Line by Line - Verse 25, Lines 1-2

There was something undefined and complete, coming into existence before Heaven and Earth.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Something mysteriously formed,
Born before heaven and Earth.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

There is something formlessly created
Born before Heaven and Earth
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Something perfect has existed forever,
even longer than the universe.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Much of Verse 25 is about trying somehow to describe and capture an essence that is indescribable and evasive. For example, these first two lines speak of the undefinable underlying thread of our existence. The baseline nonbeing of everything we know.

In his book that utilizes the Tao Te Ching as a basis for leadership strategies, John Heider writes,

The clearest, most helpful word I know to use for Tao is How; because Tao is the principle of how everything works.

And how everything in this world works is timeless, like before Heaven and Earth.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.