For this passage from the Tao Te Ching, exactly what is the "darkness" that is found "within darkness"? I just received this passage in one of my many BeliefNet.com newsletters & i'm real curious about what this means but i'm not a Daoist so i don't understand it.
"The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is eternally real.
Naming is the origin of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you are only the manifestation.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding."
2007-02-13 19:40:28 · 5 answers · asked by monica_crss 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
well i have read of this "darkness" before, and i take to mean a sort of nothingness... we, in this physical world place so much emphasis on what is visible/tangible, and these references make me feel "one with the world" ya know? it's almost treading on teritory that is too hard to be explained by anyone that isnt a spiritual leader or guru....when we calm our chattering minds, that is the darkness to me, the peace.
sorry if that wasnt what you looking for...
2007-02-13 20:00:30 · answer #1 · answered by jessiblu_83 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Daodejing was written in Classical Chinese, which, in itself, has characters (in writing) with many meanings, so each character can be interpreted in many ways. And Laozi himself made a point of never wanting to write anything because the "Dao" cannot be written, and thus left the reader to have to interpret a lot from a little (dialectical). Translations into modern Chinese take some of the meaning away by attaching one definition among many. English translations do even more of this. This is why you get so many different English translations.
The character for the English word of "darkness" in this translation, 玄(xian), can literally mean "black" or "dark" or "hidden" or "abstruce". And the character for the English word of "understanding" in this translation, 妙(miao), can mean "marvelous" or "ingenious".
So my take on the meaning of the last phrase is that "what cannot be understood is the gateway to understanding." It's another way of describing the dialectical aspect of knowledge fundamental to Daoist philosophy.
2007-02-13 20:35:32 · answer #2 · answered by drjkfu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Darkness may be referring to the fact that achieving true realization is a long and perhaps difficult path_darkness as in obstruction
"_There is a flow in the universe, and it is called dao. Dao flows slowly; however, it is never stagnant and is incredibly powerful and keeps things in the universe balanced and in order. It manifests itself through change of seasons, cycle of life, shifts of power, time, and so forth. Dao has a strong and deep connection with cosmology and the natural world, as the most well-known Daoist philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi agreed. Dao is the law of Nature. When you follow dao, you become one with it. And it is best to also understand qi, because qi and dao go hand in hand. Qi is a Chinese term that is translated as breath, vapour, and energy. Because qi is the energy that circulates the universe, it can be said that dao is ultimately a flow of chi. Being one with dao brings best outcomes, because in that way things will fall into place as they are meant to be. The concept of Tao is based upon the understanding that the only constant in the universe is change and that we must understand and be in harmony with this change. The change is a constant flow from non-being into being, potential into actual, yin into yang, female into male. The symbol of the Tao, called the Taijitu, is the yin yang confluently flowing into itself in a circle._"
2007-02-13 20:01:19 · answer #3 · answered by suan_tian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mystery enveloped in mystery... the fountain head is indescribable. The potential... the force, lack of form...
totally missing the point by drawing out a definition
2007-02-13 19:50:00 · answer #4 · answered by Invisible_Flags 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All i can say is Taoisme just like Buddhisme teaches ppl to do good deeds but the philosophy is a bit different
2007-02-13 19:44:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋