The Three Principle Texts of Daoism translated by ... - Bad Request

formless, standing alone without changing, reachingeverywhere without suffering harm! It must be regardedas the Mother of the Universe. Its name I know not. Todesignate it, I call it Tao. Endeavouring to describe it, Icall it Great. Being great, it passes on; passing on, itbecomes remote; having become remote, it returns.Therefore Tao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great;and the Sovereign also is great. In the Universe there arefour powers, of which the Sovereign is one. Man takeshis law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law fromHeaven; Heaven takes its law from Tao; but the law ofTao is its own spontaneity.Tao in its unchanging aspect has no name. Small thoughit be in its primordial simplicity, mankind dare not claimits service. Could princes and kings hold and keep it, allcreation would spontaneously pay homage. Heaven andEarth would unite in sending down sweet dew, and thepeople would be righteous unbidden and of their ownaccord.As soon as Tao creates order, it becomes nameable.When it once has a name, men will know how to rest init. Knowing how to rest in it, they will run no risk ofharm.Tao as it exists in the world is like the great rivers andseas which receive the streams from the valleys.All-pervading is the Great Tao. It can be at once on theright hand and on the left. All things depend on it for