A good intro to the DaoNovember 16, 2007 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good intro to the dao de jing with some major deficiencies. For one, Mitchell does not speak or read Chinese, whether it be classical or modern. When I read this in his intro, to be quite honest I was shocked. Mitchell claims that his experience as a Daoist practitioner lends him knowledge and expertise unavailable to non-Daoist academics. While his personal religious practice does lend him some insight into the text, this is just not a compelling enough reason to write an authoritative translation. Luckily, I don't think Mitchell was attempting to be authoritative.
Once I moved passed Mitchell's non-knowledge of Chinese I grew to enjoy the book. It is new-agey, and Mitchell enforces his own religious views upon one of the most ancient of texts. But overall it is a good read, and Mitchell should be commended for opening the eyes of many people to this wonderful and enigmatic text.
So: open it up, read it in, and move on to a more serious version.
Always newSeptember 16, 2007 0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book can be read over and over. Every time it is a fresh new experience.
A fine translation if some fine thinkingSeptember 14, 2007 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
A fine translation. For the new entrant, perhaps seeking that second book to follow the Tao of Pooh, or for an old friend of the Master, Stephen Mitchell's contemporary English translation get's it right. From the comfortably blended gender pronoun usage, to it's succinct but engaging notes, Mitchell's translation carries Lao-tzu's wisdom to 21st century English speakers with grace. The pocket edition is entirely sufficient to the task.
A wonderful companion to A Thousand Names for JoySeptember 3, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author is Byron Katie's husband, and she used this version of his book to provide the structure for her wonderful, poetic muse on life and The Work, her brilliant take on how to accept reality and set yourself free (first described in Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life.)
My wife and I read the section from the Tao, then the corresponding chapter from Katie's book (most are less than a page to 3-4 pages) every morning at breakfast. Always leaves us with a smile of insight and wonder, even in those times when we don't exactly know how we'd live the way she describes in a given chapter.
Unless you insist on a literal translation from the Chinese as mentioned above, this is a fresh and clean way to experience the Tao, and, if you get Katie's book (I'm buying both today for my daughter), you'll get a nice synergistic reward from experiencing the two together, day by day.
mini taoSeptember 1, 2007 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A personal library must-have. Small enough to carry everywhere. Simple wisdom. Prerequisite to Wayne Dyer's "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life"
