Thursday, May 25, 2006

The Way of Life by Lao Tzu

1.
There are ways but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words;
Nameless indeed is the source of creation
But things have a mother and she has a name

The secret waits for the insight
Of eyes unclouded by longing;
Those who are bound by desire
See only the outward container.

These two come paired but distinct
By their names.
Of all things profound,
Say that their pairing is the deepest,
The gate to the root of the world.

The Way is unnamed and can't be named. It is the normative and constant way of nature, and is indistinguishable from the matter that embodies it. The pairing of life with matter is the key to all existence. The names are human means for distinguishing between things, but not given by nature.

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