Call It Tao
Translation by Tree Buffalo
Something chaotic and confused existed before the Universe was born.
So tranquil!
So formless!
It stands alone and doesn’t change.
It operates everywhere without exhaustion.
You can consider it the mother of the Universe.
I do not know its name.
Those who love it call it Tao.
Forced to give it a name I would simply call it great.
By great I mean omni-present.
By omni-present I mean far-reaching,
By far-reaching I mean so far that it returns.
Therefore, Tao is great.
The Universe is great.
Earth is great.
And leaders are also great.
In every place there are four greats, and the leader occupies one of them.
Because humans imitate Earth.
The Earth imitates the Universe.
The Universe imitates Tao.
And Tao imitates itself.
Read some of the first English translations of Chapter 25 here.
