It is not speech which we should want to know: we should know the speaker.

It is not things seen which we should wnat to know: we should know the seer.

It is not sounds which we should want to know: we should know the hearer.

It is not mind which we should want to know: WE SHOULD KNOW THE THINKER.

-- from Upanishads



Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.

-- Tao Te Ching, ch2
 (亲爱的同学们, 咱们虽然是中国人, 这些是什么也是不认识的, 扫个盲先:
Tao Te Ching--老子的道德经,
I Ching-这个可就逗了, 我以前以为是"爱情", 其实是易经, Siddhartha--怎么想也想不出吧, 这个是释加摩尼啊
)


My Comments on Tao Te Ching, the english version:
It is so interesting to read Tao Te Ching's english translation because we Chinese are used to the ambiguity in classical text from ancient Chinese. When it is translated to english, the meaning of each sentence becomes certain and lucid, though lacking of the flexibility and the space for imagination. I am not saying that english is inferior, on the contrary, I enjoy the freshness of english edition EVEN MORE than the original text.

Here is a hilarious post about one paragraph which is particularly sinuous:
Quote:

“知不知,上
不知知, 病
夫唯病病,是以不病
圣人不病,以其病病,是以不病“

“Knowing ignorance is strength
Ignoring knowledge is sickness
If one is sick of sickness, then one is not sick.
The sage is not sick because he is sick of sickness
Therefore he is not sick“

“知道自己无知--优点。
不知道知识存在--变态。
只有讨厌变态,才能避免变态。
圣人不变态,因为他讨厌变态,这样才能避免变态。“


Chinese

english version 1
english version 2