Tao 1

Tao Te Ching

Interpretation by Jody Whiteley

First Verse
 A path that can be walked upon is not the enduring and unchanging way.
You cannot speak of it for it has no name.
Names will always change with time but the way endures, unchanging, for all eternity.

This without form or name is the origin of all things.
As we name it it becomes the creator and caretaker of all things.

As we lose our will to desire we begin to understand the great mystery.
Our desire obscures our view of our creator as we see only the products.
The mystery and what it produces are one and the same yet we sepparate them and give them different names.
The unity of these two things is the mystery and the portal to all wonder and understanding.

Second Verse
We all see beauty contrasted by ugliness.
We all know good as good because we have experienced evil.
Being and nonbeing make each other happen.
Difficult and easy give definition to each other.
There is only the long because there is the short
We think of something as high only because we have compared it to something low
Melody and harmony require different notes

One who follows the way is comfortable with contradiction and paradox, detaches from effort, and allows affairs to manage themselves
A wise person teaches the value of not using words by example
All things that show themselves to one with the way are accepted as they are
It is wise not to claim ownership of any of them
As this person works with all things they are allowed to go through their processes and no reward is required
The sage will compete without need of a win, accomplish without stopping to notice achievement, and succeed without self congratulations.

The work is done and forgotten.
It's power remains intact and lasts forever.

Third Verse
Granting status causes discord
Place little value on what is difficult to obtain and save youself from those who would steal it from you.
Do not flaunt what others desire but do not have.
This way their hearts and minds will remain peaceful
A leader knows people with peaceful hearts and minds are easy to manage
The satisfied are niether willful nor ambitious towards their own ends
The healer may then strengthen their bones

When action becomes pure and selfless, cunning and greed are not acted upon
Abstinence from willful action brings about universal good order
Everything settles into it's proper place

Fourth Verse
The Dao is empty and cannot be filled.
When we use it we must also be empty like the origin of all things.
Within it we smooth our sharp edges, simplify the complicated, soften our glare, and settle our discord.
The way of life will always be pure and still.

It exists hidden and subtle to the sences.
Who created this?
Was it here before god?

Fifth Verse

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