From: Case (Case@iSpots.com)
Date: Sat Sep 17 2005 - 16:19:01 BST
Marsha,
The two that pop to the top of an Amazon search are as good as any.
Tao Te Ching : 25th-Anniversary Edition (Vintage) (Paperback) (Translator),
Jane English (Translator) is very nice and includes the original in
calligraphy. This is probably the most popular translation in the west.
Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell is also very accessable.
Also
Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered
Ma-wang-tui Texts by Robert G. Henricks. I was not convinced by his use of
agricultural metaphors to explain the Tao but his discussion of the original
source documents and their traditional arrangement was very helpful.
Reading a really old book like this is a good way to gain an appreciation
for the metaphorical nature of language. By looking at a couple of
translations and how they differ, you begin to see something of how concepts
resist being corraled by words. Especially words that aim to describe
concepts that resist definition.
The free Guttenberg version is very crude and really only useful for
comparision, at least that's my story and I am sticking to it.
I also highly recommend the book of Eccelsiates in this respect. If the Tao
states the way things are, Eccelsiates tells you what living with that
reality is like. As for the I Ching it is mostly a guide to how to enterpret
coin tosses. For me at least its existance is more intersting than its
contents.
Case
> Greetings,
>
> I would like to read translations of the Tao Te Ching and I Ching. There
> seem to be many versions, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend
> particular translations.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Marsha
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