by Lao Tzu
|
| List Price: | $9.00 |
| Amazon Price: | $9.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $4.58 |
| Availablitiy: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
 |
|
Product Description
Printed throughout in two colors is this new, definitive version of one of the great books of world literature--comparable in its sales and influence to the Bible, the Bhagavad Ghita, and the Koran.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Excellent text but more editorial work would be nice, 2008-12-24
This text is pretty well translated, retaining most of the literal flair of the original. Not to mention that the philosophy is highly illuminating and deep. Because Lao Tzu uses a lot of imagery, the reader might have to use his/her own imagination and analytical skills in deciphering the content. Hence, if you are buying it as private reading, I suggest that you find another version with more commentary (chapter by chapter), otherwise you could miss out the subtle details of this amazing literature.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Tao Te Ching - Peaceful Reading, 2008-09-25
The Tao Te Ching is one of the most influential books of Taoism. This Penguin Classics version is an excellently translated version of the timeless masterpiece. Translated by D.C. Lau, this version is a very smooth and easy read. The footnotes explain confusing passages with clarity and allow you to get a better undertanding of the intented meaning of the books within the Tao Te Ching. I fully recommend this book for those who want to get more in touch with the Tao and the flow of the universe!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Ancient Wisdom For Ancient Times, 2008-08-30
Although Tao Te Ching contains a decent amount of insightful knowledge, it is not the best I have seen and would recommend only for those who's spiritual journey has led them here directly.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
ANCIENT WISDOM FOR CONTEMPORARY PEOPLE, 2008-01-20
Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Traditionally ascribed to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius, the work is more probably an anthology of wise saying compiled in about the fourth century, "says the rear cover of this book. Whoever did it, the Tao Te Ching is wonderful. I have this version.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Kick the New Age right out of your DDJ..., 2007-12-25
I love this translation. Not so much for the translation but for the introduction in the original edition. Lau was really the first critic of the traditional story of Laozi and the Dao De Jing to bring it to the English masses. The DDJ is a composite work, not the work of one author, as romantic as the story of Laozi may be. It was the work of many and thus the reason for some of its inconsistencies. Sure the work can be made to fit into one's particular scheme (the Dao obviously has plenty of flexibility to accommodate) but quite often this reflects the reader/translator/interpreter more than it does the actual DDJ which makes sense as the 'mirror' is a latent symbol in this work.
Lau grounds this translation. Though he notes there may be hints of an ancient cosmology and perhaps traces of a guide to lengthening one's life through mystical practice, he notes that in reality the DDJ does not emphasize these at all. Any hints of these are reinterpreted and recontextualized due to the multiple layers of sayings represented here. It's just one particular view of the multitude of views of the Daoism school. If anything, such views are actually stripped away. Contrary to the belief (and translation) of many, the DDJ does not emphasize long life. In fact, it even points out that those who emphasize life too much surely come to an early end.
In all my years and in all my readings (from at least a dozen different translations) I too have come to a similar conclusion. This isn't a mystical treatise; it isn't an otherworldly spiritual guidebook; it isn't even a philosophy. It is a guidebook that teaches us how to live here and now, on earth, in the dirt,with the people. No fortune telling, no mystical visions, no otherworldly gurus, no escapism, nothing transcendent here.
Lau's translation reflects this spirit. Don't expect a poetic, mystical, New Agey translation tailored toward a Western audience nor one that embodied in the Perennial Philosophy. Too often the book is viewed as exotic, as "the Other", an alternative to the overly analytical, linear and often overbearing Western religious traditions.
But as the DDJ reminds us:
"Beautiful words aren't true; true words aren't beautiful."
"When people hear the Dao they think: How bland it is."
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|