Jonathan Star

A way that can be walked

            is not The Way

A name that can be named

            is not The Name

Tao is both Named and Nameless

As Nameless, it is the origin of all things

As Named, it is the mother of all things

A mind free of thought,

            merged within itself,

            beholds the essence of Tao

A mind filled with thought,

            identified with its own perceptions,

            beholds the mere forms of this world

Tao and this world seem different

            but in truth they are one and the same

The only difference is in what we call them

How deep and mysterious is this unity

            How profound, how great!

It is the truth beyond the truth,

            the hidden within the hidden

It is the path to all wonder,

            the gate to the essence of everything!

John C. H. Wu

Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao.

Names can be named, but not the Eternal Name.

As the origin of heaven-and-earth, it is nameless:

As “the Mother” of all things, it is namable.

So, as ever hidden, we should look at its inner essence:

As always manifest, we should look at its outer aspects.

These two flow from the same source, though differently named:

And both are called mysteries.

The Mystery of mysteries is the Door of all essence.

Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo

Tao called Tao is not Tao.

Names can name no lasting name.

Nameless: the origins of heaven and earth.

Naming: the mother of ten thousand things.

Empty of desire; perceive mystery.

Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.

These have the same source, but different names.

            Call them both deep –

                        Deep and again deep:

The gateway to all mystery.

Dwight Goddard

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.

Ellen M. Chen

Tao that can be spoken of,

Is not the Everlasting Tao.

Name that can be named,

Is not the Everlasting name.

Nameless, the origin of heaven and earth;

Named, the mother of ten thousand things.

Alternate,

Non-being, to name the origin of heaven and earth;

Being, to name the mother of ten thousand things.

Therefore, always without desire,

In order to observe the hidden mystery;

Always with desire,

In order to observe the manifestations.

Alternate,

Therefore, by the Everlasting Non-Being,

We desire to observe its hidden mystery;

By the Everlasting Being,

We desire to observe the manifestations.

These two issue from the same origin,

Though named differently.

Both are called the dark.

Dark and even darker,

The door to all hidden mysteries.

Brian Browne Walker

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.

R. L. Wing

The Beginning of Power

The Tao that can be expressed

            Is not the Tao of the Absolute.

The name that can be named

            Is not the name of the Absolute.

The nameless originated Heaven and Earth.

The named is the Mother of All Things.

Thus, without expectation,

            One will always perceive subtlety;

And, with expectation,

            One will always perceive the boundary.

The source of these two is identical,

Yet their names are different.

Together they are called profound,

Profound and mysterious,

The gateway to the Collective Subtlety.