Tao of Thanks: A Poet’s Tao Te Ching
()
About this ebook
This Chinese spiritual classic, attributed to the venerated thinker Lao Tzu, is foremost a work of poetry. In Chinese, it rhymes, but verse alone isn’t the beauty of this work. It’s Lao Tzu’s masterful use of metaphor that makes it unique – metaphor that doesn’t translate readily into modern English.
What’s it about? It explicitly tells us that Tao, the natural way of life and the universe, can’t be defined and is describable only by example. Upon reading through the text one sees that Te, often translated as virtue, also is described strictly by example. Along the way there are repeating discussions of Creation, always characterized as both long ago and present, indicating that all things including conscious awareness arise from Tao and possess Te. Lao Tzu demonstrates Te to take several of what seems a wide variety of forms. The idea that there are further, unmentioned forms of Te may explain why most English renditions of this foundational spiritual text make no mention of such foundational spiritual concepts as grace, value, and thankfulness. The intended ancient Chinese audience may have realized these concepts to be implicitly included in Te. For the contemporary reader, who can benefit from a sense of where these concepts fit into the picture, Tao of Thanks is truly about thanks.
To further clarify the poetry’s shades of meaning, this rendition updates a number of archaic allusions and usages that might otherwise confuse the reader unfamiliar with the low-tech life of Lao Tzu’s day. The examples given here, from the real world of today, intend to convey meanings similar to those conveyed to the ancient Chinese reader by the original examples. Lao Tzu’s timeless points deserve no less than total clarity, which an adherence to a literal term-by-term interpretation must necessarily give up. Poetry can’t fully cross the multiple barriers of culture, language, and centuries without reinterpretation. To keep all of its deeper meaning intact, understandable, and succinct is to be ideally true to it. How close to that ideal are the verses here? One can do but one’s best.
From the start, Lao Tzu’s poetry reveals an ongoing tension, a give and take between opposites. From a higher perspective this resolves as a unified cycle underlying all things. Both the give and take and their union are demonstrated throughout, by example, to be Tao itself. That awareness and intuition can be identified with this interplay is a repeating metaphor, made explicit here. While the original likely intended this metaphor to be clear by context and implication, the contemporary reader will appreciate the reminders of this metaphor given here as an aid to recognizing it. The work as a whole metaphorically demonstrates that awareness, when cultivated, reveals Tao and its practical significance to the intuitive. What truer purpose can there be, in poetry and life, than comprehension of the world?
Thanks Always Returns
The book titled Thanks Always Returns, available here and at http://www.thanksalwaysreturns.net, contains lots of these details. Out of its content, "Faggot" and the "Experiment" and "Laughter" series use some of the broadest brushes, and http://thanksalwaysreturns.net/ThemesOfThanks.html provides a biographical synopsis.
Read more from Thanks Always Returns
Thanks Always Returns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Study of Nerds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Tao of Thanks
Related ebooks
The Way of the Tao- Living an Authentic Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao for Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDao De Ching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jacket Technique: Being Free From Your Excess Baggage, You Can Take the First Step Towards Effortless Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Nature of Things: Navigating Everyday Life with Grace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Secrets: Gentle Wisdom for Joyful Living Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Living Life from the Inside Out: Who You Are Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommentaries On Living 3: Third Series Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scribblings: On Life, Spirituality & Non-duality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao te Ching: Power for the Peaceful Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Awakening Awareness to Allowance for Accepting Abundance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Ways To Living, Part One. Becoming A Yogi A Three Part Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao Te Ching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Year of Inspiration: 365 Buddhist Quotes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Two Voices Within: Balancing the Energies of Ego and Spirit to Enhance Your Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao Te Ching: The Ancient Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret fire of Meditation: The Buddha who meditates within you Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings“The Tao of Mindful Being . . .” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEgo, Attachment and Liberation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere Is a Beauty Within You: "I am" Meditation Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPracticing the 12 Steps of Inclusivity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao Te Jing in Plain English Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essence of Buddhism Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Embrace the Infinite: The Science of Spirituality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Natural State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essence of Buddhism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Eastern Religions For You
The Sayings of Lao Tzu Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Here Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History of the Jews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What the Buddha Taught Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Happiness: The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Is Tao? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think on These Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Analects of Confucius Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Zen Buddhism: The Short Beginners Guide To Understanding Zen Buddhism and Zen Buddhist Teachings. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wisdom of Confucius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dhammapada Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zhuangzi: Basic Writings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, Analects, Chuang Tzu, Mencius Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElegant Simplicity: The Art of Living Well Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and Lao Tzu: The Parallel Sayings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way And Its Power; A Study Of The Tao Tê Ching Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tao te Ching: Power for the Peaceful Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Lore of Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Something to Ponder, reflections from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Introduction to the Way of the Buddha: Buddhism for Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPracticing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps on the Way Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rock Your World with the Divine Mother: Bringing the Sacred Power of the Divine Mother into Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Tao of Thanks
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Tao of Thanks - Thanks Always Returns
Introduction
This Chinese spiritual classic, attributed to the venerated thinker Lao Tzu, is foremost a work of poetry. In Chinese, it rhymes, but verse alone isn’t the beauty of this work. It’s Lao Tzu’s masterful use of metaphor that makes it unique – metaphor that doesn’t translate readily into modern English.
For instance, many English renditions conclude the first chapter with a phrase such as the gateway of mystery
as if the text is intended to reveal the esoteric incantations of a secret sect. Nothing could be less accurate. The eighty further chapters, whether they describe reality, advise attitudes and actions, or discuss living and leadership, are among the most practicable and understandable writings of all time. Every concept is simple, even straightforwardly obvious – though the deep-thinking perspective remains fresh to this day. The only mystery about this work is why, among the scholars and spiritual seekers who’ve presented it in English, there have been so few whose first calling is poetry. Without a deeply poetic formation, the metaphorical wordplay, delicate humor, and multiple meanings of the original are unfortunately lost. The result is the too frequent presentation of a chapter that reads like a hodge-podge of unrelated thoughts – a paradoxical fate for a work that claims to present the cure for disarray.
What’s it really about? It explicitly tells us that Tao, the natural way of life and the universe, can’t be defined and is describable only by example. Upon reading through the text one sees that Te, often translated as virtue, also is described strictly by example. Along the way there are repeating discussions of Creation, always characterized as both long ago and present, indicating that all things including conscious awareness arise from Tao and possess Te. Lao Tzu demonstrates Te to take several of what seems a wide variety of forms. The idea that there are further, unmentioned forms of Te may explain why most English renditions of this foundational spiritual text make no mention of such foundational spiritual concepts as grace, value, and thankfulness. The intended ancient Chinese audience may have realized these concepts to be implicitly included in Te. For the contemporary reader, who can benefit from a sense of where these concepts fit into the picture, Tao of Thanks is truly about thanks.
To further