The Tao page One

One

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
    this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.


Everything in manifestation has a name and definition, which causes separation and discrimination according to personal likes and dislikes. You can’t properly translate a feeling or experience, especially when describing something bigger than life to someone who hasn’t seen or heard of it. Words in general fail to capture the beauty of a special moment, and anything that is uttered is immediately altered within each mind and downgraded. Words fall short when explaining anything that’s experiential, but that doesn’t mean we remain silent for there are words that come close and it helps to inspire. In fact that’s what this book is trying to do in their special way and a very good way at that. Each teacher will have a different approach according to their background and no two approaches will be identical unless mimicked. So, originality will be obvious even though teachers use a lot of the same words. It will also depend on the intellectual restrictions of their time and the overall psyche of the people. I think this book is the first one of its kind (besides maybe the Rig Veda) to actually try and capture the characteristics of Eternity compared to the characteristics of life, and written in a very beautiful and original way. 

In Eternity there is only silence, no words need to be or can be uttered, it’s beyond all words, meanings, appearances and names or beyond any imperfect understanding that causes separation and disharmony. On the other hand the named is the cornerstone of manifestation and the fundamental property of the living dichotomy, but the silent unnamed is the cornerstone of Eternity and the fundamental principal of the Source. 

“Ever desireless one can see the mystery” When Self-realization dawns the world of attractions and attachments loose their sway over the mind, because the body and mind lost it’s domination over the Self. Your eternal identity now restored and in the forefront has lost its need or interest in unnecessary desires, for they no longer provide any comfort for the ego/mind as they did before. They are seen through the clear light of reasoning that takes a resounding precedence over anything that doesn’t last and is prone to hinder.

‘Ever desiring’ and ever caught up in the glitter and gutter of manifestation one has a hard time breaking free from the compelling drama in order to see clearly.

The next three lines speak of the characteristics of Eternity and the darkness of the dim light that prevails there at the Source. Everything springs from That and returns to That which started the cosmos and consciousness. ‘Darkness within darkness’ is another way of saying the unmanifested within the manifested, because the Eternal Darkness and the still soft light of Awareness is blanketed over by particles of manifestation, which is referred to here as the dark (universe). 

One dark provides the mystery and the other Dark solves the mystery.   

Posted by Kurt at 6/25/2010 7:56 AM
Categories: The Tao Spirituality
Tags: Darkness gate to all mystery The Tao eternal nameless desires
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  • 7/1/2010 7:11 PM Rekha wrote:
    Very good read as always.
    I was wondering if desireless means detachment from the results of the desire, and not desirelessness itself ? Since life does not end nor can one not desire to make it better ?
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    1. 7/5/2010 7:49 AM Kurt wrote:
      Both happens! This feeling of desirelessness is the hardest thing to put your finger on, but there is something to it, and since it does affect you I try to express it the best I can. 

      You instantly loose a mental and emotional stake in desiring, and no longer searching or wanting something that doesn’t provide a basic need, you search for a reason to attain it and the answer just doesn’t come. It doesn’t mean your totally desireless for you need basic desires, but most of the past unnecessary desires were part of the minds want, and now they’re suddenly rendered empty from the experience. Those desires that use to give you a feeling of excitement in anticipation are now gone, and now you can’t see anything out there that’s worth the effort, except for the basics and spirituality. Excitement is a big part of the equation and once that is neutralized the energy that use to help spawn the desire is missing, so it fails to compel. Your almost reprogrammed to live in the moment or in a meditative state that puts a damper on desires. 

      When you see and understand the big picture that naturally corrects any misplaced attractions. Nothing here is actually binding unless you let it be and that resounding fact leaves you somewhat detached from the results. We can’t control what happens in life, so our only alternative is to accept it and move on, and when you bank on complying results they usually disappoint, besides that when it finally does work out to your delight it makes it especially nice, enhanced by the surprise. 

      Self-realization puts an end to most types of outside (unless warranted) and inside searching and I like that part, I like the stableness, I like the inner control, I like the lack of excitement, because what goes up must come down. Life in this fashion is vastly improved, and it’s the best way to get through it. 

      The big picture trumps all and once that’s realized you are liberated from that which decays, and that’s our saving grace.


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  • 7/10/2010 1:02 AM Health insurance quote wrote:
    Interesting article honestly, most blogs I read about are more into gossip and what the press has covered. I personally like to see useful information that is worth reading once in a while. Give somebody a reason to come back.
    Reply to this
  • 7/14/2010 7:26 PM Rekha wrote:
    "We can’t control what happens in life"
    This is a lesson I'm currently trying to understand. All lessons are learned in awareness and the awareness and understanding facilitate each other and I intend to keep growing in it.
    Reply to this

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