Verse 8
Leebrick version
The highest goodness, like water, benefits the ten thousand things and dwells in low places men dislike. But so, is close in nature to the way. The worth of a dwelling is in the site. The worth of a mind is in its depth. The worth of associations is in their benevolence. The worth of words is in their sincerity. The worth of government is in order. The worth of business affairs is in ability. The worth of an action is in its timing. Because it does not contend, it is free from blame.
This is the way Leebrick's book is written; there are verses done as paragraphs only, without line separations. My guess is that it was done that way to save space, shortening the number of physical pages and making the book less expensive to produce.
I really like the lines about “The worth of a mind is in its depth” and “The worth of words is in their sincerity.” This really says so much, especially in a world where not many people read any more, and most people are having to work too hard to just survive, not leaving time left for post-school self-education.
Modern Library version
This one is a very good example of just how different some books can interpret the Tao Te Ching.
The best of men is like water;
Water benefits all things
And does not compete with them.
It dwells in (the lowly) places that all disdain-
Wherein it comes near to the Tao.
In his dwelling, (the Sage) loves the (lowly) earth;
In his heart, he loves what is profound;
In his relations with others, he loves kindness;
In his words, he loves sincerity;
In government, he loves peace;
In business affairs, he loves ability;
In his actions, he loves choosing the right time.
It is because he does not contend
That he is without reproach.
Leebrick says “The worth of a mind is in its depth,” whereas this version refers to the “profound” heart. In this case, I think Leebrick's version makes more sense. The government lines are also different, Leebrick talking about “order”, and this book talking about “peace.” There are other differences, but it just goes to show just how difficult the Tao Te Ching must be to translate since there are so many versions of the Tao Te Ching, each one offering a different way to translate and interpret the text.
The version by Herrymon Maurer is different, talking about “true goodness” being like water. It has a sentence not in the others; “For a dwelling, keep to the ground.” The words sentence is translated as “In speaking, keep to the truth.” So different versions of the Tao Te Ching can even have totally different, additional sentences added.
The Brian Walker version translates the “dwelling” sentence as “In living, choose your ground well.” This is somewhat more nebulous, but again shows how a sentence will be in some versions of books on the Tao Te Ching, but not in others.
The R.B. Blakney version lists pretty much the same things, but prefaces each sentence referring to actions, etc, with the word Or, then ends the verse with “Then peace is the goal of the Way by which no man ever goes astray.” This seems to be a different focus than the other translations, at least as far as the final couple of sentences goes. Most of the other versions talk about competition and non-competition in the closing lines.
The Illustrated Tao Te Ching has a really beautiful way of talking about the heart.
Like a lake
The heart must be calm and quiet
having great depths beneath it.
The entire verse is translated with emphasis on the Sage and how the Sage behaves. “The sage rules with compassion” refers to the relations with others being based on kindness.
There's also a very poetic section on emphasizing peace.
The sage needs to know like water
how to flow around the blocks
and how to find the way through without violence.
All this difference in translation and interpretation is the reason I buy various versions of the Tao Te Ching, so that I can compare the versions and, in effect, do my own analysis of the meaning of the verses.
Back to start of Spirituality section
My Index Page
|