The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.As we can easily see, there is little disagreement about the wording and meaning of this line. It's a Taoist way of stating that one should not confuse the finger pointing at the moon as the moon itself.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
If it has a name, it's just another thing.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
We may call the grand mystery, Tao, but it's just a word. We could just as easily call it Frop, Gooboo or Snarq. Assigning it a name doesn't encapsulate it. It doesn't limit it. It certainly doesn't define it!
All it does is signify -- as a form of shorthand -- that which is indefinable.
In the end, it really doesn't matter WHAT we call the mystery. The mystery simply is.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
The point also extends to all things, how their name is just a delimiter, a term, and not the thing or its qualities.
ReplyDeleteBesides say, woof.
I write about qigong healing methods from my experience and it is essential, if one is going to access healing energy, to access what is called the stillpoint. In this place, the mind is quiet and you access the energy that creates mind as well as healing. Thus, it is possible to know, first hand, the Tao through meditation. Concepts about the Tao are derivative aspects of that experience.
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