One problem any
English-speaking
student of the
Tao Te Ching will come across is that of
translation. Any time the original
Chinese is translated, its meaning will change somewhat, given that different
languages subdivide the
semantic space in different ways. Thus, it's a very good idea to read
multiple translations—or, even better, learn Chinese. However, for those of us who are too
lazy to learn Chinese and too
poor to buy a million
books with different translations, there is a
resource! Or, rather, two resources, to be precise.
One can read the Tao Te Ching in the original Chinese (in Chinese characters or Pinyin (Mandarin) romanization), in seventeen English translations, and in one German translation, at edepot. Another neat feature is the ability to view two translations at once and compare. The address is as follows:
http://www.edepot.com/taoc.html
One can also find the original Chinese and ten English translations at the "Comparative Tao" site. As the name implies, it is also a site that allows you to view two translations at once, in order to compare. The address is:
http://jelyon.com/tao/Comparative_Tao/Default.htm
Particularly amusing at the Comparative Tao site is the "Jesse Garon" translation. While it's damn funny, it also is a very accessible translation. It includes such gems as the following:
Chapter 1
If you can talk about it,
it ain't Tao.
If it's got a name,
it's just another thing.
Tao doesn't have a name.
Names are for ordinary stuff.
Stop wanting stuff. It keeps you from seeing what's real.
When you want stuff, all you see are things.