Customer Reviews

The New Lao Tzu: A Contemporary Tao Te Ching

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This interpretation of the Tao Te Ching is poetic, meaningful, and moving. It is in no way "new agey". This translation, in my opinion, is far superior to the Stephen Mitchell translation. I don't know why that book has so many more comments than this one. I highly recommend this version above the Mitchell book.

This is a great book for two reasons. The first reason is Ray Grigg's translation of the Tao Te Ching itself. There will never be a definitive English translation, but Ray Grigg manages to bring it alive for modern Western readers. He ignores the literal sense of the original Chinese in order to convey the sense and underlying meaning of the message.

Secondly, his description of the history of the Tao Te Ching and the difficulties in translating the text provide a further valuable insight. I highly recommend this book.

Unlike other translations I've read, this version doesn't seem stilted or precious. It's clear, digestible while preserving poetic grace and style. The introduction is well worth reading before you get to the guts of the book. I keep buying copies because I seem to give this one away a lot.

I've studied many translations of the Tao Te Ching and this is the very best in my opinion. Grigg takes a few small liberties with the original texts but his version makes more sense to the Western reader. Through the years I've re-read this book over and over and it is life-changing every time. As a "student of Zen", this book also gives some insight into the foundations of what eventually has come to be Zen Buddhism. If I was ever stranded on a desert island and had to choose only one book, it would be this version by Grigg without a doubt.

I just finished reading this and having read at least a dozen different "translations" of the Tao Te Ching (including Gia-Fu Feng/Jane English, Rosenthal, Dyer, Hogan, McCarrol, McDonald, and Mitchell) I have to say this is one of the most accessible interpretations for the modern Westerner.

I agree with Mr. Grigg's premise that the Lao Tzu's true meaning is muffled by trying to translate it word for word from ancient Chinese. Almost every translation I've ever read admits to that problem in their preface. His interpretation (NOT translation) is one of the best.

Good for both old and new students of Lao Tzu.