Quotes From The Tao Te Ching

[Enlightener]

I am planning on making a number of posts here, for my entertainment and hopefully for another's understanding.
I like the idea of explaining the meaning of the quotes in my own words,
I think this can be helpful as some of them are rather hard to grasp.
I'll hopefully be updating this daily, so come back here if you want something to ponder ;)

Blessings

E

p.s. Also, feel free to add your own definitions, or maybe even let me know what you think about mine. Are they completely wrong? Did they help you understand the quote? etc

[Enlightener]

#1 - "The Tao is both named and nameless. As nameless it is the origin of all things, as named it is the Mother of 10,000 things."



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Right, so this means that Life, in all it's entirety (call it God if you will, I know I sometimes do) is both the unmanifested, and also the manifested.

The 'nameless' implies the unmanifest, the state in which All Things Are, it is Pure Existence, It is No-Thing, It Doesn't Exist. In this, it is the origin of all things, "from the void cometh the creation", it is the 'place' in which all things come from, it is where they begin, and also where they end.

'As the named it is the Mother of 10,000 things'. This is directly pointing to the manifest, that is, where you and I are right now. The world of the physical. As 'the mother of 10,000 things' it is that we are in a world of definition, we give names to those which are in form, and that is most of that which we can identify, even seemingly formless things, such as energy, vibes etc. We are coming from the viewpoint of the manifest, and thus what we see, and what we interact with in our world becomes part of the manifest, that is, we name it, identify it and choose to manipulate it for our benefit. Or simply steer clear of it.

Blessings

E

[Enlightener]

#2 - "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name."






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That which we can define is not that of which we can see. Although we are inside the realm of the manifest, the physical, we cannot be inside the unmanifest. At best we can point to this, but we can never explain it from a physical/manifest point of view simply because it does not exist, especially in the way that we understand it.

We may create a word to describe the Tao, but we can never say 'this is it!', simply because we have already named it.

[Enlightener]

#3 - "Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one sees only the manifestations. The mystery itself is the doorway to all understanding."



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When you are attached to the physical, the form, you are blinded by your need for those things. They are not the truth, they are in fact, an illusion. You desire one thing, and when that thing is gone, or you have grown tired of it, along comes another thing which you desire.

To be in a state of non-attachment is to be able to comprehend 'the mystery', it is to understand that flow of Life, it is to see the beauty of the Creation. It is to ponder ever higher truth, it is to see the formless in form.

To ponder the mystery, that which is formless, is to ponder the truth. Observe.

The mystery is the 'doorway to all understanding', simply because you are focused on the formless, you are focused on that which is real, which is true.

Blessings

[Miss Hepburn]

You seem to be doing fine on your own!!!
This is reminding me of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 thread - I love it!!!!
This is why I love this place!
:hug: Miss Hepburn

[emalie]

I am planning on making a number of posts here, for my entertainment and hopefully for another's understanding.
I like the idea of explaining the meaning of the quotes in my own words,
I think this can be helpful as some of them are rather hard to grasp.
I'll hopefully be updating this daily, so come back here if you want something to ponder ;)


I welcome it :)

Speak soon,

emalie