1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and
unchanging name.
Commentary
Commentary
Source: Editorial Summary
This opening chapter introduces the fundamental paradox of the Tao: it cannot be named or defined, yet it is the source of all things. Lao Tzu emphasizes that true understanding comes not from desire or grasping, but from emptiness and receptivity.
Philosophical Insight
Source: Paul Carus (1913) - Canon of Reason and Virtue
1. REASON'S REALIZATION. 1. The Reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The Unnamable is of heaven and earth the beginning. The Namable becomes of the ten thousand things the mother. Therefore it is said: 2. "He who desireless is found The spiritual of the world will sound. But he who by desire is bound Sees the mere shell of things around." 3. These two things are the same in source but different in name. Their sameness is calle...
Commentary
Commentary
Philosophical Insight