This book has questions that cannot be answered and answers that cannot be given.
The
enigmatic nature of the Tao Te Ching is due fundamentally
to Lao Tzu’s realisation that we make sense of living by entering into it
directly,
not by trying to understand it as detached observers.
We cannot escape ourselves.
To use a Zen metaphor, the sword cannot cut itself.
Neither can we make sense of living through a haze of intellectual constructs;
living is larger and more elusive than the systems we invent to explain it.
So we never quite understand ourselves and the universe in which we live.
The Tao is the freedom that comes with not-understanding.
(Ray Grigg)
Who was
Lao Tzu?
Lao Tzu was a
taoist sage who wrote a book
of 81 verses called Tao Te Ching (pronounced 'dow day jing').
Tao Te Ching
could be translated to mean 'the way (of things) and their
innate
power'.
Different translations
There are many translations of Tao Te Ching.
Some have been translated in a way that makes them very difficult to
understand.
Timothy Freke
and Ray Grigg have both produced well-written translations.
Tsai Chih Chung's The Tao Speaks is a graphic novel version which
demonstrates a wry humour.
John Lash wrote a book called The Tai Chi Journey which explores Tao
Te Ching verse by verse and examines what each may mean.
http://www.wayist.org/ttc%20compared
Example
Tao Te Ching verses
Adapted by Timothy Freke:
Adapted by Ray Grigg:
Page created 21 June 1999