The Translation of “The Tao” is a Teaching Unto Itself – A Big One
It means “The Way.”
It’s time for another installment of Get Wise With The Tao te Ching, the 2,500-year-old book of wisdom written by Lao Tzu in China.
Any of you who’ve read my articles for a while knows that, if Sugar Ray Robinson is considered the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time, then The Tao wins the award for the top word-for-word spiritual text ever written.
It’s a must-read, if you haven’t already. This Stephen Mitchell translation is the best.
Legend has it that Lao Tzu was a government bureaucrat turned sage who became so disillusioned with the corruption of the powers that be that he decided to leave China for the life of a hermit. At the border, a guard recognized him and pleaded with the master to write down his teachings. The result was The Tao.
Here are a few of my favorite nuggets:
“Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.”
“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”
Words to live by.
Today’s article is about the meaning of the title, The Tao te Ching, which is commonly translated as “The Way.”
What is so significant about this meaning? Why does it present such a monumental teaching opportunity for all of us mere mortals?