Wen Tzu - Verse 127

from Verse One Hundred Twenty-Seven

All things can be overcome, except the Way, which cannot be overcome. The reason it cannot be overcome is that it has no constant form or disposition. Its endless revolving is like the courses of the sun and moon, like the succession of the seasons, or the passage of day and night, ending and then beginning again, becoming light and then returning to darkness, controlling forms yet having no form. Thus can its works be accomplished. It makes things and beings, things and beings, yet it is not a thing or a being; therefore it prevails and is not constrained.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

I think this is a very poetic way of envisioning that which we cannot envision. Does it adequately describe Tao? Of course not! As the first line of the Tao Te Ching so eloquently states, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

When we get right down to it, none of us can describe the infinite. Every religion or philosophy merely is grasping at straws. Each comes at the situation from a different vantage point and tries to explain the unexplainable using different metaphors and symbols.

What I believe separates philosophical Taoism and other pantheist belief systems from the majority of other belief systems is that we look towards one element -- Nature -- which can be readily observed. Using Nature as a rough blueprint, we describe the world utilizing the laws and principles of nature.

In the end, however, all these verses offer nothing more than a vague illustration of a type of knowledge that can only be experienced by each individual. Since each of us is part of the observable nature of existence, the best place to look for answers and meaning is inside ourselves.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.