Tao Te Ching

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His disregard for accuracy and his preference for his concept of beauty over truth not only shows a complete lack of respect for the text, the tradition and its culture of origin; it's also just not scholarly.

The Second Book of the Tao by Stephen Mitchell | Goodreads The Second Book of the Tao by Stephen Mitchell | Goodreads

My reason for stating this so clearly is that, even without having read the original texts, it is baldly clear that this is such a departure from the original Taoist sources as to virtually be a different book altogether. But if you are looking for a book to learn Tao Te Ching's intent and spirit, I have not found any other English translation smoother than Mitchell's. The first book of the Tao (written by the perhaps legendary Lao-tzu) is the Tao Te Ching, that marvel of lucidity and grace, the classic manual on the art of living. My favorite book by Katie is A Thousand Names for Joy, the book Mitchell wrote based on Katie's reflections on the Tao.C.Lau and I listened to multiple audio versions, driving to and from work, but still, I feel I only received just the barest glimpse into the depth of Lao Tzu’s words. However, Mitchell has played far more fast and loose with this book than he did his first, making my concerns all that more appropriate. Those who possess too much wealth while others starve, who are “dressed in fineries” or “filled with food and drink” while others go hungry, he condemns as “taking the lead in robbery”.

Tao Te Ching: Mitchell, Stephen, Tzu, Lao, Mitchell, Stephen Tao Te Ching: Mitchell, Stephen, Tzu, Lao, Mitchell, Stephen

Seven of the 10 Commandments don’t mention God and are sound advice designed to facilitate peaceful community relations: respect your elders, don't kill, don't cheat on your spouse, don't steal, don't tell lies, and don't lust after another's spouse or his belongings. For me, the Tao Te Ching is more folk wisdom than religious treatise and is more useful than a million sermons. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, he decided that he'd rather cut entire paragraphs, rearrange the remaining words, and even alter the meaning to better suit his aesthetic values.I've benefited from the works of Byron Katie, his wife, with whom he co-wrote Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy. His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (pronounced as "Daoism"). He is best known for his translations and adaptions of works including the Tao Te Ching, the Epic of Gilgamesh, works of Rainer Maria Rilke, and Christian texts. He offers a Zen take on the writings of Lao-tzu’s disciple Chuang-tzu and Confucius’s grandson Tzu-ssu.

The Second Book of the Tao – Stephen Mitchell

I had read six or seven of them, and although I loved the content, the language was mediocre at best: not much poetry in it, not much sparkle. Stephen Mitchell's translation of the same line is: "If you overesteem great men, / people become powerless.

If you get small enough, you see that the world isn’t solid and that uncertainty is the only thing that’s certain, perhaps. In fact, with time running backward as in a Feynman diagram, Alice’s Caterpillar could well have metamorphosed into Chuang-tzu’s butterfly, just to prove a point.