The Way, a Way, Way. (translation, Articles, Roman)

[Terrywoodenpic]

Originally Posted by zenzero

1. The Way

The Way that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not true.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.

To experience without intention is to sense the world;
To experience with intention is to anticipate the world.
These two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.

Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.

Taking articles out of poem leaves it perfectly understandable to me.
Perhaps we rely too much on articles.

[d.]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

Excellent point, d.

This is also true of every interpretation by every individual reading every translation, as well as ever interpretation by every individual reading the "original."

i like your new signature line.

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by d.

i like your new signature line.

Thanks. It's nice to read your posts again. Your writing has always been some of my favorite at RF.

[Francine]

Originally Posted by d.

i think we're better off forgetting the idea of 'the correct translation / interpretation of the tao te ching'. it's poetry, not a user manual. we make our own sense of it.

That's the spirit. The urge to find a "true" translation is a Confucian tendency, I think. The Catholic Church issues their deadly dull documents in Latin because it is a dead language with words that don't change their meaning. As long as the Tao Te Ching is newly translated into the latest vernacular, it will remain a soft green shoot rather than a dry brown husk.

[zenzero]

Friend Francine,
Its not the language that makes whatever written in it dead.
In fact Tao Te Ching is older than the Bible. The interpretation of Tao Te Ching can be freshly understood by another person and thats the beauty of it.
Each time more hidden meanings may come out.
Love & rgds