Praising the mysterious
"We look at Reason and do not see it; its name is Colorless. We listen to Reason and do not hear it ; its name is Soundless. We grope for Reason and do not grasp it ; its name is Incorporeal. These three things cannot further be analysed. Thus they are combined and conceived as a unity which on its surface is not clear but in its depth not obscure. Forever and aye Reason remains unnamable, and again and again it returns home to non-existence. This is called the form of the formless, the image of the imageless. This is called transcendentally abstruse. In front its beginning is not seen. In the rear its end is not seen. By holding fast to the Reason of the ancients, the present is mastered and the origin of the past understood. This is called Reason's clue."
Author
Lao TzuAll Translations
"We look at Reason and do not see it; its name is Colorless. We listen to Reason and do not hear it ; its name is Soundless. We grope for Reason and do not grasp it ; its name is Incorporeal. These three things cannot further be analysed. Thus they are combined and conceived as a unity which on its surface is not clear but in its depth not obscure. Forever and aye Reason remains unnamable, and again and again it returns home to non-existence. This is called the form of the formless, the image of the imageless. This is called transcendentally abstruse. In front its beginning is not seen. In the rear its end is not seen. By holding fast to the Reason of the ancients, the present is mastered and the origin of the past understood. This is called Reason's clue."