My Reflections on Tao Te Ching #1

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. — Tao Te Ching #1, Stephen Mitchell Translation

I’ve been rereading the Tao Te Ching, something I do every year or two. It is not long. One can read the entire book in an hour or two. But its wisdom seems to be endless. I could pore over single lines and contemplate them for hours. So as a project, I thought I’d reflect and write on each passage of the Tao Te Ching. There are 81 passages in the Stephen Mitchell translation, so it will take me some time, maybe years. But I hoping it will be worthwhile for myself and for any readers I have out there. I am not a Taoist nor am I an expert in Taoist philosophy, but I do believe I can take…