Laozi
視之不見，名曰夷； 聽之不聞，名曰希； 摶之不得，名曰微。 此三者不可致詰， 故混而為一。 其上不皦，其下不昧。 繩繩不可名，復歸於無物。 是謂無狀之狀，無物之象， 是謂惚恍。迎之不見其首， 隨之不見其後。執古之道， 以御今之有。能知古始， 是謂道紀。
James Legge
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it ‘the Equable.’ We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it ‘the Inaudible.’ We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it ‘the Subtle.’ With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.
Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.
We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao.
Victor H. Mair
We look for it but do not see it; we name it “subtle.” We listen for it but do not hear it; we name it “rare.” We grope for it but do not grasp it; we name it “serene.” These three cannot be fully fathomed, Therefore, They are bound together to make unity. Of unity, its top is not distant, its bottom is not blurred. Infinitely extended and unnameable, It returns to nonentity. This is called “the form of the formless, the image of nonentity.” This is called “the amorphous.” Following behind it, you cannot see its back; Approaching it from the front, you cannot see its head. Hold to the Way of today to manage the actualities of today, thereby understanding the primeval beginning. This is called “the thread of the Way.”
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
Looked for but invisible—it may be named ‘colorless.’ [^1]
Listened for, but inaudible—it may be named ‘elusive.’ [^2]
Clutched at but unattainable—it may be named ‘subtile.’ [^3]
These three cannot be unraveled by questioning, for they blend into one. [^4]
Neither brighter above, nor darker below.
Its line, though continuous, is nameless, and in that it reverts to vacuity.
It may be styled ‘The form of the formless;’ ‘The image of the imageless;’ in a word—‘The indefinite. [^5]
Go in front of it and you will discover no beginning; follow after and you will perceive no ending.’ [^6]
Students may consult The Chinese Recorder for 1886, which contains an article by Rev. J. Edkins, D. D., entitled, “On the Words I, Hi, Wei, in the Tau Teh King.” Also an essay by the same writer in The China Review, vol. xiii. Also Victor von Straus’ Tau-te-King in loc.
Lay hold of this ancient doctrine; apply it in controlling the things of the present day, [^7] you will then understand how from the first it has been the origin of everything. [^8]
Here, indeed, is the clue to the Tao. [^9]
Every name of God and each attribute are but shadows of the Reality, limited manifestations of the Limitless, as time is an attribute of Eternity, mind an attribute of Consciousness, flame an attribute of Fire. “Dwelling in light unapproachable” is Paul’s description. (I Tim. vi, 16.)
[^1] Because in It all colors are equalized.
[^2] Because in It all sounds are harmonized.
[^3] Within It is all Form, yet It is formless.
[^4] Three metaphysical hypostases, but one in essence, the unit of all consciousnesses, personified by the Hindus as Ishvara. The passage bears a close resemblance to Mesopotamian thought. The idea of a trinity in unity is a conception common to all religions, ancient or modern. Without the concrete ideas of substance, life and motion even an abstract concept of the Divine is impossible.
[^5] Cf. the Akhmin Codex, translated in “Fragments of a Faith Forgotten,” by , p. 585.
[^6] Cf. the Hindu Shloka quoted by Mrs. Besant in “Four Great Religions,” p. 19—“When there is no darkness, neither day nor night, neither being nor non-being, there is Shiva alone. He is indestructible. He is to be adored by Savitri, from him alone comes forth the ancient wisdom. Not above, nor below, nor in the midst can he be comprehended, nor is there any similitude for him whose name is infinite glory. Not by the sight is established his form; none beholds him by the eye. Those who know him by the heart and the mind, dwelling in the heart, become immortal.”
[^7] “Employ the ancient doctrine of non-attachment to action, to govern the present period of continuous action.”—Tung-tei-ning.
[^8] Of the evil as well as of the good. Cf. Isa. xlv, 7. Amos. iii, 6.
[^9] viz. Building the invisible into the visible. Said a Christian writer in the Middle Ages, “Praying will either make a man leave off sinning, or sinning will make a man leave off praying.”
Ursula K. Le Guin
Look at it: nothing to see. Call it colorless. Listen to it: nothing to hear. Call it soundless. Reach for it: nothing to hold. Call it intangible.
Triply undifferentiated, it merges into oneness, not bright above, not dark below.
Never, oh! never can it be named. It reverts, it returns to unbeing. Call it the form of the unformed, the image of no image.
Call it unthinkable thought. Face it: no face. Follow it: no end.
Holding fast to the old Way, we can live in the present. Mindful of the ancient beginnings, we hold the thread of the Tao.