What is the Tao, Reason's Realization, Embodying the Tao, The Inadequacy of Names, Mysteries, 體道
"The Dao that can be understood cannot be the primal, or cosmic, Dao.
An idea that can be expressed in words cannot be the infinite idea.
This ineffable Dao was the source of all spirit and matter,
And being expressed was the mother of all created things.
Therefore not to desire the things of sense is to know the freedom of
spirituality.
To desire is to learn the limitation of matter.
These two things spirit and matter, so different in nature, have the same
origin.
This unity of origin is the mystery of mysteries, but it is the gateway to
spirituality."
- Translated by Dwight Goddard
and Henri Borel, 1919,
Chapter 1
"Tao that can be expressed is not Everlasting Tao.
The name that can be named is not the Everlasting Name.
The Name, in its inner aspect, is Life-Spring of Heaven and Earth.
The Name, in its outer aspect, is Mother of all created things.
Therefore:
To perceive the mystery of Life, desire always to reach the innermost.
To perceive the limitations of things, desire always to posses them.
These two aspects of Life are One.
In their out-come they become different in Name but in their depth they are One.
In a depth, still deeper yet, is the Door of many mysteries."
- Translated by
Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 1
Translated by Eva Wong 
Translated by Philip Ivahoe
By James Miller
Translated by Stephen Bokencamp
By Alexander and Annellen Simpkins
Translated by Thomas Cleary
By Livia Kohn
"The Way that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not true.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.
To experience without intention is to sense the world;
To experience with intention is to anticipate the world.
These two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.
Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world."
- Translated by
Peter
Merel, 1992, Chapter 1
"The Tao, or Principle of Nature, may be discussed by all; it is not the
popular or common Tao.
Its name may be named: but it is not an ordinary name.
Its nameless period was that which preceded the birth of the Universe.
In being spoken of by name, it is as the Progenitrix of All Things.
It is therefore in habitual passionlessness that its mystery may be scanned; and
in habitual desire that its developments may be perceived.
These two conditions, the Active and the Quiescent, alike proceed from Tao; it
is only in name that they differ.
Both may be called profundities; and the depth of profundity is the gate of
every mystery."
- Translated by Frederic H. Balfour, 1884, Chapter 1
Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
Translated by Brian Walker
Translated by Arthur Waley
Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
By Eva Wong
"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:
"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."
These two things are the same in source but different in name.
Their sameness is called a mystery.
Indeed, it is the mystery of mysteries.
Of all spirituality it is the door."
- Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and
Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 1
By Alexander Simkins
By Derek Lin
By Ming-Dao Deng
By Benjamin Hoff
By Ming-Dao Deng
Translated by Thomas Cleary
"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.
Conceived of as having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth;
Conceived of as having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
Under these two aspects, it is really the same;
But as development takes place, it receives the different names.
Together we call them the Mystery.
Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and
wonderful."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891,
Chapter 1
By Hu Xuzehi
Annotated translation by Victor Mair 
By Ha Poong Kim
By Hans-Georg Moeller 
By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall
By Wes Burgess
By Arthur Waley
"Dao ke dao, fei chang dao;
ming ke ming, fei chang ming.
Wu, ming tian di zhi shi;
you, ming wan wu zhi mu.
Gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao,
chang you, yu yi guan qi jiao.
Ci liang zhe, tong chu er yi ming.
Tong wei zhi xuan,
xuan zhi you xuan,
zhong miao zhi men."
- Pinyin
Romanized transliteration, Chapter 1
"Tao k’o tao, fei ch’ang tao.
ming k’o ming, fei ch’ang ming.
Wu, ming t’ien ti chih shih;
yu, ming wan wu chih mu.
Ku ch’ang wu, yü yi kuan ch’i miao,
ch’ang yu, yü yi kuan ch’i chiao.
Tz’u liang chê, t’ung ch’u erh yi ming.
T’ung wei chih hsüan.
hsüan chih yu hsüan.
chung miao chih mên."
- Wade Giles Romanized transliteration,
Chapter 1
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"The
Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after
its kind.
Truly, “Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the Secret
Essences”;
He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the Outcomes.
These two things issued from the same mould, but nevertheless are different in
name.
This “same mould” we can but call the Mystery, Or rather the “Darker than any
Mystery”,
The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences."
- Translated by
Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 1
Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching
The Tao of Zen
Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic
Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China
"Existence is
beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens."
- Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 1
Next Chapter of the Tao Te Ching #2
Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 1
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Yellow Bridge
Dao De Jing Comparison Table, Chapter 1 Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te
Ching by James Legge,
D. T. Suzuki, and Dwight Goddard. Chinese characters for each paragraph in
the Chapter are on the left; place your cursor over the Chinese characters to
see the Pinyin romanization of the Chinese character and a list of meanings.
Center Tao.
Includes a commentary on each Chapter.
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching
Tao Te Ching Commentaries - Google Search
Translators'
Index, Tao Te Ching Translators Sorted Alphabetically by Translator, Links
to Books and Online Versions
Tao Te Ching: A
Bibliography and Index of Translations on the Web
Chapter 1 in the
Rambling
Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith. The
Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley.
By Hans-Georg Moeller. Columbia University Press, 2006, 176 pages.
Valley Spirit, Gu Shen,
Concept, Chapter 6
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
The largest collection of very nicely formatted complete versions of the Tao
Te Ching. The
collection includes 209 complete versions in 27 languages,
plus 28 Chinese versions. There are 112 English language
versions of the
Tao Te Ching available at this website. A variety of search methods and comparison methods are provided, as well a a detailed
index.
Offline as of 25 May 2013.
Tao Te Ching
English Translations from Terebess Asia Online.
Over 30 translations.
Lao-tzu's Taoteching
Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation
Thematic Index to the
81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui
Texts (Classics of Ancient China)
Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living
Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In-depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic
Cloud Hands Blog
Mike Garofalo writes about Taoism, Gardening, Taijiquan, Walking, Mysticism,
Qigong, and the Eight Ways.
Tao Te
Ching: A New Translation and Commentary. By Ellen Chen. Paragon
House, 1998. Detailed glossary, index, bibliography, notes, 274 pages.
The Tao
and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching. By Michael
Lafargue. New York, SUNY Press, 1994. 640 pages. Detailed
index, bibliography, notes, and tables. An essential research tool.
The Whole Heart of Tao:
The Complete Teachings From the Oral Tradition of Lao Tzu.
Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Grove, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
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16, 2013.
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The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE
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