Tao te Ching (Dao de Jing)

Thank you!

Prof Calvin :  Thank you, for good alternate pronunciation of  "Dao de Ching"...

I got to this website, because I am trying to get a "Christian" translation of the  "Tao te Ching"  BACK IN PRINT - or, to get  (c) permission, and publish it myself. Thus, I am LOOKING FOR A GOOD COVER-ILLUSTRATION.  (Many feature Lao tsu, astride an ox - as Chinese legend tells of his "retreat". )

That - is :  TAO ,  "A Rendering Into English Verse of the TAO TE CHING of Lao Tsze" ;  (c) 1926 , Theosophical Pub House  [ 1968 Printing ]

If you  "teach eastern religions", you are probably aware of the Theosophical Society.  Some of them have REALLY "out there" ideas & beliefs ; BUT - most of their members, Officers, and teachers, are well-educated, and open to all faiths.

I am not currently a member, but associate with them.  Theosophical Society was the FIRST, International, Inter-Faith, religious-study Societies.

They were at the front of religious tolerance, and religious freedom, regardless of a person's Religion, Nationality, Race, gender, CASTE, age, or economic "Class" (Europe).

Theo Society [ TS ]  Publishing House - Wheaton, IL, USA  -  Madras, India  -  London, England ;  has published a translation in four-line "stanzas".

PLEASE CONSIDER :   

    (64)  Desolate, like the empty sea ;

            Adrift, no place to moor ; 

           All others have utility,

           He rustic, and a boor !             [ "He" is the righteous, "Holy Man" ]

- Compare that to  MATT 8:20 -

       (20)  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head...

ALSO, CONSIDER :     Tao te Ching ;  at :

  (68)   They that are crooked shall be straight ;

            The empty - find their fill ;

            The crushed ones shall recuperate ;

            The worn, with strength re-thrill   

  (69)    They that have little shall receive,

             And they whose wealth is great,

            Shall lose their surplus to relieve

            The more unfortunate.     ....

...  Does that  "ring a bell" ,  Professor ?    

 - Compare to "the Beatitudes",  at   MATT 5: 3-12  -

    (5:3) ... Blessed are the poor in spirit;

                For their's is the kingdom of heaven.

        4.    Blessed are they that mourn :  for they shall be comforted.

        5.    Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

        6.    Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness ; for they shall be filled .

       7.     Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

  ...  etc.   These are just a couple, of the many parallels of the  TAO ,  to the techings of Christ .

  - Are you CERTAIN that  "doctrinally they do not jive with Christian faith."  [ sic, verbatim ]

  As you should know, there is an essential core, of conduct and belief, that is common to ALL "Mainstream" religions.

  You cannot deny that the teachings of Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tse, and all truly wise, benevolent teachers - Gandhi,Dr Albert Schwitzer ("Reverence For Life"), Rev. Martin Luther King , The Dalai Lama , et al. ...  teach the same thing :  "Do unto others, as you would they do unto you."  

Thank You, for sharing your teaching.  Perhaps, from the few, short line of Tao te Ching  that I presented above, you can understand why I want to get that "Christian"  translation back in print - Even if I have to do it myself !!

- Respectfully,    - Mark Tulk, Lansing Michigan .    07 DEC 17