The Tao-Teh Canon.
(Part 1)
Edited
by Steven Ericsson Zenith
This is part one of a three part rendition of the Tao Te Ching.
TAO-TEH CHING
(TAO)
"The
Mystery of Tao"
The
TAO that can be expressed in words is not the all-embracing and immutable
TAO: the Name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name.
Without
a name, It is the Beginning of The Universe and Our World: conceived
as having a name, It is the Progenitrix of all things.
Those
alone who are free from earthly passions can perceive the deep mystery
of the Unmanifested One: those who are possessed by desires can only
behold the Manifest's outward form.
These
two, the Manifest and the Unmanifest, although differing in name,
in essence are identical. This sameness is the mystery, the deep within
the deep, the door of many mysteries.
"The
Unfathomable."
How
unfathomable is TAO! An infinite depth, the Source of all that is,
the Ancient Progenitor, before all things.
Yet,
how pure and still is TAO!
It
smoothes the rough, unravels the entangled, tempers excessive lights,
clarifies the obscure.
It
is everlasting. I do not know what gave it birth; TAO is before the
Manifested.
"The
Showing Forth of the Mystery."
Looking
at It, It eludes the eyes; therefore It is called Invisible. Listening
to It, It eludes the ears; therefore It is called Inaudible. Touching
It, It eludes the grasp; therefore it is called Intangible. These
three cannot be described, but they blend in unity, the TAO!
Above,
It is not bright: below, It is not dim. It is Ineffable.
Unceasing
in Its action, It appears to do all things: returning to Itself, It
appears to do nothing.
It
may be called the Form of the Formless, the Image of the Imageless,
the Fleeting, the Indeterminate.
Advancing
towards It, we cannot see Its beginning: following after it, we cannot
see its end.
To
find the Ancient TAO is to control the affairs of the present day;
to know the Ancient Beginning is to have found the Path of TAO.
"The
Eluding Source."
The
mightiest manifestations of Providence flow solely from TAO, the Inscrutable
, the Impalpable.
Eluding
sight, eluding touch, yet within it there is Form.
Eluding
sight, eluding touch, yet within it there is Substance.
How
profound, and how obscure! Within it is the Vital Essence whereby
all things forever endure.
These
essences of the truth enfold, immutably the same as of old.
From
the Old until Now, its name remains unchanged.
Through
its portals emerges the stream of manifested things.
How
do I know the origin of things that pass to consummation?
Through
TAO!
The
"Forms" of TAO are Eternal and Archetypal Ideas.
The
Substance of TAO is the Divine Ground or Root of all Creation.
"The
Mysterious Virtue."
They
who know the TAO, tell it not: they who tell it, know it not.
They
who know, close their lips, shut the doors of their senses, subdue
the impulses, and checks irregularities.
They
who diffuse the Light, gather people into unity, and descend to the
level of dust.
This
is the Mysterious Virtue.
Such
people are beyond familiarity and reserve: gain and loss do not affect
them: praise and blame are regarded by them alike.
Therefore
they are honored above all.
"The
Emanations of TAO."
TAO
produces Unity;
Unity
produces Duality;
Duality
produces Triplicity;
In
Triplicity all things have life, and from it they proceed. The darkness
of the Unmanifested is behind all things: the light of the Manifest
is before them; and they are brought into harmony by the Breath of
the Great Deep.
"Apprehending
the Mystery."
Before
The Universe and Our World existed there was something undefined but
already perfect.
How
calm it was and formless! Self-sufficient and unchanging: all-pervasive
without effort.
I
do not know its name, but for a title call it TAO. If forced
to describe it. Call it Great.
Being
Great, it is ever-flowing; flowing on, It becomes remote; becoming
remote, it returns again.
Therefore,
TAO is Great: The Universe is Great: Our World is Great: The Source
is Great.
Four
are the kinds of universal greatness of which being The Source is
one. The individual finds his or her law on Our World: Our World finds
its law as a part of the Universe: the Universe finds its law in TAO;
but the law of TAO consists in being what it is.
"The
TAO of The Universe"
Universal
TAO is like the bending of a bow: that which is too high is lowered;
that which is too low is raised up. Where there is an excess, it is
lessened; where there is too little, it is increased.
The
Providence of The Universe gives to all things that which is their
due.
But
the providence of people is not like that of TAO, for people take
from those in need of more, to increase their own excess.
Who
are they who, possessing most, can supply the wants of all?
Only
they who have the TAO!
That
is why Enlightened People act without looking for reward, accomplishing
their task without claiming any merit.
By
this means they hide their mastery.
"The
Exercise of Enlightenment."
TAO
appears quiescent: its activity is all within yet there is nothing
that it does not do.
If
people and their government were able to maintain it, all would be
transformed from within themselves.
If
this transformation became an object of desire, it would still that
desire by the ineffable Simplicity.
The
nameless Simplicity brings absence of desire; absence of desire brings
stillness; so the world would become perfect from within itself.
"Supernal
Simplicity."
Immutable
TAO has no name.
Small
though it appears in its original simplicity, the servant of TAO may
stand against the world.
If
a leader could hold and keep it, the world of itself would submit
at once to that leader and spontaneously pay homage. The Universe
and Our World would unite to nourish that leader, and all people without
pressure would harmonize in peace.
When
TAO proceeds to action, it has a name. Having a name people may learn
how to rest in it; knowing how to rest in it, they are free from error
and decay.
TAO
is to world like the great River and Sea are to the streams from the
valleys.
"The
Perfect Achievement."
All-pervading
is the Great TAO.
It
extends simultaneously to the right and to the left.
All
beings live by receiving it, and all are in its care.
It
accomplishes its works, but claims no title of merit.
It
cherishes and nurtures all, but does not assume their mastery.
It
ever seeks the innermost, and its name is the smallest.
All
things at last return to it. TAO is their final root. But TAO is not
increased thereby, nor claims to be their ruler; and its name is the
greatest.
That
is why the highest people never magnify themselves; thus they become
perfect in their greatness.
"Returning
Home."
The
path of TAO is a return to The Source.
Gentleness
is its characteristic.
All
things under heaven derive their being from the manifestation of TAO;
and TAO the Manifest is born in TAO the Unmanifest.