Tao: Two Other Translations

Two posts back I gave the first section of Book I of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu. The original, of course, was written in Chinese characters, and quite diverse translations exist. I thought I’d show two others. The first is translated by Lin Yutang, the novelist and at one time the foremost introducer of Asian culture to the West. I read him in my teens. Here is Lin Yutang’s version; it is found in The Wisdom of China and India, Modern Library, p. 583; my version appeared in 1942:

The Tao that can be told of
   Is not the Absolute Tao;
The Names that can be given
   Are not Absolute Names.

The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The Named is the Mother of All Things.

Therefore:
Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion
   In order to see the Secret of Life;
Oftentimes, one regards life with passion,
   In order to see its manifest results.

These two (the Secret and its manifestations)
   Are (in their nature) the same;
They are given different names
   When they become manifest.

They may both be called the Cosmic Mystery:
Reaching from the Mystery into the Deeper Mystery
Is the Gate to the Secret of All Life.

This next version is a translation by Chang Chung-yuan and available in Tao: A New Way of Thinking, Harper Colophon, 1975, p. 3:

The Tao that can be spoken of is not the Tao itself.
The name that can be given is not the name itself.
The unnameable is the source of the univers.
The nameable is the originator of all things.
Therefore, oftentimes without intention I see the wonder of Tao.
Oftentimes with intention I see its manifestations.
Its wonder and its manifestations are one and the same.
Since their emergence, they have been called by different names.
Their identity is called the mystery.
From mystery to further mystery:
The entry of all wonders!

Now, with specific reference to the lines that begin with “therefore” in either translation, I would add this relevant quote from Idries Shah’s The Sufis (p. 26):

The Sufi is an individual who believes that by practicing alternate detachment and identification with life, he becomes free. He is a mystic because he believes that he can become attuned to the purpose of all life. He is a practical man because he believes that this process must take place within normal society.