I'm less fond of the Dhammapada, but love the Tao Te Ching as central for me, Ken. I think about critical brief texts. The Heart Sutra totally as part of that collection, maybe the central one. The Tao Te Ching Maybe Jewel Mirror Samadhi & the Sandokai. Some others...
There is an issue with a good translation of the Dhammapada. Some are quite dense; others less dense but also less accurate. And a few, like the Byrom "rendering", are quite controversial. Yet Byrom's version speaks to me in spite of the criticisms. Go figger.
Similarly, I'm very fond of Stephen Mitchell's poetic rendition of the Tao Te Ching, while anyone with a whiff of scholarly about them will have serious problems...
I recall during my Christian ordinations noting that I certainly affirmed that the “Holy scriptures of the old and new testaments contain all things necessary to salvation,” however I also affirmed in each case, that that did not contain “all things possible to salvation.” Good stuff!
I have two scriptures: The Tao Te Ching and The Dhammapada.
I'm less fond of the Dhammapada, but love the Tao Te Ching as central for me, Ken. I think about critical brief texts. The Heart Sutra totally as part of that collection, maybe the central one. The Tao Te Ching Maybe Jewel Mirror Samadhi & the Sandokai. Some others...
There is an issue with a good translation of the Dhammapada. Some are quite dense; others less dense but also less accurate. And a few, like the Byrom "rendering", are quite controversial. Yet Byrom's version speaks to me in spite of the criticisms. Go figger.
Similarly, I'm very fond of Stephen Mitchell's poetic rendition of the Tao Te Ching, while anyone with a whiff of scholarly about them will have serious problems...
I recall during my Christian ordinations noting that I certainly affirmed that the “Holy scriptures of the old and new testaments contain all things necessary to salvation,” however I also affirmed in each case, that that did not contain “all things possible to salvation.” Good stuff!
Might not be sacred in the traditional sense, but A Short History of the Shadow by Charles Wright transformed me.
Thanks, Trip. I'll check it out...