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The Way of Life, According to Laotzu
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| List Price: | $11.95 |
| Price: | $8.60 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
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Product Description
In an expanded format, enhanced with new calligraphy, is a timely and welcomereissue of the classic of Eastern philosophy and religious thought that sold over 200,000 copies in its previous edition.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #42691 in Books
- Published on: 1986-11-21
- Original language: Mandarin Chinese
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 112 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780399512988
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews
Best for Daily Use
While perhaps not the most scholarly accurate translation, this is far and away (IMHO) the best for daily reading and meditation. Bynner's foreward notes that the Chinese sparkles with rhythm and rhyme -- not a surprise, since most people could not read at the time and had to remember things verbatim. Language has power because of rhyme and rhythm as well as the meaning of the words, and thus Bynner's translation is the best one to have in your pocket at the beach, sitting on the porch with a beer or glass of wine, or reading to (or with) someone you love. I have spent 30 years repeating "Let life ripen and then fall, force is not the way at all, deny the way of life and you are dead." I have and sometimes read other versions (Chinese cannot really be translated to English), but this is the one I read for pleasure.
The Heart of the Tao
I own about a half-dozen versions of the Tao Te Ching, ranging from the scholarly to the poetic, and Bynner's version strikes me as head and shoulders above the rest.
"He who knows does not say, and he who says does not know." Bynner avoids the lecture trap and captures the spirit of the original in a gentle way that speaks subtly to the reader and lingers in the heart.
A book to live by
If I had only one book to read and re-read, this would be it. Far and away my favorite translation of the book that is part of my blood and bone. I've memorized much of it, and have read it aloud onto CD as a gift for my friends. A treasure. "Let life ripen and then fall. Force is not the way at all."
