(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth;The three translations basically agree in tone, while it appears Hogan only provides meaning to half the thought.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and Earth.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
Tao doesn't have a name.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
What does it mean to be the originator, beginning or origin of heaven and earth? Some people may view this line as suggesting a god, an entity or an it like one finds in many religions. Personally, I don't hold to this viewpoint and I submit the body of the Tao Te Ching moves away from this perspective.
For me, Tao (as representing the Grand Mystery) IS the essence of all, the underlying principle of all substance and non-substance. Tao is the process of life and existence. This process is beyond the human capability to understand it.
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Tao preexists naming like the silence that preexists any utterance. Tao did not create them but gave room for them.
ReplyDeleteand continuing from the previous line..
Anything named, even such a grand notion as heaven or our incredible home earth, are Tao when not named and just names when named.
So Tao is the "origin" "Beginning" "originator" not as you rightly stress "creator".