Tao is beyond words
and beyond
understanding.
Words may be used to speak of it,
but they
cannot contain it.
Tao existed before words and names,
before
heaven and earth,
before the
ten thousand things.
It is the unlimited father and mother
of all
limited things.
Therefore, to see beyond boundaries
to the
subtle heart of things,
dispense
with names,
with
concepts,
with
expectations and ambitions and differences.
Tao and its many manifestations
arise from
the same source:
subtle
wonder within mysterious darkness.
This is the beginning of all understanding.