Chapter 25

There is a mixture of things ①, which originated from heaven and earth. Silent and desolate, standing alone without change, moving in circles without ceasing, one can be the mother of heaven and earth. I do not know its name. I called it "Dao ⑥" by character and "Da ⑦" by action. The great is called "passing away", "passing away" is called "far away", and "far away" is called "reversal". Therefore, the Dao is great, the sky is great, the earth is great, and so is man. There are four great elements in the domain, and human habitation is one of them. Man follows the earth, the earth follows the heaven, the heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature. There is something that emerged naturally and existed before the formation of heaven and earth. Its voice cannot be heard nor its form can be seen. It is silent and empty, existing independently without relying on any external force, never ceasing, circulating and never depleting. It can serve as the foundation of all things. I don't know its name, so I reluctantly call it "Dao", and then reluctantly give it another name, "Da". It is vast and boundless, moving ceaselessly, moving ceaselessly and stretching far away, stretching far away and then returning to its origin. So it is said that "great" means "great", "great" means "great", and "great" means "great". There are four great elements in the universe, and human habitation is one of them. Man follows the earth, the earth follows the heaven, and the heaven follows the "Tao", and the Tao is purely natural. [Note] 1. "Wu" : refers to "Dao". Blending: To form naturally and effortlessly, referring to a state of simplicity and purity. 2. Silent and desolate: No sound, no form. 3. Independent and unchanging: Describing the independence and eternity of the "Tao", it is absolute without relying on any external force. 4. Circular operation: Running in a cycle. "Unending: meaning ceaseless." 5. Mother of Heaven and Earth: One book reads "Mother of the World". Mother refers to "Dao". All things in heaven and earth come into being from "Dao", thus they are called "Mother". 6. The strong word is called "Dao" : Reluctantly naming it "Dao". 7. Great: Describing the "Tao" as boundless and powerful. 8. "Passing away" refers to the state in which the "Tao" is constantly flowing and never ceases. 9. "Return" : Another one reads "return". It means returning to the origin, returning to the original state. 10. Man is also great: One book reads "King is also Great", meaning that man is the most intelligent of all creatures, standing side by side with heaven and earth as the three talents, that is, heaven and earth are great, and man is also great. 11. Domain: that is, within space, between universes. 12. The Way follows nature: The "Way" follows nature purely; it is originally like this. [Quotation] By the end of this chapter, we have gained several basic understandings of Laozi's "Dao". In this chapter, Laozi describes the existence and operation of the "Tao", which is a very important part of the "Tao Te Ching". It mainly includes: "The mixture of things", which is used to illustrate that the "Dao" is in a simple and unadorned state. It is a complete and harmonious whole, not composed of different factors. The Dao is silent and formless, existing before heaven and earth, circulating ceaselessly, and is the "mother" that gave birth to all things in heaven and earth. "Dao" is an absolute entity. Everything in the real world exists relatively, but only the "Tao" is unique, so the "Tao" is "independent and unchanging". In this chapter, Laozi proposed the four existences of "Dao", "Man", "Heaven" and "Earth", with "Dao" taking the first place. It will not disappear along with the changing operation. After undergoing changes and operations, it returns to its original state, which is the most fundamental and fundamental place where things come into being. [Commentary] Regarding the nature and laws of the "Tao", the fundamental points are all seen in the first, fourth, fourteenth, twenty-one and this chapter. That is, the "Tao" is a material and the first entity to exist. This existence is inaudible to the ears and invisible to the eyes, silent and empty, existing forever without being subject to human will, operating everywhere and never ceasing. Ren Jiyu said, "The Dao does not come from heaven; rather, it comes from the human world, from the paths people encounter in their daily lives." Compared with the "infinity" mentioned by ancient Greek materialists, it seems more practical and not at all mysterious. Perhaps influenced by the later mystified concept of the "Tao", people regarded it as a state object, including both existence and non-existence, composed of extremely tiny particles moving in the vast void. It exists independently and does not rely on external forces to drive it. Religious superstition holds that God is the supreme ruler of the world, but the "Dao" mentioned by Laozi had already emerged before God. The traditional view holds that the master of the world is "heaven". Laozi reduced "heaven" to the sky, and the Dao is born from the earth before heaven. The Dao gives birth to all things. It is the root of heaven and earth, the mother of all things, and the origin of the universe. Tang Yijie said, "Laozi's Dao exists prior to heaven and earth, only in terms of time, not logically." Although Laozi's Dao is formless and imageless, it is not transcendent in space. Instead, it has no fixed and concrete form. Only in this way can the Dao transform into the universe and all things with fixed and concrete forms. This view is very pertinent. Laozi once said, "The Dao precedes things," and also said, "Things are within the Dao." This kind of judgment takes "heaven and earth" as synonymous with "matter."