#25*

There is a thing born of Nature before Heaven & Earth.
Soundless, formless
Independent, unchanging
Always turning, never stopping.

Regard it: the Mother of All.
I do not know its name, reluctantly I call it the Great Way (Dao).

Great means disappearing.
Disappeaering means going far away.
Going far away means returning.

Therefore the Way is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
The King is great.

Four greatnesses in the cosmos and the King is one.

People mimic Earth.
Earth mimics Heaven.
Heaven mimics the Way.
The Way mimics Nature.

*Translation by LU Wenlong & Keith Wayne Brown, ©2013.

Related articles

• Daodejing 24 (keithwaynebrown.com)
• Daodejing 26 (keithwaynebrown.com)
• Radiant Living (keithwaynebrown.com)
• The Daoist Ethic without Principles (andrewjtaggart.com)
• Chen Guangcheng, Mozi, and Daoism (uselesstree.typepad.com)
• Dao jiao (nietsbijzonders.wordpress.com)
• Who’s a taoist? (nietsbijzonders.wordpress.com)
• Explanations of your favorite deep and meaningful ideas (ask.metafilter.com)