How to understand the first sentence of the Tao Te Ching, The Tao is the Tao, not the constant Tao

Looking at the Tao Te Ching, the first word of this sentence refers to the inner law or original appearance of the development and change of things, and the second Tao is the law that human beings recognize and discover in practice. Therefore, after the discovery of gravity by Newton, people thought that the ultimate truth of the universe had been discovered, but the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics came out, allowing us to discover that the law of gravitation is only an approximate description of the laws of nature under specific conditions, not the ultimate truth. Mankind's understanding of the natural universe will inevitably change in practice.

The latter name refers to the concept that arises in the process of knowing things, and the first name refers to the concept that can describe the true nature of things, or the nature of things. The second name refers to the concept produced by people in the process of understanding the thing, which can only be infinitely close to the true concept, and is constantly changing in practice, such as the concept of the earth, with the progress of human science and technology, the connotation of the concept of the earth is becoming richer and richer, and the wrong understanding is constantly being revised, such as the geocentric theory is overthrown.

The Tao is the beginning of innate chaos, the so-called: the Great Dao Fifty.

The Tao of the beginning of the Yuan is the perfect Tao, without any impurities, chaos and nothingness, and self-exaltation.

After that, Hongmeng made the first judgment, divided yin and yang, and with men and women, the avenue evolved into a number of days. The number of days is not complete! The so-called: Tianyan 49.

The avenue was originally perfect, but the reality could not reach that height, so it divided yin and yang, and with men and women, chaos turned into Taiji and two instruments!

The so-called: the Tao can be the way, not the constant way! - What we call the Innate Avenue can be described, but in reality it cannot reach that height, it is not an eternal avenue! In reality, yin and yang are divided, there are men and women, and chaos is turned into Taiji and two instruments.

So, what is the point of reality?

There is a poem in "Huang Tingjing": Why not eat too much, so you can not die into Huang Ning! - If the Great Dao is just an innate Dao of chaos and nothingness, then we can all become Taoist monks, drink the wind, and devour Jinjin Yuli, this is the Huangting Avenue!

However, in reality, we can't become a monk and we can't leave the red dust! Because the number of days in the real world is yin and yang, and dragons and tigers are entangled. The so-called:

Heaven and earth are close to the axe, and the spirit platform will never fade! - We can only abandon the image of ourselves and choose the great cause of human inheritance!

The avenue is fifty, the sky is forty-nine, and people are one of them! - The avenue is perfect, but it is not reality; The reality is that there are days with defects; We can only use the extremely dull wisdom of human beings to make up for the incompleteness of the days! If the number of days is Tai Chi Liangyi, then we will choose the great cause of Lingtai and let it be passed on from generation to generation!

The so-called: the Tao can be the way, not the constant way! - Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things, scatters and formless, and changes all gods!

The son is the sky, the ugly is the earth, and the people are out! Although the world is not an eternal avenue, the sincerity of human beings has touched the world, so that this inorganic and cold circular world has given birth to wisdom! Although the wisdom is slim, after heaven and earth, I ranked it in third place, just to make up for the gap between heaven and earth!

Well, this is the truth of "days are not constant", although the number of days is incomplete, but it just highlights the importance of manpower! Thank you.

The cosmic avenue is a path that can be recognized, expressed, and followed, but it is not constant. These theories can also be clearly stated, but they are not immutable concepts.

1. Original text. The Tao can be the way, and the non-constant way is also. The name can be named, and the name is not constant. Nameless, the beginning of all things.

famous, the mother of all things. Therefore, there is no desire to see it. There is always desire, in order to see what it is.

The two come out of the same place, and the same name is the same thing. There is a mystery, the door of all wonders.

2. Translation. The cosmic avenue is a path that can be recognized, expressed, and followed, but it is not constant. These theories can also be clearly stated, but they are not immutable concepts. From the perspective of "namelessness", it is the state of the "beginning" of all things.

From the perspective of "famous", it is the state of the "mother" of all things. Therefore, from the perspective of "desirelessness", we can observe the mystery of the way of heaven. From the perspective of "desire", you can study the ins and outs of the way of man.

The two ** are the same, different titles, but they say the same thing. The subtlety of the changes in the Tao is the key to seeing the mysteries.

3. Source. Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching introduction.

The Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts, the original text of the first part of the "Book of Virtues", the next part of the "Book of Virtues", not divided into chapters, and later changed to "The Book of Virtues" 37 chapters in front, after the 38th chapter is the "Book of Virtues", and is divided into 81 chapters.

The text of the Tao Te Ching takes the philosophical meaning of "morality" as the outline, discusses self-cultivation, governing the country, using soldiers, and maintaining health, and mostly takes politics as the purpose, which is the so-called "inner sage and outer king" of the study, which is profound and extensive, and is known as the king of all classics.

The first "Tao" is a noun that refers to the origin and essence of the universe, and by extension, principles, principles, truths, laws, etc. The second "Tao" is a verb. It refers to the meaning of explanation and expression, as if it is "can be said".

Constant: Constant, long. Heng Heng, no blame, Li Zhen; For a long time, the way of heaven and earth is eternal and not long.

The first "name" is a noun, which refers to the form of "Tao". The second "name" is a verb that illustrates the meaning.

This sentence comes from the first chapter of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching", to the effect that if "Dao" can be expressed in words, then it is not a regular "Dao" ("Dao" can be expressed in words, and what can be expressed is the general "Dao"); If the name can be named with a literal word, then it is not a common "name" ("name" can also be explained, and it can be explained as an ordinary "name").

This sentence once said when Tai Chi Zhang Sanfeng was figuring out the essence of Tai Chi, Dao: Truth, Doorway Name: Fame and Fortune, Fame.

The truth can be realized by oneself, but the truth is not immutable fame and fortune can be won by oneself, but fame and fortune do not always belong to a person In general, the world is ever-changing, there is no immutability, and you can't be too persistent and rigid.

This is simply my interpretation.

"Tao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao" first came from the first chapter of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching". Although this sentence is only six words, it has a very strong philosophical meaning and a unique ambiguity. Since ancient times, people have interpreted this sentence in different opinions, and there are countless opinions.

However, from the perspective of general classification, this sentence can be understood differently from three aspects.

First, the Tao is the way, the very way.

This is one of the most common ones. What does the word mean in this verse? In fact, the Tao here refers to the most primitive and essential thing in heaven and earth, which has always existed in our lives, but it is difficult to explain it in words.

For the true Word is ineffable, and what can be said is not the true Word. And if the so-called Tao can be explained very clearly, in fact, in the process of speaking, it has already detached itself from the essence of the Tao. Therefore, the so-called "Tao" here is something that can only be understood, not spoken.

Just like the Tao Te Ching, although the text is full of words saying "Tao", those words do not represent the real Tao.

Second, the way, the way, the very way.

This is the second kind of sentence in this sentence, but the meaning of such a sentence is different. This sentence refers to the fact that the so-called "Tao" can be divided into two types, one is the "ordinary way" that can be said in our words, and the other is the "extraordinary way" that cannot be expressed in words. In other words, what we can experience and perceive in our lives is only a small part of the most basic of the thousands of paths, and in addition to this, there are a large number of "extraordinary paths" that are completely beyond the scope of our human understanding, and cannot be imagined or experienced.

Third, the Tao can be, the way is not, and the way is often the way.

This is the third break of this sentence. Such a sentence has a new meaning. ThisThe meaning of the sentence is that the Tao is very inclusive, and the good is also the Tao, and the bad is also the Tao

Right is also the way, and even wrong is the way, and when these are combined, it is the common way. Specifically, it probably means that there is no good or bad in the world, and good and bad, right and wrong are just the subjective definitions of our human beings. The true Tao is not subject to human subjectivity, the true Tao is objective, and it emphasizes the natural growth of all things.

Following the laws of all things in themselves is the Tao.

Translation:The Tao body that can be spoken of (referring to the collective term for all existence) is not an eternal and unchanging Tao body; A nameable entity (i.e., a being that contains energy) is not an eternal entity.

Release:The way of the Tao is endless, so there is no constant way; The names that can be named are constantly changing, so there is no permanent name. If you want to be stagnant without condensation, you must look at it with movement; If you want to be free from confusion and movement, you must observe it quietly.

"The Tao is the Tao, the Tao is not the Tao" refers to the law that can be spoken, not the fundamental law of the universe. The most fundamental law of the world is indescribable, the so-called "road to simplicity", the way is so simple that it cannot be expressed in words.

The Tao can be the way, the very way, the name can be named, the name is not the first two sentences of Lao Tzu, clarifying what is the Tao, the Tao is the law of life, the law of nature, pointing out to the world the way of the sage who is free from disasters in the body, avoiding disasters in the world, which means that the laws in life can be recognized and controlled, but not as we usually know.

The following is a personal understanding, welcome to exchange corrections. There are two Tao in the previous sentence, one is the noun Tao and the second is the verb Tao. This means that the Tao can be spoken, but it is not constant, and what is said is only one side of it.

I understand it this way, it means, "If there is a word to speak, then it is not an eternal word." "The assertion of the unspeakable is mainly for the sake of beauty.

The Tao that can be expressed in words will not be true and eternal, and will lose its original flavor due to the incompatibility of the rules of the language system.

This kind of interpretation is the standard philosophical behavior of typical Western philosophers.

The Tao can be the way, and the non-constant way is also.

We are familiar with the "Tao Ke Dao, very Dao Dao." ”；In addition, the difference between "often" and "constant" is that the meaning of the whole sentence is that the avenue can be followed to execute, but don't be obsessed, because it is not necessarily the eternal road, and we can't figure out all the eternal avenues. Because of the difference between the words "constant" and "constant", the interpretation of this sentence is completely different, and the explanation I have heard is very mysterious, if the Tao can be explained, it can be said that it is not the eternal Tao; Two "Dao" words, the second as a noun action, the ancients wrote articles particularly pay attention to the neatness before and after, so the translation can be followed by the implementation, rather than the usual interpretation of the meaning of the said, Lao Tzu believes that the Tao can be walked and can be done, in the later text said that my words are very easy to know, very easy to do, the world can not know, can not do.

Translation: What I say is so easy to know, what I say is not profound, so easy to do, but people don't want to do it. The Tao is not mysterious, you can follow it, and if you do it, you will benefit from it smoothly.

Each of us has come into contact with the Tao, we can meet it everywhere in life, a hundred years of life, how to say and do everything is to do is to say, why not follow the Tao to do and benefit? When we learn the laws and principles and essence of the Tao, we will benefit most from ourselves, and our close lovers, family and friends.

The Word is not for talking, the Word is for doing!

Non-constant Tao also", "constant" has three meanings, constant, eternal; There is also the meaning of ordinary, why change from the "constant" of "silk books" to the popular "constant", is to avoid the Heng word of the Han Emperor Liu Heng, "constant" is eternal, constant, the Tao is used to follow the implementation, but don't be persistent, it is not eternal and fixed. For example, everyone admires Haier Group's management and corporate culture, but it is not applicable to Mengniu. For another example, the ancient prescription is not applicable to modern people, it is not that the prescription is bad, but the environment has changed, the prescription is still a good prescription, and if you want to use it, you need to make some adjustments, which is "constant", so don't be too persistent.

Lao Tzu denied himself at the beginning, saying that the way he said was not unchanging, so don't be persistent.

The sentence is: nothing, the beginning of all things; famous, the mother of all things. Because this is an argument for the above, the argument "name" can be justified by the use of "none" and "there is a paragraph"; With this argument and definition, the following conclusion can be made: Therefore, there is no desire for eternity.

Some people say that this kind of sentence is redundant, but in fact, it is not, because this is a definition of "existence", talking about "consciousness", "existence" is not the same as the state of things, but the state of being "conscious"; The following "whether there is or not" is also to undertake this definition, and the opening logic is meticulous, so it is necessary to break the sentence like this!

Translation: "Tao" can be elaborated, but it is not an eternal elaboration;

"Name" can be defined, but it is not a permanent definition;

Here, "Tao" and "Name" are juxtaposed, and the two are naturally connected).

So, what is the "Tao" and what is the "name"? ）

Let's talk about what is a "name" first

None, which can be defined as the state in which all things are first opened;

Yes, which can be defined as the state in which all things exist;

To use the most extreme example of "existence" to make people understand that "name" is "cognition").

Since "existence and non-existence" can be defined, then all cognition can be defined).

This is an argument for the above, and also talks about what a "name" is).

Since the cognition of all things can be defined, what is the "Tao"? ）

Therefore, if you want to get a glimpse of the initial state of things, you must maintain the original view of it (do not interfere with it); If you want the boundary properties of things, you have to keep more of a view of it (study it);

"Name" and "Tao" are of the same origin, there is no fundamental difference, only a difference in definition; Putting the two together and constantly scrutinizing (Xuan: winding like a rope), Peiheng is the basic method of peeking into the mysteries of all things.