from Lao-tzu's taoteching,trans. Lin yutang1948

道，可道也，非恒道也。名，可名也，非恒名也。

“无”，名天地之始；“有”，名万物之母。故，常“无”，欲以观其妙；常“有”，欲以观其徼。

此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。

玄之又玄，眾妙之门。

1.On the Absolute Tao

the Tao the can be told of

is not the Absolute Tao;

the names that can be given

are not Absolute Names.

the nameless is the origin of heaven and earth;

the named is the mother of all things.

therefore:

oftentimes,one strips oneself of passion

in order to see the secret of life;

oftentimes,one regards life with passion,

in order to see its manifest forms.

these two(the secret and its manifestations)

are(in their nature)the same;

they are given different names

when they become manifest.

they may both be called the cosmic mystery:

reaching from the mystery into the deeper mystery

is the gate to the secret of all life.

Lin Yutang's Ethical Classics in English 林语堂《道德经》英文版