The way and its name

This chapter stands at the beginning of the book and contains its entire main purpose. Its meaning is that the Way originally admits no words; the moment words enter, we are already at a secondary level of meaning. 'Constant' means unchanging and unalterable. What can be spoken or named is subject to change; what cannot be spoken or named is unchanging. Once there are the names benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and wisdom, benevolence cannot serve as righteousness, nor ritual propriety as wisdom. Once there are the names spring, summer, autumn, and winter, spring cannot be summer, nor autumn winter. Thus these are not the constant Way or the constant name.

'The beginning of heaven and earth' is the time before the Supreme Ultimate divides; in the human heart, it is the condition of stillness without movement. Before the Supreme Ultimate divides, how could spring, summer, autumn, and winter have names? In stillness without movement, how could benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and wisdom have names? [The source has an apparent copying error in 'benevolence' here.] Hence 'the nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.' Heaven and earth are not mentioned only for their own sake: they illustrate this heart. Once yin and yang have names, countless transformations emerge from them. Once benevolence and righteousness have names, countless principles and particulars begin with them. Hence 'the named is the mother of all things.' 'Mother' means that things are born from it.

The two phrases 'constantly in nonbeing' and 'constantly in being' express the thorough investigation Laozi teaches. In human life, everything is being; who recognizes that being begins in nonbeing? Yet taking everything as nonbeing brings the reckless and unrestrained conduct said to invite disaster. Thus students of the Way should, when in nonbeing, investigate nonbeing to its end and see the wonder by which it generates being; when in being, investigate being to its end and see the opening through which it comes from nonbeing. 'Boundary' here means an opening, like the openings in mountains and rivers mentioned in the Book of Rites: that from which something emerges. The two occurrences of 'desire' carry deep meaning: they mean 'want,' wanting to investigate thoroughly in this manner.

Though being and nonbeing are two, with different names, they actually emerge together. Observe them through constant nonbeing and constant being, and both are called mysterious. Mystery is the wonder of creation. Viewed thus, how could Laozi's teaching exclusively esteem emptiness? If it favored nonbeing alone, he would not say the two emerge together or are both called mysterious.

'Mystery upon mystery: the gateway of all wonders' is like Zhuangzi's 'There is a beginning; there is a not-yet-having-begun-to-have-a-beginning; there is a not-yet-having-begun-to-have-that-not-yet-having-begun-to-have-a-beginning.' It simply praises the wonder, with no further meaning. To claim that another level stands above each level misses the original purpose. 'All wonders' is what the Changes calls 'making all things wondrous.' 'Gateway' denotes where they emerge. Many interpret this chapter only through heaven and earth, failing to see that Laozi intends us to understand it through the heart. Only by considering both do we grasp the book's full meaning.