Tao Te Ching Chapter 14
paulpengThe Original Chinese Text
视之不见，名曰夷；听之不闻，名曰希；搏之不得，名曰微。此三者不可致诘，故混而为一。其上不缴，其下不昧。绳绳不可名，复归于无物。是谓无状之状，无物之象，是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。执古之道，以御今之有。能知古始，是谓道纪。
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it“the Equable." We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it "the Inaudible." We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it,and we name it "the Subtle." With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. It supper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure.Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this iscalled the Fleeting and Indeterminable. We meet it and donot see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. When we can lay hold of the Dao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Dao.
【译文】仔细查看却看不见它，称之为无色；认真去听它却听不到，称之为无声；揉捏它却捏不到，称之为无形。这三者的形象无从追究，因为它们浑然而为一体。它的上面不显得光亮；它的下面不显得阴暗，它毫无头绪、延绵不绝却又不可称名，一切运动都回复到无形无象的状态。这就是没有形状的形状，不见物体的形象，把它叫做惚恍。迎着它，看不见它的初始，跟着它，也看不见它的尾端。握持着上古已存在的道体，来驾驭现实存在的具体事物。能认识、了解宇宙的初始，这样就叫做掌握了道的规律。
Look at it closely, but it cannot be seen. It is called colorless. Listen to it intently, but it cannot be heard. It is called soundless. Grasp it, but it cannot be touched. It is called formless. These three aspects cannot be further investigated, for they are integrated into one. Above, it is not bright; below, it is not dark. It is without end and beginning, continuous yet unnameable. All movements return to the state of being formless and shapeless. This is the shape without shape, the image without object, and it is called indistinct. Face it, and its beginning cannot be seen; follow it, and its end cannot be seen. Hold the Tao that has existed since ancient times to control the specific things in reality. To know and understand the beginning of the universe is to master the law of the Tao.
