Line by Line - Verse 35, Line 6

though it seems not worth being looked at or listened to,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

It cannot be seen, it cannot be heard,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Look at it, it cannot be seen
Listen to it, it cannot be heard
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

It doesn't look like much.
It doesn't sound like much.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As a follow-up to yesterday's Line by Line post, it is next too impossible to package the concepts of Taoism in a way that owes itself well to modern society's desire for glitzy imagery. This simple and humble philosophy is one that doesn't come with bells and whistles.

What can we genuinely say about a force that can be neither seen nor heard? How does one truthfully explain that which can only be experienced by each person on their own terms?

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