Tao Te Ching

Beyond Word

Excellent translation! Good binding and paper quality.

simple translation

Must for every book reader

A book that challenges your wisdom in a constructive way.

Detailed and precise book

Regarding translations; I have 13 versions of the Bible, and each is important and suited to a particular purpose. Having tried many times to completely read through the entire Tao Te Ching using various translations, this particular one seemed very good, in that it gave the sense, meaning, or essence of what the ancient valuable text would want the reader to understand, in today’s modern terms or language. So using this translation, I have easily met my goal to read through the entire Tao Te Ching, and, simultaneously gaining a good understanding of the sense, meaning, and essence of the archaic text. August Gold, who penned the Introduction to this translation, clearly articulated why this translation is her favorite, and her reasons are quoted below: “This is ‘the’ translation for anyone truly wanting to understand the Tao Te Ching. Up until recently, this Eastern Text has been translated into English by scholars since the late 1800s. While they use the English lexicon to accomplish their purpose (which was to make a scholarly translation), and while it left the text correct in a literal sense, it deprived the verses of their sheer beauty and poetic power. Thus many of these early translations come across as a bit dusty, old-fashioned, and irrelevant to our lives. Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself. First the older translation of the first stanza of Verse 5: ‘Heaven and Earth are not humane, And regard the people as straw dogs. The sage is not humane, And regards all things as straw dogs.’ (Translated by Charles Muller, Tōyō Gakuen University) Now Jonathan Star’s translation: ‘Heaven and Earth have no preference. A man may choose one over another, But to Heaven and Earth all are the same. The high, the low, the great, the small - All are given light, All get a place to rest.’ The first is an accurate translation that might be intellectually correct. Jonathan Star’s translation also adheres closely to the original text, but is far more profound because of its ability to be immediately grasped and applied to your life. Scholarly texts feed the mind and that’s a good thing; but a text that feeds the mind, body and soul, and, not to mention, one which can help us transform our lives today, is infinitely more valuable. While the early translations are still common fare and have value for the scholar, a recent number of modern translations have emerged that appeal to the spiritual seeker. Those translations (or ‘versions’) - by Stephen Mitchell, Ursula Le Guin, and Brian Browne Walker, just to name a few - all offer something of value, and I’ve admired many of them. However, none of them have done what Jonathan Star has done, which is to marry the scholarly concerns of accuracy with the poetry of someone who has lived the words. He brilliantly balances the two worlds - the academic and the experiential - in a way that I believe no other translator of the Tao Te Ching has done before him. For me (August Gold), this is simply the best translation available, bar none.” - August Gold, ‘Sacred Center New York’. For all the aforementioned reasons, mine, and August Gold’s (quoted), Jonathan Star’s translation of the Tao Te Ching clearly deserves a full five star rating; and while the 81 parts of the Tao Te Ching may not amount to so many pages as compared to the healthy price for this translation, I had to ask myself prior to purchasing it whether the spiritual benefit gained would far outweigh and therefore justify the comparative high price per page - and I answered, yes.

Excelente calidad de contenido y de materiales con los que está hecho, lo conseguí en 120 pesos, una ganga

Dieses Buch zu lesen tut mir einfach gut. Ich fühle mich nachher leichter, inspiriert und schlichtweg besser. Es in den Händen zu Halten ist schon eine Freude. Bis jetzt habe ich noch keine deutsche Übersetzung gefunden, die auch nur annähernd so schön ist... Sonst muss ich dann halt selbst irgendwann mal eine schreiben :-)

Voilà nu livre très intéressant par son optique. L'auteur a recensé tous les caractères présents dans ce classique chinois et en offre toutes les traductions possibles. Enfin on peut avoir une correspondance entre le texte chinois et une interprétation. Certe cela demande un peu de travail, mais c'est très appréciable quand on connaît un peu le taoïsme. De manière étonnante la première partie du livre qui est une traduction de l'auteur diffère parfois totalement des traductions possibles, un peu comme s'il avait fait un énorme travail, puis l'avais oublié pour inventer une traduction... Cette partie là est clairement à ignorer. Je met néanmoins 3 étoiles pour l'excellente seconde partie, et s'il n'y avait eu que celle là j'aurai mis 5 étoiles.

If you are troubled by the weight of the world, this book helps you pull back and understand Creator (Tao)'s great meaning and your place in it