Look, it cannot be seen — it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard — it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held — it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.

From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

~Lao Tsu~
Tao Te Ching
Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English

Existence is beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no
words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.

~Lao Tzu~
Translated by Witter Bynner

]]> http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/03/30/the-way-of-life-no-1/feed/ 0 Beth/Bethie 3beautifulchina1 http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/03/29/the-way-of-life-no-14/ http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/03/29/the-way-of-life-no-14/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:12:26 +0000 heartsdeesire http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/?p=1585 ]]> Image by Feng Jiang

What we look for beyond seeing
And call the unseen,
Listen for beyond hearing
And call the unheard,
Grasp for beyond reaching
And call the withheld,
Merge beyond understanding
In a oneness
Which does not merely rise and give light,
Does not merely set and leave darkness,
But forever sends forth a succession of living things as
mysterious
As the unbegotten existence to which they return.
That is why men have called them empty phenomena,
Meaningless images,
In a mirage
With no face to meet,
No back to follow.
Yet one who is anciently aware of existence
Is master of every moment,
Feels no break since time beyond time
In the way life flows.

~Lao Tzu~
Translated by Witter Bynner