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Originally Posted by ketzer
My understanding is that there is no literal translation (although agreed some interpret more then others when attempting to translate). One has to look at the Chinese and do ones best to find words with similar meaning in English.
Even then, there is always the central problem that the Tao Te Ching warns about in the first verse.
"The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao"
or as Siddhartha puts it
“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
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I agree. Legge did it as a word for word Chinese to English without putting into the translation what he believed. He added notes on what he thought it meant, but not in the translation. Have you read his translation?
I read the quote you use as meaning it must be experienced. It is like trying to explain to someone what it feels like to hit a golf ball right that doesn't know what golf is. That feeling of being in the moment out of your head and letting muscle memory take over and it working the way it is supposed to. With Taoism If you talk with someone who has had the experience then you can have the conversation because they have that experience to draw upon.
What does it mean for you? Can you give an example? Thanks Brian