Níže uvádím dva způsoby psaní znaků, přepis v pinyin a zvuk textu. Ještě níže naleznete sbírku překladů první kapitoly Dao De Jing do angličtiny. Zatím bez komentáře, úroveň je různá, některé jsou klasické a zažité, jiné zcela ulítlé. Žádný český překlad bohužel nemám po ruce. Úplně dole najedete můj vlastní pokus, který ovšem nemůže aspirovat ani na to, aby byl brán vážně jako překlad.
Zde uvedené podklady lze najít na síti, zejména na http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/ttc-list.html, obecněji k čínštině a čínské kultuře viz též http://zhongwen.com
dao ke dao, fei chang dao;
ming ke ming, fei chang ming.
wu, ming tian di zhi shi;
you, ming wan wu zhi mu.
gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao,
chang you, yu yi guan qi jiao.
ci liang zhe, tong chu er yi ming.
tong wei zhi xuan,
xuan zhi you xuan,
zhong miao zhi men.
TAO called TAO is not TAO.
Names can name no lasting name.
Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth.
Naming: the mother of ten thousand things.
Empty of desire, perceive mystery.
Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.
These have the same source, but different names.
Call them both deep-
Deep and deep again deep:
The gateway to all mystery.
Nature can never be completely described, for such a description of Nature would have to duplicate Nature.
No Name can fully express what it represents.
It is Nature itself, and not any part (or name or description) abstracted from Nature, which is the ultimate source of all that happens, all that comes and goes, begins and ends, is and is not.
But to describe Nature as "the ultimate source of all" is still only a description, and such a description is not Nature itself. Yet since, in order to speak of it, we must use words, we shall have to describe it as "the ultimate source of all".
If Nature is inexpressible, he who desires to know Nature as it is in itself will not try to express it in words.
To try to express the inexpressible leads one to make distinctions that are unreal.
Although the existence of Nature and a description of that existence are two different things, yet they are also the same.
For both are ways of existing. That is, a description of existence must have its own existence, which is different from the existence of that which it describes; and so again we have to recognize an existence which cannot be described.
There are ways but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words;
Nameless indeed is the source of creation
But things have a mother and she has a name.
The secret waits for the insight
Of eyes unclouded by longing;
Those who are bound by desire
See only the outward container.
These two come paired but distinct
By their names.
Of all things profound,
Say that their pairing is deepest,
The gate to the root of the world.
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.
The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The Named is the mother of all things.
Therefore let there always be non-being, so we may
see their subtlety,
And let there always be being, so we may see their outcome.
The two are the same,
But after they are produced, they have different names.
They both may be called deep and profound.
Deeper and more profound,
The door of all subtleties!
Tao that can be spoken of,
Is not the Everlasting Tao.
Name that can be named,
Is not the Everlasting name.
Nameless, the origin of heaven and earth;
Named, the mother of ten thousand things.
Alternate,
Non-being, to name the origin
of heaven and earth;
Being, to name the mother of ten thousand things.
Therefore, always without desire,
In order to observe the hidden mystery;
Always with desire,
In order to observe the manifestations.
Alternate,
Therefore, by the Everlasting Non-Being,
We desire to observe its hidden mystery;
By the Everlasting Being,
We desire to observe the manifestations.
These two issue from the same origin,
Though named differently.
Both are called the dark.
Dark and even darker,
The door to all hidden mysteries.
Words and names are not the way
They can't define the absolute
It's better that you look within
Hold your tongue and just be mute
Look within and look out too
You will not find a separation
Out there you see appearance
Within you see origination
Look within with wonder
At emptiness and bliss
For wonder names totality
Where nothing is amiss
The space within is always there
If you can moderate desire
A place of utter emptiness
And possibility entire
A way can be a guide, but not a fixed path;
names can be given, but not permanent labels.
Nonbeing is called the beginning of heaven and earth;
being is called the mother of all things.
Always passionless, thereby observe the subtle;
ever intent, thereby observe the apparent.
These two come from the same source but differ in name;
both are considered mysteries.
The mystery of mysteries
is the gateway of marvels.
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The named is the root of all things.
Therefore, the subtleties of Tao are always apprehended throught their formlessness,
The limits of things are always seen through their form.
These two (the form and the formless) have the same source but different names.
Both of them can be called deep and profound,
The deepest and the most profound, the door of all mysteries.
The Tao that can be named
is not the nameless Tao.
The Tao that can be known
is not the unknowable Tao.
Nameless and unknowable.
the Tao has been from the very beginning.
It is the wisdom of all that is,
and the way of the Great Mother.
With desire,
the Tao is hidden.
Without desire,
the Tao is apparent.
The Tao and the Great Mother
arose from the same dark source.
Their names are different,
but they are inseperable.
Together they are an endless wonder,
And the boundless mystery
of everything's oneness.
Tao means how: how things happen, how things work.
Tao is the single principle underlying all creation.
Tao is God.
Tao cannot be defined, because it applies to everything.
You cannot define something in terms of itself.
If you can define a principle, it is not Tao.
Tao is a principle. Creation, on the other hand, is a process.
That is all there is: principle and process, how and what.
All creation unfolds according to Tao. There is no other way.
Tao cannot be defined, but Tao can be known. The method is meditation, or being aware of what is happening. By being aware of what is happening, I begin to sense how it is happening. I begin to sense Tao.
To become aware of what is happening, I must pay attention with an open mind. I must set aside my personal prejudices or bias. Prejudiced people see only what fits those prejudices.
The method of meditation works, because principle and process are inseparable. All process reveals the underlying principle. This means that I can know Tao. I can know God.
By knowing Tao, I know how things happen.
As for the Way, the Way that can be spoken of is not the
constant Way;
As for names, the name that can be named is not the constant
name.
The nameless is the beginning of the ten thousand things;
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore, those constantly without desires, by this means will
perceive its subtlety.
Those constantly with desires, by this means will see only that
which they yearn for and seek.
These two together emerge;
They have different names yet they're called the same;
That which is even more profound than the profound -
The gateway of all subtleties.
The Tao that can be talked about is not the true Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
Everything in the universe comes out of Nothing.
Nothing - the nameless
is the beginning;
While Heaven, the mother
is the creatrix of all things.
Follow the nothingness of the Tao,
and you can be like it, not needing anything,
seeing the wonder and the root of everthing.
And even if you cannot grasp this nothingness,
you can still see something of the Tao in everything.
These two are the same
only called by different names
- and both are mysterious and wonderful.
All mysteries are Tao, and Heaven is their mother;
She is the gateway and the womb-door.
If you can talk about it,
it ain't Tao.
If it's got a name,
it's just another thing.
Tao doesn't have a name.
Names are for ordinary stuff.
Stop wanting stuff. It keeps you from seeing what's real.
When you want stuff, all you see are things.
The way that can be spoken of
Is not the constant way;
The name that can be named
Is not the constant name.
The nameless was the beginning of heaven and
earth;
The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.
Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to
observe its secrets;
But always allow yourself to have desires in order
to observe its manifestations.
These two are the same
But diverge in name as they issue forth.
Being the same they are called mysteries,
Mystery upon mystery -
The gateway of the manifold secrets.
1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
2. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
3.
Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
4. Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.
The Tao that can be described
in words is not the true Tao
The Name that can be named
is not the true Name.
From non-existence were called
Heaven and Earth
From existence all things
were born
In being without desires, you
experience the wonder
But by having desires, you experience
the journey.
Yet both spring from the same source
and differ mostly in name.
This source is called 'Mystery'
Mystery upon Mystery
The womb giving birth to all of being.
The Tao described in words is not the real Tao. Words cannot describe it. Nameless it is the source of creation; named it is the mother of all things.
To see Tao the observer must be motiveless. Those with selfish motives see only the surface, not the innermost depths. These two kinds of observers look alike but differ in the insight of their observations.
They look alike because they are both human; within humanity is the key to the door of creation.
There is something mysterious, without beginning, without end, that existed before the heavens and earth. Unmoving; infinite; standing alone; never changing. It is everywhere and it is inexhaustible. It is the mother of all.
I do not know its name. If I must name it I call it Tao and I hail it as supreme.
Supreme means never-ending; never-ending means far-reaching; and far-reaching means returning. Thus Tao is supreme, and heavens are supreme, earth is supreme, and man is supreme. There are four supremes in the universe; man is one of them.
Man is subject to the laws of the earth, the earth is subject to the laws of the universe, the universe is subject to the laws of the Tao, and Tao is subject to the laws of its own nature.
Tao is a vast immeasurable void. In can be used to infinity; it is truly inexhaustible.
Like nature, it appears to be the origin of everything. In it, conflicts (sharp edges) are satisfied (rounded); differences (tangles) are resolved (united); observations (light) are clarified (tempered); disturbances (turmoil) are quieted (submerged).
It is like a deep, dark pool. I do not know its source. It is like a prelude to nature, a preface to God.
The ways that can be walked are not the eternal Way;
The names that can be named are not the eternal name.
The nameless is the origin of the myriad creatures;
The named is the mother of the myriad creatures.
Therefore,
Always be without desire
in order to observe its wondrous subtleties
Always have desire
so that you may observe its manifestations.
Both of these derive from the same source;
They have different names but the same designations.
Mystery of mysteries,
The gate of all wonders!
The Tao which can be expressed is not the unchanging Tao; the name which can be named is not the unchanging name.
The nameless is the beginning of the Heaven
Earth; the mother of all things is the nameable.
Thus, while the eternal not-being leads toward the fathomless, the eternal being conducts to the boundary. Although these two have been differently named they come from the same.
As the same they may be described as the abysmal. The abyss of the abysmal is the gate of all mystery.
The tao that can be described
is not the Constant Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the Constant Name.
Something-Without-A-Name is the beginning of Heaven and Earth.
Something-Having-A-Name is the mother of all the ten-thousand things.
Therefore, constantly being without desire,
you can behold the subtleties.
Constantly having desire,
you can behold the manifestations.
These are two things.
They issue forth from the Sameness
but have different names.
This Sameness is called "Profound,
the Profundity of the Profound,
the Gate of the Collective Subtlety
The Way that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not true.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.
To experience without intention is to sense the world;
To experience with intention is to anticipate the world.
These two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.
Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnameable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself.
Even the finest name is insufficient to define it.
Without words, the Tao can be experienced,
and without a name, it can be known.
To conduct one's life according to the Tao,
is to conduct one's life without regrets;
to realize that potential within oneself
which is of benefit to all.
Though words or names are not required
to live one's life this way,
to describe it, words and names are used,
that we might better clarify
the way of which we speak,
without confusing it with other ways
in which an individual might choose to live.
Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words,
the manifestations of the Tao are known,
but without such intellectual intent
we might experience the Tao itself.
Both knowledge and experience are real,
but reality has many forms,
which seem to cause complexity.
By using the means appropriate,
we extend ourselves beyond
the barriers of such complexity,
and so experience the Tao.
The Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand
creatures, each after its kind.
Truly, 'Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see
the Secret Essences';
he that has never rid himself of desire can see only the
Outcomes.
These two things issued from the same mould, but never-
theless are different in name.
This 'same mould' we can but call the Mystery,
Or rather the 'Darker than any Mystery',
The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences.
The Tao that can be stated is not the Eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the Eternal Name.
The Unnameable is originator of Heaven and Earth.
The Nameable is mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore,
Always be desireless, so as to discern Tao's wonderful essence;
Always have some desire, so as to discern its manifestations.
These two come out from the same source,
But are different in name.
Their identical nature is a mystery.
Mystery of mysteries -
That is the gate of all wonderful essence.
The DAO that can be expressed
is not the eternal DAO.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal name.
'non-existence' I call the beginning of Heaven and Earth.
'Existence' I call the mother of individual beings.
Therefore does the direction towards non-existence
lead to the sight of the miraculous essence,
the direction towards existence
to the sight of spatial limitations.
Both are one in origin
and different only in name.
In its unity it is called the secret.
The secret's still deeper secret
is the gateway through which all miracles emerge.
The Tao that can be expressed
Is not the Tao of the Absolute.
The name that can be named
Is not the name of the Absolute.
The nameless originated Heaven and Earth.
The named is the Mother of All Things.
Thus, without expectation,
One will always perceive the subtlety;
And, with expectation,
One will always perceive the boundary.
The source of these two is identical,
Yet their names are different.
Together they are called profound,
Profound and mysterious,
The gateway to the Collective Subtlety.
Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao.
Names can be named, but not the Eternal Name.
As the origin of heaven-and-earth,
it is nameless:
As "The Mother" of all things,
it is nameable.
So, as ever hidden, we should look at its inner essence:
As always manifest, we should look at its outer aspects.
These two flow from the same source,
though differently named;
And both are called mysteries.
The Mystery of mysteries is the Door of all essence.
Dao that can be talked about is not the eternal Dao itself;
A name that can be given is not the eternal thing itself.
The nameless existed
Before the birth of Heaven and Earth - Universe
The names which were given were after
The birth of All Things.
By the eternity of unknown existence
Comprehend the common essence of things;
By the eternity of Existence
Observe the apparent differences.
These two came from the same origin - the unknown
But with different names.
They all are called the "profoundness"
Profoundly and profoundly it is the entrance
From which come all wonders.
„lingvistický“ úvod
nejen kosmologie, ale i každý okamžik
uvádím jen jednu verzi, která je založena na čtení wu ming = bezejmenné, nikoli wu, ming = nejsoucí, jméno
tao jež lze vykládat není nekonečné tao
jméno jež lze jmenovat není nekonečné jméno
bezejmenné je původem nebe a země
pojmenované je matkou deseti tisíc věcí
a tak trvale oproštěný spatříš ono úžasné
trvale zaujatý spatříš ono vyhraněné
tyto dvě věci přes různá jména mají stejný zdroj
o obou se říká že jsou temné
temné a ještě temnější
brána k hlubokému žasnutí