Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part II

“Who would follow the Way
must go beyond words.
Who would know the world
must go beyond names.

Nameless, all things begin.
Named, all things are born.

Empty of intent, one may be filled with awe.
Full of intent, one may know what's manifest.
One source, different fonts.
Wonders both.

From wonder into wonder,
existence opens.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Douglas Allchin Translation)

Supposedly, Lao Tzu lived during the 6th century BC and was keeper of the ancient dynasty archives. All of this is probably apocryphal. Lao Tzu was thus well versed in the wisdom and knowledge of China’s greatest sages before the time of the Yellow Emperor (2697 BC). When the tao speaks of the ancient masters, it’s talking about those guys. In his old age Lao Tzu became disgusted with cultural chaos and ethical disintegration of the society around him (a feeling that I can frequently identify with) and decided to leave and live in harmony with nature. Thus he rode westward on the back of a water buffalo. When he came to the Han Gu pas at the border of China, he was requested by the pass official to write down the essence of his wisdom. The text he left has become known as the Tao Te Ching which Stephen Mitchell translates as “the way and it’s power.” Hua-Ching Ni asserts that “Tao means the integral truth of the universe, Te means the virtuous application of such high, subtle knowledge, and Ching means serious spiritual guidance.”