Many reasons for this.

 

I have my favorite but I also like to look at alternative perspectives.

 

I suppose the only question we need ask is:  Does this translation speak more true to my heart than do others?

 

IMO, the TTC is a guide to help us along our journey of life.  We should keep the guidance that has helped us close to our heart.

[dawei]

The best thing you should do is always follow your feeling/heart/instinct on what works best for you... and that might change over time, so remaining open is as important.

 

If one is your cup of soup, sounds (and tastes) great

 

I would read several just to see what style you prefer and then narrow down.   Do you tend to like short & literal, more wordy, vague yet mysterious, spiritual elucidation, etc.

 

I've read likely 60 authors and versions.

 

Here is a great single location to test many authors words:

http://terebess.hu/english/tao/_index.html

 

I have Chan's book... and his notes are great.  I've moved on from him but he is a great fall back when I question some passage.

 

So if you're settled on Chan for now, you made a great choice for the bedside table  

[Mig]

Friends of Dao,

 

  I've been doing some thinking this morning. Someone that I know, and admire very much, studies only one version/translation of the Dao de Jing (Tao te Ching).

 

For years, until the last few months I've been doing the 'busy beaver' thing and studying a lot of different DDJ/TTC translations.

 

Up until the last few months when I finally broke down and started studying the 'Tao Te Ching--A New Version For All Seekers' translated by Guy Leekley. You can find some reviews at Amazon.com  about it here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Version-Seekers-ebook/dp/0979150949/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472232980&sr=1-1&keywords=Tao+Te+Ching+A+New+Version+for+All+Seekers

 

​Anyway, Guy Weekly's TTC has just a wee bit of a Buddhist slant in it, but it's still very good, and I "accidentally" found it, and have been using it since then. 

 

I've been reading/studying the Feng/English TTC beside Weekly's TTC as of late, which I find helpful.

 

But this morning I got a paper copy of 'The Way of Lao Tzu'--[Tao-te ching] by Wing-Tsit Chan, it's wording is from circa 1963, but it's different from the online version, in a fairly large way.

 

I got this TTC for 99 CENTS! And it's in very, very good condition! I mean WOW!!

 

So, here's my question, maybe settling down and only using only ONE version/translation of the DDJ/TTC is a pretty good idea.

 

That way you can 'sink yourself' (in a good way!) into one translation, and learn what that translation has to say to YOU.

 

I'm NOT suggesting that we ever avoid studying and learning new things about the DDJ/TTC, but in fact, just the opposite, that we learn from one translator to the point of letting her/his words become a real PART of us!

 

If I had not seen this work for someone else, I might not have thought this through at all, in fact!

 

So, thanks to that person, you know who you are (in more ways then ONE!  lol)!!

 

Anyway, these are the thoughts that have been rattling around in my mind this morning, I thought that I'd write this down here, and toss it out there for discussion.

 

I hope that's it's taken in the good spirit in which it's written.  :-)

 

Your Friend in Dao,  Differently Abled Daoist

Happy 2017 and soon Happy Rooster Year,

 

I am pretty much in a similar situation as yours and I am curious to hear your experience in reading the DDJ. If you are reading without notes, what do you understand? Pick a chapter and let us know. In my case, not reading commentaries, I am totally lost and all is left is my imagination. At this point I read Hellen Chen's, Wing's and Duyvendak's (in French) and some online texts in English. Next step will adventure in reading Chinese commentaries in Chinese.

 

Cheers,