“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth The named is the mother of myriad things Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations These two emerge together but differ in name The unity is said to be the mystery Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders” The first chapter of the Tao Te Ching begins with the phrase “the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao.” Essentially, this means that if the Tao can be explained with words, it is not the actual Tao. Of course, this philosophy is very confusing, but it allows one more freedom when interpreting the Tao. When translated, Tao is most often translated to the Way or Path which is said to be completely and inherently natural. The Tao simply ‘is.’ This also speaks to the limitation of spoken word and text, which are prevalent in Western culture. In the West, we tend to go through life explaining (“Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations”), but in the East “ignorance,” for lack of a better term, is true peace of mind. Not in the sense that ignorance inhibits a lack of knowledge, but rather, “ignorance” in this sense is a lack of need for explanation (“The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth”). “Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders” expresses that to become aware is to commemorate in a sort of wordless relationship with nature; this relationship is more profound than anything academic knowledge, technology, or science can offer.
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Haley Stern December 8, 2014 Eliasion AP English Language & Composition Is Taoism Losing Its Way: Briefing http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/06/25/is-daoism-losing-its-way/ (Note: This article is from a Chinese news site so the whole first part of the article is total socialist brain-wash, but the other information is pretty decent and credible.) Taoism has never been prominent in any western form of thought, but now it has begun to lose popularity even in China, the region in which it originated. “Researchers” speculate this decline is due to poor social networking and a lack of available information about Taoist teachings. Though the religion was a significant foundation of ancient China, it seems that in the modern world, Tao is no longer as connective with the younger generations. Often ridiculed and made fun by those of different faiths or those that reside in the West, the religion itself is at a standstill in the east, and it seems to have become independent of other traditional faiths that are regaining their places in society. In order to change this, Taoists will have to reach out to the world in different ways, become more active about the information they display and the ways in which they display it. |