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Comparing
Different Translations |
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A) Literal Translations |
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| 1) Tao = to tell / to speak / to talk |  | |||||||||
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- Stephen Mitchell, also - Gia-Feng and Jane English |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
told |
of |
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is not |
the eternal |
Tao |
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"The Way of Lao Tzu" - Wing-tsit Chan |
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The Way |
that |
can be |
told |
of |
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is not |
an Unvarying |
Way |
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"The Way and Its Power" - Arthur Waley |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
spoken |
of |
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is not |
the Eternal |
Tao. |
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- James Clark |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
spoken |
of |
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is not |
the eternal |
Tao |
- He Guanghu, & al. | |
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The Way |
that |
can be |
spoken |
of |
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is not |
the constant |
Way |
- Robert G. Henricks, also - D. C. Lau | |
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Tao |
that |
can be |
spoken |
of |
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is not |
the Everlasting |
Tao |
- Ellen M. Chen | |
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Tao |
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can be |
talked |
about, |
but |
not |
the Eternal |
Tao. |
- John C. H. Wu | |
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Dao |
that |
can be |
talked |
about |
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is not |
the eternal |
Dao |
itself |
"Wisdom of Dao" - Tang Zi-chang |
| 2) Tao = to guide | ||||||||||
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A way |
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can be |
a guide, |
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but |
not |
a fixed |
path |
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"The Essential Tao" - Thomas Cleary |
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To guide |
what |
can be |
guided |
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is not |
constant |
guiding |
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- Chad Hansen |
| 3) Tao = the way / a path / to walk the path | ||||||||||
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The ways |
that |
can be |
walked |
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are not |
the eternal |
Way. |
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- Victor H. Mair |
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B) Other translations with implied meanings |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
told |
of |
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is not |
the Absolute |
Tao |
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- Lin Yutang |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
talked |
about |
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is not |
the true |
Tao |
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- Man-Ho Kwok, M. Palmer, J. Ramsay |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
stated |
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is not |
the Eternal |
Tao |
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"The Guiding Light of Lao Tzu" - Henry Wei |
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The Dao |
that |
can be |
expressed |
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is not |
the eternal |
Dao. |
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- Richard Wilhelm, H. G. Oswald |
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The Tao |
which |
can be |
expressed |
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is not |
the unchanging |
Tao |
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- C. Spurgeon Medhurst |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
described |
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is not |
the Constant |
Tao |
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- Thomas H. Miles |
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The Tao |
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described |
in words |
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is not |
the real |
Tao |
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"The Book of Tao" - Frank J. MacHovec |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
described |
in words |
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is not |
the true |
Tao |
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"The Little Book of the Tao Te Ching" - John R. Mabry |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
followed |
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is not |
the eternal |
Tao |
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- Charles Muller |
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The Tao- |
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path |
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is not |
the All- |
Tao |
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- A. Crowley |
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The Tao |
that |
can be |
trodden |
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is not |
the enduring and unchanging |
Tao. |
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- Richard Hooker |
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C) Non-literal translations and interpretations |
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| There are ways but the Way is uncharted. | "The Way of Life" - R. B. Blakney | |||||||||
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Tao (Truth) can be talked about (theorized in any manner each person considers viable), though hardly of these theories will be eternally valid. |
- Lee Sun Chen Org | |||||||||
| Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself. | - Stan Rosenthal | |||||||||
| TAO called TAO is not TAO. | - Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo | |||||||||
| Nature can never be completely described, for such a description of Nature would have to duplicate Nature. | - Archie J. Bahm | |||||||||
| Existence is beyond the power of words To define. | "The Way of Life according to Laotzu - An American Version" - Witter Bynner | |||||||||
| The Tao that can be named is not the nameless Tao. | "The New Lao Tzu" - Ray Grigg | |||||||||
| If you can talk about it, it ain't Tao. | - Jesse Garon, adapted by Ron Hogan | |||||||||
