The Tao of Pooh, ever read it?

[Jainarayan]

I had a copy almost 30 years ago. I can't remember if I ever actually read it, though I do remember the gist of it being that Pooh "goes with the flow". I'm probably way off on that. I have some interest in learning about Taoism. I believe there are some aspects that mesh nicely with Hindu philosophy (action in non-action... by no action, not even can we exist says Sri Krishna). I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching, but I can't remember who translated it. So I was wondering what anyone thinks about The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I'm not of this DIR, but I waned to say that it really explained Taoism well for those that don't have a lot of patience to read a book like the Tao Te Ching (which I own a translation and could NOT get through it)

It not only explained Taoism well, it also compared it to other similar paths such as Buddhism and Confucianism. By far my favorite philosophical book.

 

[SageTree]

Simply beautiful. Should read for everyone.

 

[Jainarayan]

Great, I'll get another copy. I have no idea if mine is in a moving box crumbled to dust now. My copy of the Tao Te Ching is from the Barnes & Noble Classics series, translated by Charles Muller. I don't know how it stacks up against other translations. The first aphorism (for lack of a better word) is:

The Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth.
While naming is the origin of the myriad things.
Therefore always desireless, you see the mystery.
Ever desiring, you see the manifestations.
These two are the same.
When they appear they are named differently.
This sameness is the mystery,
Mystery within mystery;
The door to all marvels

 

[Ferne]

The Tao of Pooh is a great book, IMO, especially if you liked Winnie the Pooh as a kid. I've known loads of people who liked it. In fact the only person I've ever come across who didn't like it was an academic who didn't approve of 'Western Taoism' in general and basically wanted everybody to follow his definition of Taoism lol

With respect to your translation of the Tao Te Ching, I'm not the right person to comment on how 'good' it is as I'm new to Taoism. I would say though, the usual advice given to people including myself is to basically read several translations rather than just one. This is quite a good site for that and I'm sure there are others as well:

Tao Teh Ching - Main Index

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks. I'll check the link. The problem with translations is usually the translator's bias or p.o.v. Or even as a Wiki article says for the Tao Te Ching, Classical Chinese itself which lends itself to lots of confusion in translating. I have a copy of the Bhagavad Gita which is rather "dumbed down" and is nothing like the Swami Tapasyananda or Eknath translations, which are more liberal, or the Prabhupada translation, which has an extremely narrow interpretation.

 

[Ferne]

Yeah, it's always a problem when reading old texts in other languages which you can't read, unfortunately. To make it even more confusing there are lots of people like Stephen Mitchell and Ursula Le Guin who have released versions which weren't even translated from the Chinese lol

Here's another interesting link -- I really need to get an e-reader

Dao De Jing Translations

 

[Ferne]

Actually, I think Stephen Mitchell's version might be a translation but an incredibly loose one: it's the one version people keep mentioning to avoid but then again looking at Amazon it still seems to work for some people.

 

[Ferne]

I got Cleary's translation the other day for various reasons off Amazon although mainly because it was 1p

What I've found very helpful is his notes on the TTC at the back of the book. Unfortunately his notes on the inner chapters of ZZ seemed pretty brief. Still, it was worth every penny I spent on the book

 

[Straw Dog]

Actually, I think Stephen Mitchell's version might be a translation but an incredibly loose one: it's the one version people keep mentioning to avoid but then again looking at Amazon it still seems to work for some people.

It's not even a translation, actually. It's an interpretation of a translation made by someone else. He does throw a lot of modern lingo into it, but it does succeed in conveying some ideas better to Western audiences than traditional translations do. It's important NOT to approach the Tao Te Ching as some perfect holy book with one inerrant translation. Try reading several different translations plus various commentaries in order to better grasp the underlying themes. One of the main messages is about going beyond words after all.

 

[Ferne]

Thanks for the input on Mitchell: I wasn't quite sure what he had done

Cleary's translation is the first one I've actually sat down and read properly and I'm quite enjoying it. I will be aiming to read some other translators/commentaries though next year as I agree it's a good idea to get a variety of viewpoints.