Tao Te Ching – Verse 25
There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.
It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.
The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.
Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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There is something formlessly created
Born before Heaven and Earth
So silent! So ethereal!
Independent and changeless
Circulating and ceaseless
It can be regarded as the mother of the world
I do not know its name
Identifying it, I call it “Tao”
Forced to describe it, I call it great
Great means passing
Passing means receding
Receding means returning
Therefore the Tao is great
Heaven is great
Earth is great
The sovereign is also great
There are four greats in the universe
And the sovereign occupies one of them
Humans follow the laws of Earth
Earth follows the laws of Heaven
Heaven follows the laws of Tao
Tao follows the laws of nature
(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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The great Paradox in Zero always was.
The great Paradox in Zero is lively Bliss.
Perhaps there could be layers of destruction:
But that is the human wrestling with mortality,
And the human wrestling with the feminine.
Zero has no Form.
Causation is Its tease.
Beginning and End are games the Mother plays with all beings.
But they are games.
Games can give way to Infinity.
(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
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from I Ching Online
