the short of it:
life is a paradox, and we can only understand the Universe through this paradox.
1. Tao In Its Transcendental Aspect, and in its Physical Manifestation.
The Tao which can be expressed in words is not the eternal Tao; the name which can be uttered is not its eternal name. Without a name, it is the Beginning of Heaven and Earth; with a name, it is the Mother of all things. Only one who is eternally free from earthly passions can apprehend its spiritual essence; [those] who [are] ever clogged by passions can see no more than its outer form. These two things, the spiritual and the material, though we call them by different names, in their origin are one and the same. This sameness is a mystery,–the mystery of mysteries. It is the gate of all spirituality.
1. ’Embodying The Tao.’
1. 1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
1.2.(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
1.3 Always without desire we must be found, If its deep mystery we would sound; But if desire always within us be, Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
1.4. Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.
1. Reason’s Realization.
1.1 The Reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The Unnamable is of heaven and earth the beginning. The Namable becomes of the ten thousand things the mother.
Therefore it is said:
1.2 “[Those] who desireless [are] found The spiritual of the world will sound. But [those] who by desire [are] bound Sees the mere shell of things around.”
1.3 These two things are the same in source but different in name. Their sameness is called a mystery. Indeed, it is the mystery of mysteries. Of all spirituality it is the door.
the long of it:
No one can fully understand Tao (Nature or Universe), or write it down in words. But, ironically, Lao Tsu wants to tell us all about it.
Universal Tao operates according to one important concept: paradox. Lao Tsu starts the book with this disclaimer: everything he is about to describe, isn’t it. Words are not, and can never be, sacred. Even these. They are impermanent creations that, like everything else, change and die.
It’s the paradox of life. Being born is a death sentence. Everything in the Universe shares this paradox. Nothing is permanent.
People who understand this fragility, understand the Universe. People who try to make the world permanent, grossly misunderstand it.
The Universe is beyond us. Somehow, someway, it bestows the gift of life. By trying to dig up the bulb, we waste it.
We will never fully understand the Great Mystery. If you doubt this, just look up into the night sky. the Universe is unknowably infinite. Lao Tsu understands this, and his excellent advice for getting the most out of it begins with Chapter 1.
-TB
