Lao Tzu: Under Heaven all can see beauty as beauty
_____________________________
Photo: Great Wall of China that includes the Nankou pass leading to Mongolia.
________________________________________________
Under Heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast with each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonise each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit,
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts for ever.
(Lao Tzu)
________________________________________________
Source & Recommended reading:
'Tao Te Ching'
By Lao Tsu (Author), Gia-Fu Feng (Translator), Jane English (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
The most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. Offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive.
Scholars say that the original Tao Te Ching is a poem. Like a poem, this version of the Tao Te Ching is not meant to be read in one breath from front to back, but is to be at intervals internalized and contemplated. Jane English's haunting black-and-white photos that undulate in and out on every page act as glycerin elixirs, helping the words slide into our souls for patient digestion. The photographs--of a glistening spider web, cloud-enveloped mountain tops, reflections on water, leaves in the sunlight--are as serenely lyrical as the ancient text, itself.
"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended."
(Alan Watts)
To visit Rumi's Garden online Islamic store click here.
'Tao Te Ching'
By Lao Tsu (Author), Gia-Fu Feng (Translator), Jane English (Translator)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
The most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. Offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive.
Scholars say that the original Tao Te Ching is a poem. Like a poem, this version of the Tao Te Ching is not meant to be read in one breath from front to back, but is to be at intervals internalized and contemplated. Jane English's haunting black-and-white photos that undulate in and out on every page act as glycerin elixirs, helping the words slide into our souls for patient digestion. The photographs--of a glistening spider web, cloud-enveloped mountain tops, reflections on water, leaves in the sunlight--are as serenely lyrical as the ancient text, itself.
"No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu's simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended."
(Alan Watts)
_____________________________
________________________________________________
Leave a comment