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.
