The way to be told
It’s not an eternal path
Name that can be given
It is not a permanent name.
The unnamable is eternally real.
The origin of the name
About all the specific things.
Freed from desire, one becomes aware of the mystery.
If you are caught up in desire, you can only see what appears.
But the mystery and the revelation
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
Tao Te Ching Laozi (author)
This time I decided to take a different approach to reading the Tao and write a blog about my thoughts and ideas. I had planned to keep this to myself. But one of my favorite quotes is “If you light a lamp for someone else, it will light your own path.” ~Buddha. So here I am with my lamp and the thoughts in my head. In this blog post, Beyond our own light and darkness, we strive to make the darkness brighter.
The Tao Te Ching, commonly attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, was written around the 6th century BCE. It has been translated into many languages ​​and is widely regarded as one of the most important documents in Chinese philosophy.
Perhaps because our minds are hardwired for answers and data, venturing into a world of mystery can be unsettling. Regardless of where your personal faith sits, embracing the unknown and acknowledging that there are things beyond our understanding can lead to a greater sense of peace and wonder in life.
We live in a mysterious universe, and no one truly knows what lies beyond our own light. This realization inspires us to be more curious, open-minded, and compassionate toward people with beliefs and experiences different from our own. The truth is that we should all be building heaven on earth for all humanity. This realization inspires us to appreciate the beauty and complexity of the world around us, even if we do not fully understand it.
There have been many great philosophers and translators of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese scripture. Stephen Mitchell is my favorite scholar and has what he calls his “own version” of the Tao Te Ching. He states that he did not translate the Tao Te Ching, this is just his version. So my blog is written based on his version that I am reading and his notes.
This time, while I am reading Tao, I will also try to read a verse or two from the Bible. I studied the New and Old Testaments for several years at my local Southern Baptist University. We used the NLV translation at the time. I have never read or studied the Neo-Conservative ESV, so I will be reading that along with Tao. At the end of each summary, I will list the verses I read that day.
Steven Mitchell originally wanted to write his own version of the Tao, and George Lucas, through his assistants, who gave him Yoda’s notes, thwarted it because, according to Steven, Lucas didn’t want “Yoda to be associated with any particular spiritual tradition.” I personally would have liked that version!
The way to be told
It’s not an eternal path
Name that can be given
It is not a permanent name.
The first stanza of the Tao Te Ching was puzzling and full of contradictions to me. According to Taoism, the Tao is the ultimate reality, but how can something intangible be the first step to everything? The first stanza sets the stage for the entire book and introduces some key concepts that will be explored throughout the text. At its core, the Tao Te Ching is a meditation on the nature of existence, and this stanza begins by asserting that ultimate reality, or “the Tao,” cannot be fully described or understood in words or language.
The Way cannot be reduced to a spiritual concept; rather, it is a state of being that cannot be adequately described by words or even ideas. The “eternal Way” in the first sentence is not something that can be labeled or defined in any particular way; rather, it is the fundamental law that controls everything in the universe.
The Tao is not an object or an idea, it is the source of all creation. Words are merely man-made labels and cannot adequately name it. The Tao is beyond classification and description, yet it provides the foundation for them all.
The unnamable is eternally real.
The origin of the name
About all the specific things.
The concept of names is introduced later in the stanza. In Taoist thought, names and labels are seen as artificial and limiting. Naming something stifles its potential and hides its true nature.
To paraphrase Mitchell, “Everything we see around us is the result of something that has been named and labeled,” and as the saying goes, “that which is named is the mother of all.” By reducing the world to its constituent parts, we become disconnected from the ultimate reality, the Tao.
Overall, the first stanza of the Tao Te Ching is a solemn reminder of the limitations that come with using words and concepts: The Way is beyond intellectual comprehension, yet it gives rise to all things. By letting go of our attachment to labels and names, we can see what lies beneath the surface.
If we want to understand the Way, words and concepts are not enough. We must reach the state of nothingness, where heaven and earth first began, and then we will be able to decode the meaning of life.
In summary, the reality of wisdom and the limitations of language and intellect are illustrated in Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation of the first verse of the Tao Dao Ching. By dropping the obsession with labels and names, we can see what is beneath the surface. That is where, in my opinion, understanding and wisdom lies.
These are verses that resonate with me when I read them along with verse 1.
John 3:8 ESV The wind blows wherever it wishes, and we hear the sound of it, but we do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:16 ESV For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 14:5-6 ESV Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the light…” Jesus claims to be the way to experience God. Jesus is our divine way.
Matthew 5:43-48 ESV There is evil in the world, but the spiritual person does not allow evil in his life. Christ is our example of virtue.
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