1
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable 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. (SM)
How ironic that Lao Tzu begins his book - a collection of words - by telling us that the Tao cannot be captured in words. As people, we often rely heavily on words and thoughts to understand things. And though words are powerful, they fall short of conveying the full truth of something, especially something as powerful as the Tao. So while we read and think to become acquainted with a new idea, to truly understand we need to experience and feel as well. But both are required. The Tao, the intangible, is manifest through the tangible world. They don't exist without one another. But it is the Tao within the tangible that gives them life. The implication is that we need to live in the tangible world but never forget that the true power of all things lies in the intangible, in the Tao. This chapter also reminds us that the Tao is too powerful and complex for us to ever fully comprehend it.
2
When people think `this´ is beautiful, they must think `that´ is ugly
When people say `this´ is good, than they have to say `that´ is evil
This is Inevitable
People create a false reality out of the real one
Hard and easy are relative
Long and short depend upon each other
High and low are determined by a position
Sound and voice need one another
Before and beyond assume a point of view
That's why a wise man acts without intentions
And won't decide for others what to do
He'll let anything happen as it happens
He won't consider what he does as his own merit
And only therein is he praiseworthy
We want to label everything, but just as we label something "good," or "beautiful," we notice that it is not entirely good or entirely beautiful. It is impossible to capture the full essence of something in a single word, or even 1000 words. Life is beyond words. All things contain both positive and negative energy; one cannot exist without the other. It's better to recognize and value both energies rather than decide one is better than the other. Balance is a better solution than compartmentalization. Contentment is a better solution than endlessly striving for what seems to be a more positive situation. Nothing is simply black or white. The wise person is able to loosely hold on to paradoxical ideas rather than demanding clearly cut answers.
3
When you praise people for their achievements, people will compete
When you call things valuable, people will steal
When people flaunt desirable things, it will make other people restless
Therefore the sage sets himself to the task of emptying their heads
To make sure they're not hungry, discourage their ambitions and strengthen their bodies
So people will be without anxiety and without the desire for knowledge
And the scientists will be played off the field
When people won't labour anymore
All will live in peace
When we adore something, we often fight hard to get it and do things that work against our peace. If we place too much value on wealth or the obtainment of things, we may disregard our true, good nature in order to get that wealth or those things. We become driven by lust or greed rather than our true nature, which is selfless and loves peace. The solution to not being driven by greed, lust or envy is to empty one's heart of base desires. In other words, focus your mind and eyes on the perfection of the present moment and on one's true nature. Again, rather than seeing what we want and then being driven by what we think we want, we stay focused on what is and we appreciate the completeness and beauty of what is. We are not driven by the insatiable and misguided desires of our eyes and heart.
4
That which maintains the Creation
Is like an empty barrel that's inexhaustible
It is like a fathomless emptiness, filling the whole Creation
Its sharpness brings about curves
Its angles dissolve
It dims its light
It restrains its touch
How pure and calm it stays, like deep waters
I don't know its origin
It seems like it is even older than that by which it is brought forth
Typically in life we value the full and the complete. I don't want an empty bowl, I want a bowl full of ice cream. I don't want nothing in life, I want money and houses and cars. I don't want to live in an unknowing state; I want the answers to everything. But Verse 4 reminds us that the value is in the void. It is by being empty and unfinished that we are open to life. If we are already full, we have no room for what is truly beautiful and natural. So rather than seeking to have it all and have it all figured out, I seek to remain open and unfinished.
5
The Creation does not pretend to be friendly
It treats all things impartially
One who is wise doesn't act friendly
All people are equal to him
The Universe is like bellows
Although empty, it fills continuously
The harder it works, the more it brings forth
The more you talk about it, the wearier you get
Therefore, you'd better stick to what really matters
The Tao is; it nourishes the ten thousand things, but it lets go of concern for the ten thousand things, because concern is unneeded. What will be will be, and I don't take it personally. Wise people are not partial; they do good and what will be will be. Though things change, what matters stays the same. Peace lies at the stripped down center.
6
The spirit of depth never dies
People sometimes call it the Great Mother
The gate through which she breathes
Is the foundation of Creation
It appears to be everlasting
When you rely on that, life will be effortless
The spirit of the Tao is always there, ready for us to access. But that spirit isn't aloft in the sky; it is low, in the valley. It is quiet and barely visible. Yet in its simplicity, it is the gateway to all life both in heaven and earth. To live our lives the way they are intended, we need to hear and hold to that still, small voice that is so easily drowned out by the noise of the world and our own ego and anxieties.
7
The Universe is everlasting
The reason why it is everlasting
Is because it doesn't exist for itself
Therefore it can last
Therefore a wise man behaves as the least
And because he is least, he is the greatest
He is detached and therefore he is safe
Couldn't it be possible that he is perfect,
Just because he is disinterested?
So often in life we seek completion, but it is really the incomplete thing that is more open to the Tao. So often in life we seek to get ahead, but when we are satisfied with being behind, we actually find ourselves ahead. When we let go of our attachment to outcomes, especially outcomes that serve ourselves, we are one with the Tao and attain fulfillment.