bu kadar eski bu kadar güncel , bu kadar Çin bu kadar evrensel olması nasıl heyecanlandırmaz insanı!

- قرأت الكثير عن المعتقدات الصينية خلال حياتي، لكني بكل تأكيد ما كنت اعتقده فهماً تاماً لتلك المعتقدات هو فهم مقصور وخاطئ. هذه النتيجة اتضحت جلية خلال وبعد انتهائي من هذا البحث.

- التاو-تي شينغ، جذر المعتقدات الصينية، كتبه لاو – تسو ما بين اواسط القرن السادس والخامس قبل الميلاد بلغّة مكثّفة ومختصرة، و"التاو" ترجمه السوّاح على انه "الطريق" لكنني اظن ان ترجمة "المسلك" كانت لتكون ادّق بناء على المعنى.

- "التاو" أثّر في مجمل الحياة الصينية اللاحقة:

"رغم ان الميثولوجيا الصينية حافلة بالآلهة من شتى الأشكال والأنواع والإختصاصات، إلا ان هذه الآلهة لم تكن في حقيقتها إلا أسلافاً اسطوريين رفعهم الخيال الشعبي الى مراتب عليا وقدسهم واقام لهم المعابد. وتظهر السير الأسطورية لهؤلاء الأسلاف كيف ابتدأ أمرهم كرجال صالحين على الأرض وكبف تم تأليههم وعبادتهم فيما بعد."

"اما المصدر الحقيقي لقدرة الآلهة الصينية فهو مفهوم مجرد عن الألوهة يتمثل في قوة السماء التي يدعونها تي-يين... ويرى كونفوشيوس ان ارادة السماء انما تفعل من خلال عناية متضمنة في صلب نظام الطبيعة لا من خارجها. ويقابل هذا النظام الطبيعي، عنده، نظام آخر يسود على المستوى الإنساني في المجتمع هو القانون الأخلاقي"

- ما الفرق بين مفهوم "التاو" ومفهوم "الإله الخالق" او بمعنى آخر بما تختلف ثقافتنا (بشكل عام) عن الثقافة الصينية في هذا الموضوع؟

"ان الفارق بين مفهوم التاو ومفهوم الإله الخالق، هو ان الإله انتج العالم عن طريق الخلق الإرادي بينما انتج التاو العالم عن طريق الخلق غير الإرادي. الإله خلق العالم بواسطة الفعل اما التاو فبواسطة اللافعل... الخلق الإرادي يتم التشكيل من الخارج نحو الداخل... اما الخلق غير الإرادي فإن التشكيل يتم من الداخل نحو الخارج وبشكل تلقائي."

ان التاو ليس سيداً للكون يمارس سلطانه عليه من موضع مستقل ومفارق، وكأنه والكون هويتان مستقلتان، بل هو عين النظام الداخلي للطبيعة الحر من اية ضرورة خارجية. من هنا فإنه لا يتطلب من الكائنات عرفاناً ولا يدعي امتلاكاً ولا ينسب لنفسه فضلاً."

- ما هو جوهر "التاو"؟

"ان روح الوادي تعني جوهر الفراغ الذي يمكن تحقيقه من خلال السكون وإفراغ الذهن من كل انشغال بالذات الفردية، حتى اذا وصل الإنسان الى حالة الإفراغ التام امتلأ بالعدم الخلاق الذي هو جوهر التاو."

"اكثر سطوعاً من اي نور، اكثر عتمة من اي ظلام. جوهر النور وجوهر الظلام. عندما يلتقي اقصى النور واقصى الظلام في واحد، ذلك هو الفراغ العظيم والعدم الخلاق الذي ينشأ عنه كل شيء... ليس له بداية ��و نهاية، وأبده عين ازله. اذا قلنا انه الصورة التي لا صورة لها، والشكل الذي لا شكل له، وقفنا امام جدار الصمت وتساقطت الكلمات"

- "التاو" كعودة الى الفطرة الأولى:

"من يسلك وفق قواعد أخلاقية مقررة سلفاً انما يسلك بشكل لا أخلاقي، ومن يحب جاره تطبيقاً لتعاليم متعارف عليها لا يعرف شيئاً عن الحب، ومن يرعى اولاده خوفاً من القانون ومن تقولات الناس لا يعرف شيئاً عن الأبوة"

"اذا عاد الجميع الى طبيعتهم الأصلية غير المصقولة، تلمس كل واحد في صميمه ذلك المنبع الحقيقي للمحبة، وسلك بشكل تلقائي فأحب دون ان يسمي ذلك حباً وتعاطف دون ان يسمي ذلك تعاطفاً ورفق بالحيوان دون ان يسمي ذلك رفقاً واطاع الوالدين دون ان يسمي ذلك طاعة. لقد تخلص من زينة الأخلاق ليسلكها."

- التاوية والحكم:

أفضل الحكام من شابه الظل عند رعيته
يليه الحاكم الذي يحبون ويمدحون
يليه الحاكم الذي يخافون ويرهبون
يليه الحاكم الذي يكرهون ويحتقرون

- "التاوية" والحرب:

"ان السلاح أداة شؤم يبغضها الناس، لذا فرجل الدولة التاوي لا يلجأ لإستخدامها. فإذا كان لا بد من شن الحرب وإشهار السلاح، فإن على رجل التاو ان يخوض حربه في حياد. والحياد هنا هو الحياد النفسي الذي يخلو من الإنغماس العاطفي. التاوي يحارب وهو في حالة صفاء الذهن والنفس، ... كما انه يتفادى ما تثيره الحرب من مشاعر العنف والرغبة في القتل والتدمير."

"لا مجد في الإنتصار، لأنه لا يتحقق الا على اشلاء الوف القتلى. وتمجيد الإنتصار يعني تمجيد القتل واعطائه مشروعية وقيمة."

- التاوية والشرائع:

"عندما تظهر الشرائع المفروضة من قبل أية سلطة، فإن في ذلك مؤشراً على وجود خلل في المجتمع، لأن المجتمع السليم المتماشي مع سبيل التاو لا يتطلب شريعة أخلاقية تنظم علاقات افراده. الشريعة هي قشرة خارجية للإيمان والإخلاص، ورجل الفضيلة الحقة لايأبه لها بل يصدر في سلوكه عن منبع الأخلاق الأصلي."

"من يسلك وفق قواعد أخلاقية مقررة سلفاً انما يسلك بشكل لا أخلاقي، ومن يحب جاره تطبيقاً لتعاليم متعارف عليها لا يعرف شيئاً عن الحب، ومن يرعى اولاده خوفاً من القانون ومن تقولات الناس لا يعرف شيئاً عن الأبوة"

- التاوية مبنية على التكامل لا على التضداد، والدائرة المشهورة التي يدور اليانج والين داخلها ليست صراعاً بين الخير والشر كما "علّمونا" بل تكامل بين الإثنين، حركة أزلية متوازنة:

"ان فن الحياة ينبغي الا يقوم على طلب اليانغ (الإيجاب) واستبعاد الين (السلب)، بل الحفاظ على حالة من التوازن بين القطبين، لأنه لا قيام لأحدهما إلا بوجود الآخر."

نهاية المراجعة مع هذه القصة:

"عاش معلم الزن ريوكان في كوخ متواضع عند سفح الجبل. في احدى الأمسيات دخل الكوخ لص فوجد المكان خالياً، وبينما هو خارج امسك به ريوكان وقال له: لقد اتعبت نفسك في الوصول الى هذا المكان النائي وانه ليعز علي ان اتركك تذهب خالي الوفاض. اليك ثوبي هدية. اخذ اللص الثوب وولى هارباً. جلس ريوكان عارياً تقريباً قبالة النافذة يرقب القمر الذي توسطها، ثم هز رأسه بأسف قائلاً: كم وددت لو اعطيته هذا المشهد الجميل"

ملاحظة: الطبعة التي قرأتها (الطبعة الاولى/ دار علاء الدين) بحاجة للكثير من التدقيق.

چقدر زیبا و لذت بخش بود، به قول دوستی ، متن کتاب شبیه شعری لطیف و دلنشین هست که آدم دوست داره بارها بخونتش. بخش هایی از کتاب رو که دوست داشتم اینجا قرار میدم :

25

قبل از تولد جهان
چيزي بي شكل و كامل وجود داشت.
آن آرام است؛ خالي،
تنها، تغيير ناپذير،
بي نهايت، حاضرِ ابدي؛
مادرِ جهان است.
چون نام بهتري برايش نمي يابم،
آن را تائو مي نامم.
در هر چيز جاري است؛
بيرون و درون
و به منبع اصلي باز مي گردد.

تائو پهناور است.
جهان پهناور است.
زمين پهناور است.
انسان پهناور است.
اين چهار قدرت بزرگ هستي است.
انسان از زمين پيروي مي كند.
زمين از جهان پيروي مي كند.
جهان از تائو پيروي مي كند.
تائو از خود پيروي مي كند.

19

تقدس و خرد را فراموش كنيد
و مردم هزار بار شادتر خواهند بود.
عدل و اخلاقيات را فراموش كنيد
و مردم تنها آن چه درست است را انجام مي دهند.
سود و صنعت را فراموش كنيد
و ديگر دزدي وجود نخواهد داشت.
اگر اين سه كافي نيستند،
در مركز دايره باقي بمانيد
و اجازه دهيد همه چير به دور خود بگردد.

24

كسي كه روي انگشتانش مي ايستد
نمي تواند تعادلش را حفظ كند.
كسي كه عجله مي كند
نمي تواند خيلي پيش رود.
كسي كه سعي در درخشيدن مي كند
نور وجودش را خاموش مي كند.
كسي كه خود را بزرگ مي داند
نمي تواند بداند به واقع كيست.
كسي كه بر ديگران فرمان مي راند
نمي تواند بر وجود خويش فاتح شود.
كسي كه به كارش مي چسبد
چيزي كه ديري بپايد، خلق نمي كند.
اگر مي خواهيد با تائو در همانگي قرار گيريد،
كار خود را بكنيد و سپس همه چيز را رها كنيد.

36

اگر مي خواهيد چيزي كوچكتر شود،
اجازه دهيد خوب گسترده شود.
اگر مي خواهيد از چيزي رها شويد،
ابتدا اجازه دهيد شكوفا شود.
اگر مي خواهيد چيزي را بدست آوريد،
ابتدا آن را ببخشيد.
اين درك ظريفي از قانون هستي است.
نرم بر سخت غلبه مي كند.
آرام بر سريع پيروز مي شود.

اجازه دهيد آن چه مي كنيد پنهان باقي بماند
و تنها نتيجه را به ديگران نمايش دهيد.

46

وقتي كشوري در هماهنگي با تائو است،
كارخانه هاي آن ماشين هاي باروري و كشاورزي مي سازند.
وقتي كشوري راه خلاف تائو مي پويد،
ابزار و ادوات جنگي در حومه ي شهرها انبار مي شوند.
توهمي بالاتر از ترس وجود ندارد
و اشتباهي بزرگتر از آماده شدن براي دفاع ازخود
بد شانسي اي بد تر از دشمن داشتن نيست.
هر كه بتواند در ميان ترس هاي خود به مشاهده آن چه رخ مي دهد بپردازد،
هميشه در امان خواهد بود.

فرزانه ، فضل گذارد
ابله به فضل کوشد
فرزانه جهان رها کند، ناکرده ای نمانَد
ابله ، هماره سر کار ، بسیار ماند کار...
*******
رَستن از آرزو ، آرزوی فرزانه است
ناموختن بياموزد....
*******
دریا چرا فرمانرواى صد رود است؟
به پایشان جاری ست
مردم را تا راهنما باشی،
فروتن باش
********
دانایی به نادانی ، توانایی ست
نادانی به نادانی ، پریشانی
پریشان از پریشانی، پریشان نیست
فرزانه است....
*******
انسان رام و سست آید
خشک و سخت رود
گياهان سبز، لطیف و خم
به گاه مرگ ، پوسه و خشک
خشک و سخت می میرند
رام و نرم حیات می یابند...

“There is nothing better than to know that you don’t know.”

Okay, check! This is well worth reading though, even for a few little glimpses of understanding.

“The sparkling Tao seems dark
Advancing in the Tao seems like regression.
Settling into the Tao seems rough.”

“If I had just a little bit of wisdom
I should walk the Great Path and fear only straying from it.
Though the Way is quite broad
People love shortcuts.”

This was timely:
“A skillful warrior or politician who tries to rule over others with power and glory only invites the envy of others, whose hatred provides a motivation for the development of a greater power. The cycle of domination and killing is endless, unless we develop the wisdom not to begin it.”

And this, too true:
“My words are easy to understand
And easy to practice.
Yet nobody understands them or practices them.”

2500гаад жилийн өмнө бичигдсэн гэхэд үнэхээр гайхалтай. Нууцлаг байдлаар бичигдэж маш олон утгаар тайлбарлагдаж болох тул унших бүрт өөр өөр бодол ухаарал төрүүлэх. Олон өнгийн эрдэнэс энд тэнд нь нуугдсан байх аж. Эгэл боргол миний өчүүхэн бодлоос гарах хэдхэн үгээр илэрхийлнэ гэдэг аргагүй ахдахаар даалгавар мэт санагдана. Үргэлжид бодож бясалгаж байвууштай.

Ер нь энэ номыг уншиж дуусгахгүй байх. Байнга л дахин дахин унших байх. (2017-05-03)

-- 33 --
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

Өрөөөлийг мэднэ гэдэг эрдэм
Өөрийгөө танина гэдэг нь ухаан.
Өрөөлийг эзэгнэн захирах нь бяртайн шинж
Өөрийгөө захирах нь үнэнхүү хүчтэй шинж.

If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.
If you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

Өөрт байгаагаа хангалттай гэдгийг ухаарч чадсан
хүн үнэнхүү баян.
...
_... сүүлийн хэсэг нь яггүй юм. Бүрэн ойлгож чадахгүй байгаа бололтой. (2018-08-05)
Үхэл гэдэг хэрхэн утгагүйн талаар л яриад байх шиг байна даа? Ер нь Дао их физикч шүү хэхэ. Атом, цөмийн физик ярих хэрэгтэй болоод байх шиг байна. Хүн гэдэг энергийн нэгдэл. Тиймээс үхлээ гээд энергийн холбоо сална уу гэхээс бүрэн алга болно гэж үгүй...

Interesting in that round-about way, the way ambiguous wordplay in poetry tend to be. Overall though it couldn't hold my attention for long. I had to stop and restart a page several times because my mind wandered. It had nothing to do with the content of the writing, but rather the soothing rhythmic "beat" that made it easy for me to not focus. Half the time I didn't even realized I was doing it until I reached a photo page.

This book might be better as an audio. That soothing rhythmic beat would be even more interesting when read aloud, preferably by a narrator with a soothing voice. Perfect sleep aid.

It's likely I picked up this book at the wrong time or maybe I chose the wrong edition. Will have to revisit when mind is calm and clear, no longer prone to wandering off.

I'm an unbeliever and have been since the first time I played hooky from Sunday services and the Eye in the Sky didn’t say boo. So it may seem strange that I’m reviewing the Tao Te Ching, the widely known and influential Taoist text, written by Lao-Tzu and poetically translated in this edition by Stephen Mitchell. For me, the Tao Te Ching is more folk wisdom than religious treatise and is more useful than a million sermons.

Where the Tao Te Ching parts company with religious attempts at morality such as the 10 Commandments is in its inclusiveness. Seven of the 10 Commandments don’t mention God and are sound advice designed to facilitate peaceful community relations: respect your elders, don't kill, don't cheat on your spouse, don't steal, don't tell lies, and don't lust after another's spouse or his belongings. For me, the tragedy of the Great List is that the three that top it serve only to divide the world into believers and nonbelievers: regardless how closely you follow the last seven, if you don’t believe in God you’re not worth a fig. In doing so the first three create division where the last seven seek harmony. With Taoism, even if you don’t believe in the Force-like nature of the Tao—and in case there’s any question, I don’t—you can still consider yourself a Taoist.

Taoism seeks harmony by freeing the individual from the caustic effects of judgmental thinking, desire, and greed, and its fulcrum is the concept of “non-action,” or literally “doing not-doing.” Non-action, Mitchell writes in his introduction, is not the act of doing nothing but instead is the purest form of action: “The game plays the game; the poem writes the poem; we can’t tell the dancer from the dance.”

This slim book is both a quick read and a long study. Mitchell’s lyrical rendering of the Tao Te Ching might read to some like silly hippie clichés, but there’s more to it than that. Take chapter 9, a photocopy of which hung on my office corkboard for years:

Fill your cup to the brim and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.

You can almost see the hacky sack and smell the patchouli. But there’s a truth to it that, if grasped, will change the way you think.

As chapter 1 states: “The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao./The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.” Analogy, then, plays an important role in understanding the Tao Te Ching, and the reader has to do quite a bit of work—the long study part—to fathom the book’s richness. Take chapter 11 in its entirety, where non-action is discussed:

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable.
We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

There is more to the book than philosophical abstraction. In fact, common sense pervades the Tao Te Ching. Take these lines, which discuss the roots of crime: “If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal” (chapter 2) and “If you don’t trust the people you make them untrustworthy” (chapter 17). Or these, from chapter 38, which describe the toll of illusory thought:

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
The beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself with the depths and not the surface,
With the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality, and lets all illusions go.

I’m telling you, had I been born into Taoism I might actually believe in something.

There are many translations of the Taoteching, nearly every one of which is probably worth reading, but this is my favorite version. I can’t attest to the accuracy of the translation, but having read so many different translations of the same text I feel like in some strange way I have a grasp of the original; as if a blank space (the Chinese original) has been given shape and definition by all the English versions surrounding it. But anyway... while I like the spare sensitivity of the language in this version, what makes this version extra special are the added bonuses: an engagingly detailed introduction exploring the life of Lao Tzu, what amounts to an original thesis on the very meaning of “tao”, and commentaries (on specific lines, even specific words) appended to each of the 81 entries that have been culled from centuries upon centuries of critical commentary, by scholars and eccentric mystics alike.

There is recent scholarship that is making the argument that instead of meaning “way” or “path”, which is usually taken to mean how we as people conduct ourselves in accordance with a mysterious spiritual principle, that “tao” actually refers to the Moon and its various phases and paths in space, with particular emphasis on the darkness of the new moon and its significance as potential in darkness. The new moon “hides” its fullness. The fullness is there in potential, unspent. I like this. There’s something pleasingly primitive about it (gimme that old-time religion!), i.e. something real and tangibly mysterious, but also something practical and spiritual – a connector between eye and heart that through some subtle gravity guides our feet along a path.

The commentaries that follow each poem or entry are fascinating and just scratch the surface of what I understand is a vast accumulation of scholarship on this text. The commentaries are often wildly contradictory and tangential, obsessive to an anal nth degree, but also at times wise in their own right. These commentaries have been written by official scholars, by mendicant monks, and even one or two extreme eccentrics living on the fringes of society unaffiliated with any institution. At the back of the book are short biographies of each commentator, which is fascinating reading in itself. It all adds up to evidence that this is a living book, with enough clear and direct meaning to be perpetually valid, and enough obscurity to be endlessly pondered.

The translator is an American who goes by the name Red Pine. He’s almost 70 now and has been a practicing Buddhist for years, but more in the wandering independent scholar Gary Snyder type style. He’s also translated the Diamond Sutra, poems of Han Shan (Cold Mountain) and Stonehouse, and some other Buddhist texts. In every work of his I’ve read there’s serious scholarship in evidence, but also a free spirit and independent thinker with a unique store of fresh air.

This version irritates me a lot, largely because of Stephen Mitchell's arrogance in writing it (I'll go into that in a bit). This is not a translation (which Mitchell was at least gracious enough to make clear in the back of the book); it's a translation of various translations. The problem with this is that a translation of a translation turns out the same way that a copy of a copy does: while some of the original words and phrases are identifiable, there's a lot that's lost or skewed.

For example, here is a good translation of the first line of Ch. 3 by D.C. Lau: "Not to honor men of worth will keep the people from contention."

Stephen Mitchell's translation of the same line is: "If you overesteem great men, / people become powerless."

The original Wang Bi character in question is 爭, or zhēng, which means "dispute," "strive," "contend," "fight," etc. It does not mean "powerless." By free-handing the translation, Mitchell alters the meaning of the text. While it doesn't damage the understanding of someone already familiar with Taoism and its literature, it does mislead those new to Taoism who seek an authentic introductory text to understand the philosophy.

As I mentioned above, what really irritates me is Mitchell's arrogance regarding his version of the text versus the original Chinese versions and the translations that more closely adhere to their meaning. In the question-and-answer section located in the back of the book, the querent says: "But it's one thing to translate Rilke and the Book of Job when you read German and Hebrew; it's quite another to translate books like the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita, or Gilgamesh without any knowledge of the original languages." Mitchell's response is: "Yes, it's a different kind of venture, but not so different as you might think. Of course, I wouldn't dare work with a text that I didn't feel deeply connected to--I used to speak of my 'umbilical connection' to Lao-tzu. I had discovered the Tao Te Ching shortly before I began Zen training in 1973." Later, the querent asks: "You knew what Lao-tzu was talking about, through direct experience [in Zen meditation] of your own?" And Mitchell replies: "That's where my confidence came from." Essentially, Mitchell is claiming that his text is authentic because of his felt spiritual connection to its author, rather than it being an accurate translation of the text. But isn't the best translation one that is authentic on multiple levels, emotionally and literally? However, if I had to choose, I'd rather read a translation that is accurate and discover the emotional resonance on my own. Also, FYI: Zen is a school of Buddhism, not Taoist, though it was influenced by Taoism. They share some similar values and qualities, but they are distinct.

Mitchell continues: "There was also the excitement of the aesthetic challenge. Some calculated that by 1986 there were 102 translations of the Tao Te Ching into English alone. I had read six or seven of them, and although I loved the content, the language was mediocre at best: not much poetry in it, not much sparkle. This may sound arrogant too, and irrational. How can you fall in love with a book whose actual words bore you? But that's what happened." This sentiment, I think, is the source of all the problems I have with the text. It's completely non-Taoist. If Mitchell had paid attention to even his version of the last chapter, 81, which reads: "True words aren't eloquent; / eloquent words aren't true," he would have seen the folly of his approach. Instead, he decided that he'd rather cut entire paragraphs, rearrange the remaining words, and even alter the meaning to better suit his aesthetic values. His disregard for accuracy and his preference for his concept of beauty over truth not only shows a complete lack of respect for the text, the tradition and its culture of origin; it's also just not scholarly.

Another interesting admission made by Mitchell is that he spent only four months writing this version. "By contrast," he says, "it had taken me seventeen years to finish my translation of the Book of Job. So, obviously, I was getting more focused, or more efficient..." I disagree with him there--it's not obvious to me that he was any more focused or more efficient. The vast difference in time spent translating Job and rewriting the Tao Te Ching instead tells me that he worked very hard to faithfully render the former and just cobbled together the latter. Mitchell actually reads and understands Hebrew, so it's likely that he was aware of the nuances of the language and therefore understood the importance of accurately rendering the text into English. Mitchell doesn't read any Chinese. If the language is incomprehensible to him, how can he possibly grasp the nuances of the characters in order to accurately translate them for others?

This isn't to say that his version is completely wrong. Many sections are fairly accurate (like the line in Ch. 81 that I mentioned above). But there are also many places in his text that are inaccurate to the point of misconstruing the core concepts of the belief system.

So if you're new to Taoism and are looking for a translation that accurately communicates Taoist beliefs and sensibilities, I suggest that you go somewhere else. There are many other translations that more accurately render the Tao Te Ching in English. Each has its own particular "flavor" and may contain slightly different words or rhythms, but most aim to faithfully present an accurate translation of the text that, while not serving every culture's aesthetic requirements, is very beautiful in its own way and has a lot of wisdom to offer, regardless of cultural and generational differences in taste. Here's a good website to get you started: http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.ph... The site provides not only several different translations, but also the original Wang Bi text with translations of each character.

If, however, you're already familiar with the Tao Te Ching and other Taoist literature, Mitchell's book at least serves as a good example of Taoism's effect on contemporary American culture.

۲۰۰۰ سال پیش لائوتزو این اندیشه‌ی”راه و طریقت”را نوشته…
۶۰۰ سال بعد آن مسیح تازه به دنیا می‌آید.
اندکی از این کتاب کهن:
‏~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ انسان،نرم و لطیف زاده می‌شود
و هنگام مرگ خشک و سخت می‌شود.
گیاهان‌چون سر از خاک بیرون می‌آورند،نرم‌و‌منعطف
وهنگام مرگ خشک و شکننده‌اند.
پس هرکه سخت و خشک است،
مرگش نزدیک شده
و هرکه نرم و انعطاف‌پذیر است،
سرشار از زندگی است.
سخت و خشک می‌شکند.
نرم و منعطف باقی می‌ماند.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‏ فرزانگان کهن
سعی در آموزش مردم نداشتند
بلکه با مهربانی به آنها ندانستن را درس می‌دادند.
وقتی مردم فکر می‌کنند پاسخ‌ها را می‌دانند،
راهنمایی کردنشان سخت است.
وقتی می‌دانند که نمی‌دانند
می‌توانند راهشان را بیابند.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‏ آیا می‌خواهید جهان را بهبود بخشید؟
فکر نمی‌کنم چنین کاری عملی باشد.
جهان مقدس است.
نمی‌توان آن را بهبود بخشید.
اگر سعی در این کار داشته باشید،
آن را خراب ‌می‌کنید.
اگر با آن همچون یک شئ برخورد کنید،
از دستش می‌دهید.

زمانی جلوتر از دیگران هستید ،
زمانی عقب‌تر.
زمانی در حرکتید،
زمانی در حال استراحت.
زمانی قوی و نیرومندید،
زمانی خسته و بی‌حال.
زمانی از امنیت برخوردارید
و زمانی در خطرید.

فرزانه هرچیز را آن‌طور که هست می‌بیند،
بدون تلاش برای تسلط بر آن.
او اجازه می‌دهد هر چیز سیرطبیعی‌اش را طی‌کند
و در مرکز دایره باقی ‌می‌ماند.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‏ ندانستن،دانش راستین است.
تلاش برای انباشتن دانش،بیماری است.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‏ آنان که می‌دانند،خاموش باقی می‌مانند،
آنان که نمی‌دانند،سخن می‌گویند.
دهانت را ببند،
حواست را نادیده بگیر.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‏ همه‌ی رودها به دریا می‌ریزند،
زیرا دریا از آنها فروتر است.
فروتنی به دریا قدرت می‌بخشد.
اگر می‌خواهید زندگی مردم را سامان ببخشید،
فروتر از آنها قرار بگیرید.
اگر می‌خواهید مردم را رهبری کنید،
یادبگیرید چگونه از آنها پیروی کنید.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>>>>>
‏ برخی می‌گویند آموزه‌های من بی‌معنی است.
برخی دیگر آن را والا اما غیر عملی می‌دانند،
ولی برای آنان که به درون نگریسته اند،
همین آموزش‌های بی‌معنی،پُرمعنی است
و برای کسانی‌که به‌ آن عمل می‌کنند،همین‌والا بودن
در عمق‌جانشان ریشه می‌گیرد.
من تنها سه چیز را آموزش می‌دهم:
سادگی،شکیبایی و مهربانی.
این سه گران‌بهاترین گنج‌ها هستند.
ساده در اعمال و افکار،
به منبع وجود باز می‌گردید.
شکیبا با دوستان و دشمنان-هردو،
با همه چیز هماهنگی می‌یابید.
مهربان با خود،
با همه‌ی موجودات جهان در صلح و آرامش هستید.

Beautiful on audio! I can’t speak to the quality of the translation itself, but it was wonderful to hear Ursula K Le Guin read this aloud. There are some instruments and music and sounds that can be nice but also very distracting, and I wondered if maybe that was the point of them, to keep us from get too easily lulled into the words.