Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, Vintage Books, 1989

This is my favorite translation.

One

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.



The Complete Tao Te Ching

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