Teachings of the Tao by Eva Wong

Author:Eva Wong
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Shambhala Publications

NOTES ON THE TRANSLATION

There is a lot of symbolism in the text. To explain and interpret each term would be beyond the scope of this book. However, some Chinese words have no simple English equivalents and need some clarification on how they are translated. I have translated the Chinese word shen as spirit, ling as numinous spirit, and him as human spirit. Some writers have rendered all three Chinese words as spirit. If these words do not appear together in the same segment of text, it is viable to translate any one of them as spirit. However, in the Huang-t’ing ching, all three words—shen, ling, and him—often appear together, and it would be confusing if all of them were translated the same.

I chose to translate shen as spirit because traditionally the Chinese meaning for shen is a spirit that is an entity. I feel that the shen in the Taoist scriptures have this nature. They are immortal, though they are guardian spirits inside us. I have translated ling as “numinous spirit” because ling has the connotation of “brightness and intelligence”. For hun, I have used the term “human spirit” to distinguish it from the immortal spirit, for the hun is intimately tied to a mortal being. It resides in the human body when the individual is alive; it leaves the body at death, and depending on one’s religious belief, it may wander in the underworld or enter another body to be reborn. In Taoism, the shen are spirits that protect and judge us, the ling are spirits that teach us, and the hun are spirits that are wayward and mischievous. I hope that translating the three words in this manner will clarify their Taoist meanings.

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