Tao Te Ching: Verse One

A collection of translations of the first verse of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

Steven Mitchell


The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
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      • Preface
      • Bart Marshall
      • Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English
      • Steven Mitchell
      • Stephen F. Kaufman
      • Ursula K. Le Guin
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