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Notes on critical words/verses (關鍵字/分句註釋)
1.1 The Creator of the Cosmos may be described as the Dao; but the Dao I will express hereinafter must not equal to the original everlasting Dao.
Dao：The chapter refers the Dao for three times and all appears in the first thought group. The first Dao is the most important and primary in the entire Dao De Jing and all contexts relating to the Dao are rooted from it. The essence of the Dao of Lao Zi it the original cause of the cosmos; it is self-produced, self-disciplined, and exists everywhere. Further defined later in the Dao De Jing by Lao Zi, the Dao is the creator of the cosmos and the nurturer of the ten thousand things; the Dao is also the possessor of the world and its administrator; the Dao is also the maker of the law and order regulating the ten thousand things and the enforcer of such law and order to ensure everyone to obey them. Since the Dao plays collectively all such critical roles, there is nothing to limit its ability to do anything in the cosmos. Nevertheless, the Dao remains free from routine administration by implementing the law and order into each of ten thousand things and let them run automatically out of the Dao』s interference. In later chapters, Lao Zi would deliver details on how Dao achieves its missions. The second Dao in this thought group is a verb and it means to express Dao as the Creator of the cosmos. However, such expression is not limited to orally talking out or writing down. It includes also the natural images such as river, mountain, sun, and moon; or wind, rain, thunder, and lightening, they all display as external form of the Dao. The third Dao is a defined Dao as the perceived product filtering out through human』s thoughts on their perceiving Dao. Hence, such defined Dao is restrained by the limited human capability of grasping the whole knowledge on Dao; the defined Dao must be deficient in essence, in addition to the inaccurate description. As the result, the defined Dao is not the actual Dao existing beyond the cosmos and out of human thought. In the time Lao Zi lived, the Dao was usually used to describe the principle of living of people in that time and the Dao of human was just against the Dao of the Heaven, which was another term equal to the Dao Lao Zi derived.
Original Everlasting：The Chinese character for constant means in this context everlasting, then it implies original, since the Dao ever lasts from its original coming into being. When it was used as to be an adjective to the Dao, it says the Dao since its origin has been remaining constantly in the same character and performing the same function.
Based on the understanding what Dao is, we should pay the particular attention on one matter, that is roles of the Dao. Except for the essential roles we discussed above, Dao functions under many other names or in other forms. For instance, as in the Bible the Lord sometimes is called grape tree, shield, or roc, the Dao sometimes is also under things suck as great image in the sentence of 「holding the great image and going to each corner of the under heave」, or as water in the sentence of 「the excellent performance is as water functions」. In addition, superior De, ultimate De, and Sage are all equal to the Dao; similar to the Bible, in which Word, Truth, Life, and Son of the God are equal to the Lord. Therefore, when reading Dao De Jing, we should interpret each Dao based on its context for it would be not suitable to translate it to the creator of the cosmos. For remaining consistency or Chinese inherence, we will use Dao whenever the Dao is encountered during the translation and readers shall make own judgments on its particular meaning.
1.2 A name may be given to the Dao; however, the given name is not always the same or suitable everywhere.
Name：In the second thought group, 「name」 is mentioned three times. Name Lao Zi mentioned here is in its wider definition and all definitions of the ten thousand things are their names. The 「name」 which was mentioned first is the definition of the Dao and the second is a verb, meaning to define or to give a name. Since the definition is one of the result of man』s understanding, it hardly achieves the complete identical between the reality and its definition. More importantly, as soon as the name is given, or something is defined, the name or definition will go along forever with the reality from which the name or definition is derived. While the Dao is absolute truth and this character determines its constancy in essence, thought its form may vary widely, according where the Dao resides. However, the name, in most cases, is determined according to their forms, not to their essence. Consequently, any individual or all collective, of the restricted names barely represent the Dao. The third name is a defined name, which has bound meaning and unchangeable, relative to the unchanged reality, under which the name is given.
Combined with the first thought group，we are able to understand better why the Dao has several essential identical representatives and many images. Those identical things and images stand for various names of the Dao under different circumstances. At the same time, Lao Zi implied, people will miss the essence of the Dao if they pay attention on only the names or definitions, which relate their forms.
1.3 When the Dao was not named as the Dao yet, it was the initiation of the Heaven and Earth; while the Dao was defined as the Dao, it had become the mother of ten thousand things.
Nameless and named：The nameless and named are two statuses of name of the Dao. When the Dao is not called the Dao, the Dao is nameless; when the Dao is defined as the Dao, The Dao has a name as the Dao. Before the Dao begets the Heaven and Earth, there is nothing in form and therefore it is unnecessary to give the Dao a definition (and none can do it). After the ten thousand things are begot, it becomes imperative to distinguish them by different definitions, or names. For this purpose, the Dao must be defined firs, and then followed by others. For this viewpoint, the Dao is the mother of the ten thousand things as it begets and separates them among each other.
1.4 Therefore, under the nameless Dao, man tried to discover the mysteries of Dao』s changing wonders. With the named Dao, man attempted to observe the manifestations of Dao』s border and track.
Therefore：also means hence or because of.
Attempt: also implies hope, anticipate, plan, and try. However, it does not mean 「desire」 as some English translators interpret.
Observe：to take look at，also implies to discover or to trace.
Wonder：the essence of the thing or its deep cause often hidden under appearance.
Border: edge, or boundary of things, it also implies the differences among various objects. It could also mean the trace of changes of things.
1.5 Being either named or nameless, the Dao came out of the same source, only difference was named or nameless. The same source of the Dao is the original place where the Dao displays.
The Two：means the two statuses of the Dao: the nameless Dao and the named Dao.
Extreme：Here the extreme equals to the original, the original to the beginning, the beginning means the first cause. Therefore, the extreme here means the beginning the world. In other word, it is the first display of the Dao』s form, which is at the highest level.
1.6 Beyond the original place, there is the essential Dao, which seems a gate that controls the outlay of ten thousand things wonderful.
Second Extreme：The deeper cause of the world. It is the cause beyond the cause of the mutual form of the nameless Dao and the named Dao. In other word, this deeper cause is the inner cause of the external cause and it is the Dao of Lao Zi.
Various Wonders：the essence and the forms of the ten thousand things in the world.
Gate: Another name of the Dao, the only outlet of the ten thousand things to the outside world. The Dao as gatekeeper controls them and retains them in the gate as formless unity; release them out of gate to display their colorful lives in great variety.
Introduction of Chapter I (本章概述)
Lao Zi』s first sentence in Dao De Jing 「The Creator of the Cosmos may be described as the Dao; but the Dao I will express hereinafter must not equal to the original everlasting Dao」 disclosed two layers of the Dao』s definition. The first layer is that the Dao as the first cause of the cosmos exists objectively regardless man』s recognition. The second layer is that man may have never fully expressed what the Dao is, though man can describe it to certain degree.
In reality, Lao Zi delivered his warning to the readers: though I had written down the essay and tried hard to express what the Dao was, what I actually told was not the entire Dao. In other word, the actual Dao exists in the cosmos, not in my writing. If the practitioner of the Dao knew only my words, he would be a fisher seeking fish on the tree. At the same time, Lao Zi declared that I had defined the Dao as you requested, but my definition on the Dao had not absolutely fitted the essence of the principle of the Dao.
From his warning and declaration, we can read his mind about how reluctant Lao Zi wrote the Dao De Jing. He should clearly understand how the Dao is obscure and in depth, no one can draw a picture of it even with a magic pen. Its profundity makes no ordinary people understand it. From Lao Zi』s viewpoint, he would rather remain silent than mislead the readers by given an unclear description the Dao. Under the pressure and encourage of the Border Official, Lao Zi unwillingly authored the Dao De Jing with a little more than five thoudand Chinese characters, such he left to the later generations invaluable thoughts on Dao and De. For most possibly avoiding misunderstanding, he particularly warned and declared at the very beginning to the potential readers how the Dao under his pen was different from the actual Dao. This can never be interpreted as his enlarging the concern or being too self-effacing, it was that through his wisdom eyes of the great philosopher, Lao Zi foresaw the problem that later generations would misinterpret his essence of the Dao, intentionally, or unintentionally. Very Pitifully, people in most time ignored his warning and declaration, while they enjoyed reading his book and paid appreciations to the persisting Border Official.
Followed is Lao Zi told the difference between the nameless Dao and the named Dao. Before giving the definition to the Dao, the Heaven and Earth had been begotten by the Dao. That means, regardless the Dao is defined as Dao not, the actual Dao runs in the same way, such as creates the Heaven and makes the Earth. After the Dao is defined as the Dao, the ten thousand things have been categoried under different names according to their types, since their creator has had a name as the Dao. Though their properties derive color fully and various forms and s, they can all trace back to their original sources, just as children can find out their mothers who nurtured them.
To understand the Dao, people can achieve under both nameless Dao and named Dao. Without the definition, we can see the Dao runs freely and borderless; with the limination by the name, we can observe its border and trace.
Do not separate nameless Dao and named Dao, since the two came from the same source, where the Dao becomes the unity, where is a door erecting, beyond which, all things outflow. |
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