What is Yin Yang? - Personal Tao. A starting definition: The nature of change, balanced as two halves of a whole. Yin Yang is perhaps the most known and documented concept used within Taoism. Yin Yang is the concept of duality forming a whole. We encounter examples of Yin and Yang every day. As examples: night (Yin) and day (Yang), female (Yin) and male (Yang). Over thousands of years quite a bit has been sorted and grouped under various Yin Yang classification systems. Yin Yang illustrated from the Tao Te Ching [2]When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created.
Diving Deeper into Yin Yang A few basic concepts which define the nature of Yin Yang are: Neither Yin nor Yang are absolute. Additional material for Yin Yang can be read here: Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Yin Yang Now forget everything you have learned about Yin and Yang for a moment. The Way begot one, And the one, two; Then the two begot three And three, all else. A clearer understanding of Yin Yang requires looking back into the Tao.
Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching,[1] Daodejing, or Dao De Jing (simplified Chinese: 道德经; traditional Chinese: 道德經; pinyin: Dàodéjīng), also simply referred to as the Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ),[2][3] is a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around 6th century BC by the sage Laozi (or Lao Tzu, Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ, literally meaning "Old Master"), a record-keeper at the Zhou dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in China. The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated,[4] although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC.[2] The Wade–Giles romanization "Tao Te Ching" dates back to early English transliterations in the late 19th century; its influence can be seen in words and phrases that have become well established in English.
"Daodejing" is the pinyin romanization. Text[edit] The Tao Te Ching has a long and complex textual history. Title[edit] Internal structure[edit] Principal versions[edit] Tao Te Ching. Armies » Tao Te Ching « Ancient Words of Wisdom. Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei Index. Sacred Texts Taoism Second Edition By Dwight Goddard, et al This is the second edition of Dwight Goddard's Tao te Ching translation. This is very different than the first edition. Goddard, the author of The Buddhist Bible, in the interim between the first and second edition of this book converted to Buddhism from Christianity.
The core of the book, the Tao te Ching translation, is radically different than the first edition. I have linked each chapter of the Tao te Ching to the first edition so readers can compare the two (Note: you will have to use the 'back' button to return to this version). --John Bruno Hare, February 15th, 2006. Title PageIntroductionAll We Know About LaotzuIntroduction to Second EditionThe Central Teaching of Laotzu Tao-teh-king. Tao-teh-king. Essays Interpreting Taoism PrefaceContentsChapter I. Historical Essays The Beginnings of Taoist PhilosophyTaoist Religion. Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei Index. Sacred Texts Taoism Buy this Book at Amazon.com Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] Why post yet another translation of the Tao te Ching?
This one is by Dwight Goddard, the author of A Buddhist Bible, and it is a very transparent and readable version. This translation was the predecessor of one which Goddard slipped into later editions of the Buddhist Bible, one of the few explicitly non-Buddhist texts in that collection. --John Bruno Hare, September 17th, 2004. Note: the second edition of this book, published in 1939, with a very different translation of the Tao te Ching, is also available at this site. Tao Teh King [Goddard] Wu Wei [Borel] Title PageIntroductionAll we know about Laotzu Tao Teh King I. Wu Wei PrefaceContents of Wu Wei, by Henri BorelChapter I.