The Illustrated Tao Te Ching

I first got this edition of Tao while in interfaith seminary back in 1996. I have read and used it for services and other workshops and groups since then on a regular basis. I highly recommend this translation as the best I have found so far..... It is obvious (to me) that the writers and graphic artists too have done their inner homework before completing this treasure. May you all experience this clearly created playful expression of the Tao. Namaste, Rev. Atindra Gibbs, The Interfaith Circle Berkeley, CA

Great spiritual book!

Amazing. Simple but profound messages

Who is this 'Nigel Hawthorne'? One who cooks good food? Nope - that's Nigel Slater or Nigella Lawson. Is he one of those Shakespearian actors who narrates CD's? Well, he does do Agatha Christie, but he is not Brian Blessed or Ian Richardson. No, this Nigel Hawthorne is none other than Sir Humphrey Appleby (from Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister *) - the Late Master of Posh, Cynical Irreverence narrating arguably the greatest philosophical work in history. With a hint of skeptical wisdom & an ironic sense of Real politik, the Tao is given a whole new angle through one of Britain's finest actors. Each verse is compelling, yet also has that evasive quality that the Tao has which cannot be grasped, only allowed. And best of all the whole work is condensed to a mere 76 minutes, meaning that the whole book can be listened to in one car journey! This is, however, the one problem with it. The Tao Te Ching is rich & dense in content & one verse can last you a whole day of thinking. Crammed into one CD (with only two or three word titles per verse) isn't really enough to explore the text's meaning. Furthermore, this text is not the best translation of the Tao. Every translation is different & has different meanings but this one, if anything, seems a bit too literally translated. As an example, there is the line on the back cover "The Tao goes on forever doing nothing And yet everything gets done". Why not "The Tao does nothing, but leaves nothing undone"? Translation is no barrier to economy of language. Despite this, this is (as the cliche goes) exactly what it says on the tin. It is a raw, pithy version of the Tao & is a good condensed version of the work. I would not recommend it for beginners though. My first experience of the Tao was Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao , which is 8 CD's & has 5 minute of exegesis for each verse. To really get the most out of the Tao, it is worth starting there as Wayne Dyer has a deeper understanding of Taoist concepts & explores them in greater detail. Still, if you're a commuter (like me) & want a quick dash through the Tao, read with the charisma of a true master, then this is a good place to start. That said, I wish he'd done that other Chinese Classic (Sun Tzu's The Art of War ) instead (I'm sure the 'Tzu' family wouldn't have minded!) * - I am aware that this will still mean very little to Americans, owing to the different culture in England. I have tried to adapt the review to make sure it doesn't matter although I hope that, by reading the review, you will see why a cynical character like Nigel Hawthorne adds an interesting foil to the Tao...

I read through about 5 or more translations using the take-a-peek function on Amazon and thought this one was the best. Additionally, almost everyone else here thought it was the best. After having gone through this translation, I haven't changed my mind. Additionally, I really like the reading done on this audiobook by Nigel Hawthorne. I think I understand why Seinfeld was so funny, because it was "a show about nothing". I wonder if he read this book? Hard to believe this was written so very long about 500 BC (?). Additionally, and I may be wrong, but I wonder if this 90 minute book by Lao Tze was the beginning of so-called Eastern thinking, as opposed to more straight-forward, so-called logical Western thinking. I know this is gratuitous to reviewing books, but I can't help but thinking that in "Western thinking" man relies on the outside world, and in Eastern thinking, like this book, man relies on himself and his own humanity, which we still are having a hard time understanding and surpassing, though guys at companies like Google seem to be making a good try at it.

"I know, I know, first everything's one way and then it's the opposite." -Hank Hill This is a classic of Chinese philosophy, and a good companion to Heraclitus' Fragments. Where fire was the central metaphor for an ever-changing universe in the latter, in the former it is water. The translators, Martin Palmer, Jay Ramsey, and Man-Ho Kwok utilize Ezra Pound's "stepped line" technique to give the text a flowing appearance, which is very effective. I have not read any other translations- there are many- but I find in this version one verse I think dubious: Greed Is the seed of apocalypse- It is the rocket-fuel of selfishness: Me, me, me! Here I do find the typographic and grammatical modernizations annoying. The word "apocalypse" has a biblical connotation which is inappropriate, unless the Chinese word was "revelation" (the original meaning of that infamous Greek noun), which it surely was not. Encountering "rocket fuel" in an ancient text is just too great an anachronism. The artwork is quite nice, perfect for a little spirituality at the coffee-table.

i'm buddhist and its such a joy to pick this book up, enjoy the similarities in concise and lovely song language, also with great art. ---could someone please tell me where chp 40 artwork was sourced? again, art--page by page. will always adore this edition.

This brilliant translation is the best I have ever studied. Three eminent British scholors translated the Tao from the most ancient source available. Man-Ho and Palmer translated the original and Ramsay put it into the poetic language. The visuals on each page are from various Chinese paintings, mostly very old ones. They are superb art. The calligraphy, by Chan, is beautiful. Their aim was to clearly present the Tao, and their choice of language and profound understanding of the Tao (both the book and message in the book) make this the most accessible translation I have ever read (and I've studied dozens).

excellent