Tao Te Ching for the West

By Richard Degen

This new rendition of the revered classic Tao Te Ching, generally attributed to Lao Tzu, offers a clear, contemporary application of Taoist wisdom to the problems created by modern Western living.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0934252920
• ISBN13: 9780934252928
• Release Date: February 2015
• Publisher: Hohm Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

A Lucid Approach to an Ancient Text

The first thing to note about this book is, as the author makes clear, this is not a translation of the Tao Te Ching. The author describes it as a rendition of the old Taoist text by Lao Tzu (the `old boy'). Richard Degen has drawn on his nearly Thirty years of study of Taoism and the translations of many scholars to form his own reading/interpretation of the Tao Te Ching.Whereas many translations of this book have an ambiguous and mysterious quality to them Mr Degen's `rendition' is surprisingly lucid. I have a number of translations of the Tao Te Ching but I find this one is a favourite because it seems to speak plainly to the heart of Taoist ideas. This reading is aided by an introduction that ably introduces and describes some of the ideas of Taoism. One of these ideas is the limitation of language. Looking at chapter one of the Tao Te Ching is instructive here. For example, James Legge's translation says:The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.Degen's take on this is:There are things that can not be described by or understood through language. A complete description and understanding of the purpose and operation of the Way is beyond the power of language.While this does not have the `colour' of previous approaches, I feel that it makes clear that path is probably an experiential one and that trying to convey this all with words is `difficult'. This echo's in my own study and practice of Taoist Tai Chi where I'm learning (slowly) that it is - more `do', less `talk'.The book is not large and can easily fit in a bag you might carry around with you. You can dip into it at random or read it cover to cover - it always repays the time.