Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Line by Line - Verse 1, Line 1

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you can talk about it, it ain't Tao.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
In this instance, I think Ron Hogan does a superb job in capturing the meaning of this passage in a manner than most westerners can easily understand.

Tao is beyond rational comprehension. Tao is beyond words. It is a force or essence that must be experienced by each of us. When we try to use language to explain to others that which we've experienced in our inner most being, we quickly realize how inadequate words are. No matter how much verbiage we toss around, it pales in comparison to what we know in the depths of this manifestation of the One we call ourselves.

As we look at today's snippet, I notice that, while the latter three see this passage from the perspective of communication (i.e., told, spoken and talk), Legge views it from the perspective of movement. His use of the word "trodden" reminds us of the familiar Taoist metaphor of the path. And so, his view -- which is not too dissimilar from the others -- is that the way we travel cannot be the eternal way.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

2 comments:

  1. I wonder also if this line were needed more in the Chinese versions as Tao is also a word used for path - so it was even more necessary to form a clear distinction.

    This is though the most important line of the TTC to any reader. It must be understood that the Tao is indescribable and all pointing to it is just and only that.

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  2. Derek Lin, for one, believes that Legge's choice of "trodden" is an incorrect translation.

    I agree that the first line sets the stage for what follows. If a person genuinely doesn't understand it, then they will head off in the wrong direction as they traverse the rest of this work.

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