Tao Te Ching - Chapter 1 - character-to-character translation

道 (Tao/Dao) 可 (can) 道 (speak/tell) 也 (particle: assertive)，非 (not) 恆/常 (eternal/unchanged) 道 (way/words) 也 (particle: assertive)。

Tao can be told, (but) not (with) the unchanged way (of words)*.

Translator’s Note: A thing called 道 (Tao or Dao) can not be described directly; therefore, whatever is taught in this scripture serves only as an aid to understanding it. The first rule in understanding Tao is not to pertain to certain words, but to seek what the words are trying to depict but often times fail.

名 (Name) 可 (can) 名 (name/be named)，非 (not) 恆 (eternal/unchanged) 名 (name) 也 (particle: assertive)。

The name can be named, (but) not (with) the unchanged naming.

Translator’s Note: Languages are futile in describing Tao, as there are no words to capture its transcendent nature. We understand the reality by naming things we perceive as reality, but the names we use are in constant change. It is imperative to always keep this in mind while continuing the study of the scripture.

無 (Without) 名 (name)，天地 (Heaven and Earth) 之 (possessive particle: 'its') 始 (beginning) 也 (particle)；有 (With) 名 (name)，萬物 (ten thousand things) 之 (possessive particle: 'its') 母 (mother) 也 (particle)。

No name, (is) the dawn of ten thousand things; naming, (is) the mother of ten thousand things.

Translator’s Note: Ten thousand things, from atoms to galaxies, cells to mammals, are born the moment they are named. Strip the names off them, and one starts seeing Tao. The “name” here stands for the world we perceive as reality, which only comes into existence through our five senses, thus not telling the whole truth. A different way to make sense of it is that our sensory organs come into contact with Tao and interpret it as the ten thousand things in the forms of images, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch, forming our reality.

故 (Therefore) 恆 (constantly) 無 (without) 欲 (desire) 也 (particle)**，以 (instrumental particle: 'by/to') 觀 (observe) 其 (possessive pronoun: 'its') 眇 (profundity)；恆 (constantly) 有 (with) 欲 (desire) 也 (particle)，以 (instrumental particle: 'by/to') 觀 (observe) 其 (possessive pronoun: 'its') 所 (that which) 徼 (boundary)。

So be unremittingly desireless, to see its profundity; be unremittingly desirous, to see its frontier.

Translator’s Note: We human beings are a creature of senses, whose instinct desires satisfaction unintermittently, with which the Tao itself can not be perceived. Therefore, the only way for us to ‘sense’ Tao is to perceive beyond the five senses, also known as “be desireless”. But to perceive Tao’s manifestations, translated as “frontier” above, which are everything we perceive as reality–sunset, sunrise, high tide, low tide, flowers, birds, insects, and fish–we immerse ourselves in the senses bestowed by mother nature, Tao.

兩 (Both) 者 (things) 同 (same) 出 (emerge)，異 (different) 名 (name) 同 (same) 謂 (called)。玄 (Mystery) 之 (possessive 'of') 又 (further) 玄 (mystery)，眾 (all) 眇 (subtleties) 之 (possessive 'of') 門 (gate)。

The two are outputs of the same (thing), named differently for the same (thing). They are the mystery and the more mystery, the gate to profundities.

Translator’s Note: So be desireless to see Tao itself; be desirous to see its manifestations, the two serve the same purpose, from the same origin. They are the two keys to understanding Tao and its manifestations.

*This verse is normally translated as "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" by mainstream translators, into either English or modern Chinese. After years of studying and practicing Taoism, I find the paradox ever unbearable that the very purpose of the scripture is telling about Tao, yet the first verse immediately attacks this purpose. Also, from my years of observation, followers of Taoism oftentimes fall into heated arguments about linguistic nuances, which might be essential in studying literature, but is completely counterproductive if one's purpose is to understand Tao.

A second reason that makes me believe my translation carries a similar chance of being what the

author truly meant is how Classical Chinese works. In 道可道, the first 道 means Tao, and the second 道 means tell/describe; these have no ambiguity. However, in 非常道, the 道 here can mean either Tao following the first 道, or tell/describe following the second 道. In this translation of mine, I settled with the latter, while the mainstream versions settled with the former, resulting in the different translation you see here.

**欲 is the actual Chinese character used by the author of the Tao Te Ching here. In Chinese, 欲 reflects a body's basic needs and will, such as food, warmth, and intention. In the context here, it means if the reader wants to see the Tao's profundity, they need to constantly enter the state of 无 (the void), meaning shut off the body's needs and will for sensory satisfactions.

Mainstream translations oftentimes misinterpret the 欲 here to be 慾, which appends the 心 (heart/mind) radical at the base, transforming the word 欲 into an abstract psychological or emotional craving (such as greed, lust, and ambition). This causes a conflation that could jeopardize the readers' chance, if not the translator's chance, to successfully understand the entire scripture, because abandoning the five basic senses, which represent the body's basic needs and will, is the stepping stone to understanding Tao. It is also why they are placed right after the opening verses; if a reader misinterprets this, the entire multi-dimensional structure of the scripture crumbles.