Tao Te Ching Verse 1: Welcome to the Tao

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Verse 1 of the Tao Te Ching

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.

 (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.

 Always without desire we must be found,

If its deep mystery we would sound;

But if desire always within us be,

Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

 Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.

The un-nameable Tao = A Spiritual Experience

I think we can approach the un-nameable by using a common explanation.  Let’s consider the foxtrot.  The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a 4/4 time signature instead of 3/4.

The American Social Style was, and to some extent still is, widely employed in the United States as a social and party dance. It is particularly well suited to dancing in a crowded room, by partners who may or may not know each other well, and who may or may not have had much formal training in dance. Its defining feature is that the dancers close their feet at the end of almost every figure, as opposed to passing their feet as in the other two styles.

Notice how we are describing the dance, and how we say nothing of how it feels, the energy the two partners feel, or the absolute fun it is to move with a partner to music!  You don’t have to have experienced the foxtrot to know that dancing in general is something that you do, you don’t necessarily talk about.  

Of course, to learn it, we need to consult with a teacher, the written word, a video, or whatever helps us place it in context.  And that’s what Lao Tzu is talking about when he describes the un-nameable Tao.

The un-namable Tao is like the foxtrot - an exhilarating experience that is impossible for us to put into words.  Just because we can’t talk about it doesn’t mean we can’t experience it.  And it’s OK to talk about it - the only thing we have to be careful about is making the words more important than they actually are.  

Desire is the thing that blocks us from experiencing the un-nameable part of the Tao.

Let me clarify - there are “good” expressions of desire - a lover’s touch, a good luck wish, giving a gift - and there are “bad” expressions of desire - using sex to get what we want, wishing ill on a rival, or hoarding things just because.  If we set aside those judgement qualifiers, as I like to call them, we are left with just the word, ‘desire.’  Now let’s look at it and describe self-based or selfless desire.  In each of these cases, the feeling of wanting originates from within - so it is all self-based.  Desire is actually something we need, but it only serves us insofar as we set our intentions with it.  When desire is employed beyond that, it becomes a block to our progress.  Let me tell you what that means.

If I want to grow a tomato plant, I get a few seeds, dig a hole in some soil, put the seeds in the hole, close it back up, and then water it, making sure it’s in a good spot to receive sunlight.  In planting the seed, I have let my intentions (or desires) be known.  I would like to see a tomato plant!  And that’s where I must forget about my desire, becaus