What is the Tao?
The Tao that can be
understood
is not the eternal, cosmic
Tao,
just as an idea that can be
expressed in words
is not the infinite idea.
And yet this ineffable Tao
is the source of all spirit
and matter;
expressing itself,
it is the mother of all
created things.
Not to desire material
things
is to know the freedom of
spirituality;
and to desire is to suffer
the limitations of matter.
These two things – spirit
and matter –
so different in nature, have
the same origin.
This unity of origin is the
mystery of mysteries,
and the gateway to
spirituality.