The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnameable 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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The eternal Tao cannot be spoken of; naming gives rise to particular things, while freedom from desire reveals the underlying mystery that is the same source as manifestations.
- In plain terms
- Desire creates form, desirelessness reveals mystery.
- What can you take from it?
- Cultivate desirelessness to see beyond surface phenomena.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does desire shape your perception?
- What would happen if you paused desire?
Another view
Total desirelessness may be unrealistic in goal‑directed activities.
More from Lao Tzu
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The nam…
Permalink to quote #2 The tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name. The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth. Th…
Permalink to quote #4 The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be defined is not the unchanging name. Non-existence is called the antecedent of heaven…
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Lao TzuLao Tzu quote #6 The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further ahead of hims…
Lao TzuLao Tzu quote #8 Spiritual doctrines do not actually limit the mind as do materialistic denials. Even if I believe in immortality I need not think about it. But if I disbelieve…
Gilbert Keith ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton quote #122