Lao Tzu’s Tao and Wu Wei – Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel

Why post yet another translation of the Tao te Ching? This one is by Dwight Goddard, the author of A Buddhist Bible, and it is a very transparent and readable version. This translation was the predecessor of one which Goddard slipped into later editions of the Buddhist Bible, one of the few explicitly non-Buddhist texts in that collection. The versions of the Tao te Ching already online are by 19th century scholars who, although very capable, tend to be a bit pedantic. The concepts of Taoism are very lucid, and wrapping them in too much verbiage, as Legge et al did, add an unneeded layer of obscurity. Goddard, who was a Zen Buddhist and studied eastern philosophy extensively, comes much closer to the essence of the text, even if he occasionally moves portions of it around. This book also includes a translation of an extended essay by Henri Borel on Taoist philosophy and aesthetics.

Lao Tzu’s Tao and Wu Wei
Translation by “Dwight Goddard”

Wu Wei
An Interpretation by “Henri Borel”
Translated by M. E. Reynolds

1st Edition, New York; BRENTANO’s PUBLISHERS – [1919]
Copyright, 1919, by BRENTANO’s

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