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Title: Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way by Ursula K. Le Guin, Lao Tzu ISBN: 1-57062-395-3 Publisher: Shambhala Pub. Date: 20 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.57 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Le Guin's work is natural, simple, straightforward.
Comment: There are many 'translations' of Lao Tsu's words. Which is the best? Perhaps it is not measured by the literal accuracy of the translation, or the poetic artestry of the word, but by it's ability to help the reader gain the perspective that Lao Tsu envisioned as the Tao. A translation that works for one, may not yield the same result for another.
Le Guin's rendition of Lao Tzu's 'Tao te Ching' was, for me, a good addition to my understanding. I have many copies. I almost always compare one with another when I sit down to think. Some 'translations' are better than others for different passages, or moods. With more than 15 years of experience in Asian cultures, primarily Japanese, and many years of contemplating Lao Tzu's writings, I recognize that some translations rely more heavily on a broader asian perspective than others. What seems natural or obvious to one steeped in asian culture may be contradictory or even 'silly' to a westerner This doesn't mean the message is wrong, but that the wording is not suited for that reader. One interpretation alone was insufficient to help me comprehend the simple nature of the Tao.
Once I began to see my world from within the understanding of the Tao, rather than see the Tao from the outside through others' words, I found a new enjoyment in seeing how others perceive the Tao. This is why I enjoyed Ursula K. Le Guin's approach immensely. Clearly, Ms. Le Guin feels the awe and wonder of the simple way, as I am beginning to enjoy it.
Hers is not as literal or as historically steeped as some, and not as contemporary as others (Stephen Mitchell). Not a hard-hitting philosophical analysis (Wing-Tsit Chan), nor an obscure or remote work [Asian feeling] (Gai-Fu Fen/Jane English). Her words invited me to enjoy the comprehension of the simplicity of it all.
Her approach was natural, simple, straightforward. In her fresh wording, I saw an elegence in the principles, a form of beauty. Her words reminded me of how I felt when I began to understand.
Thank you, Ms. Le Guin, for your contribution to my enjoyment of the Tao.
Rating: 5
Summary: unpretentious, simple, beautiful, and thought-provoking.
Comment: I've bought several versions of the Tao Te Ching over the years, my favorite being that by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. Le Guin's "rendition" startled me with its everyday language and showed the Tao in a new light.
Translations of this work vary considerably, so I was particularly impressed with Le Guin's inclusion of material explaining what led her to this undertaking and why she cast Lao Tzu's ideas the way she did. This honesty and the bare, simple beauty of her language seem to me very much an expression of the Tao.
In a world where everything seems so strident and competetive, this simple account of what one person found in this very old and much-loved book is more valuable to me than shelves full of scholarly, definitive, acclaimed, or approved translations.
This book not only talks about the Tao, it exemplifies the Tao.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Way of Being. Outstanding Book
Comment: Ursula K. Le Guin did a remarkable job in bringing us her translation of this magnificent book that will lift your heart, bring more understanding to your mind, free your ego from its grip on your life, and bring your soul peace from the ancient and extraordinary verses in this book.
This is one book that would bring harmony to anyone, when taken into the depths of consciousness. It will show you the way of being. It will help you live with what IS, and that alone will help free you from pain.
Highly recommended for its profound truth, and the extraordinary difference this truth can make in your life. Deserves 10 Stars.
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Title: Tao Te Ching : 25th-Anniversary Edition by Lao Tsu, Gia-Fu Feng, Jane English ISBN: 0679776192 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Lao-Tzu's Taoteching: With Selected Commentaries of the Past 2000 Years by Lao-Tzu, Red Pine, Lao Tzu ISBN: 1562790854 Publisher: Mercury House Pub. Date: 01 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Wave in the Mind : Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin ISBN: 1590300068 Publisher: Shambhala Pub. Date: 17 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition by Lao Tzu, Jonathan Star ISBN: 1585420999 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: 06 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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Title: Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell ISBN: 0060812451 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 07 October, 1992 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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