Dao De Jing 1

Archie Bahm (1958):
Nature can never be completely described, for such a desciption of Nature would have to duplicate Nature. No name can fully express what it represents. It is Nature itself, and not any part (or name or description) abstracted from Nature, which is the ultimate source of all that happens, all that comes and goes, begins and ends, is and is not. But to describe Nature as "the ultimate source of all" is still only a description, and such a description is not Nature itself. Yet since, in order to speak of it, we must use words, we shall have to describe it as "the ultimate source of all." If Nature is inexpressible, he who desired to know Nature as it is in itself will not try to express it in words. To try to express the inexpressible leads one to make distinctions which are unreal. Although the existence of Nature and a description of that existence are two different things, yet they are also the same. For both are ways of existing. That is, a description of existence must have its own existence, which is different from the existence of that which it describes; and so again we have to recognize an existence which cannot be described.

Frank J. MacHovec (1962):
The Tao described in words is not the real Tao. Words cannot describe it. Nameless it is the source of creation; named it is the mother of all things. To see Tao the observer must be motiveless. Those with selfish motives see only the surface, not the innermost depths. These two kinds of observers look alike but differ in the insight of their observations. They look alike because they are both human; within humanity is the key to the door of creation.

D. C. Lau (1963)
The way that can be spoken of Is not the constant way; The name that can be named Is not the constant name. The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth; The named was the mother of the myriad creatures. Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its secrets; But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two are the same But diverge in name as they issue forth. Being the same they are called mysteries, Mystery upon mystery - The gateway of the manifold secrets.

Gia-fu Feng and Jane English (1972)
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.

Hua-Ching Ni (1979)
Tao, the subtle reality of the universe cannot be described. That which can be described in words is merely a conception of the mind. Although names and descriptions have been applied to it, the subtle reality is beyond the description. One may use the word "Nothingness" to describe the Origin of the Universe, and "Beingness" to describe the Mother of the myriad things, but Nothingness and Beingness are merely conceptions. From the perspective of Nothingness, one may perceive the expansion of the universe. From the perspective of Beingness, one may distinguish individual things. Both are for the conceptual convenience of the mind. Although different concepts can be applied, Nothingness and Beingness and other conceptual activity of the mind all come from the same indescribably subtle Originalness. The Way is the unfoldment of such subtle reality. Having reached the subtlety of the universe, one may see the ultimate subtlety, the Gate of All Wonders.

Stan Rosenthal (1984)
THE EMBODIMENT OF TAO. Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself. Even the finest name is insufficient to define it. Without words, the Tao can be experienced, and without a name, it can be known. To conduct one's life according to the Tao, is to conduct one's life without regrets; to realize that potential within oneself which is of benefit to all. Though words or names are not required to live one's life this way, to describe it, words and names are used, that we might better clarify the way of which we speak, without confusing it with other ways in which an individual might choose to live. Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words, the manifestations of the Tao are known, but without such intellectual intent we might experience the Tao itself. Both knowledge and experience are real, but reality has many forms, which seem to cause complexity. By using the means appropriate, we extend ourselves beyond the barriers of such complexity, and so experience the Tao.

Jacob Trapp (1985)
THE ETERNAL TAO. The Tao men describe Is not the eternal Tao. The names men give Are not the absolute name. The named is the inexhaustible Mother Of the myriad things and beings of this world. These point beyond themselves to the nameless, all-pervasive Unity. Of Nature, the Mystic Mother, And the unknown, nameless original, Men may speak as though they were separate; But such distinctions vanish in the Abyss. The mystery within deepens into Profounder mystery beyond. From the fathomless to the mysterious Are the gateways into existence.

Stephen Mitchell (1988):
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 the eternally real. /Naming is the origin /of all particular things. //Free from desire, you realize the mystery. /Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. //Yet mystery and manifestations /arise from the same source. /This source is called darkness. //Darkness within darkness. /The gateway to all understanding.

Victor H. Mair (1990)
The ways that can be walked are not the eternal Way; The names that can be named are not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of the myriad creatures; The named is the mother of the myriad creatures. Therefore, Always be without desire in order to observe its wondrous subtleties; Always have desire so that you may obserive its manifestations. Both of these derive from the same source; They have different names but the same designation. Mystery of mysteries, The gate of all wonders!

Michael LaFargue (1992)
The Tao that can be told is not the invariant Tao the names that can be named are not the invariant Names. Nameless, it is the source of the thousands of things (named, it is 'Mother' of the thousands of things). Yes: Always: being desireless, one sees the hidden essentials. Always: having desires, one sees only what is sought. These two lines are about The Merging -- it is when things develop and emerge from this that the different names appear. The Merging is something mysterious, and more mysterious, the abode of all the hidden essences.

Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo (1993)
Tao called Tao is not Tao. Names can name no lasting name. Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth. Naming: the mother of ten thousand things. Empty of desire, perceive mystery. Filled with desire, perceive manifestations. These have the same source, but different names. Call them both deep -- Deep and again deep: The gateway to all mystery.

Ursula K. Le Guin (1997)
TAOING. The way you can go isn't the real way. The name you can say isn't the real name. Heaven and earth begin in the unnamed: name's the mother of the ten thousand things. So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden.

Wang Keping (1998)
The Dao that can be told is not the constant Dao. The Name that can be named is not the constant Name. The Being-without-form is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The Being-within-form is the mother of the myriad things. Therefore it is always from the Being-without-form That the subtlety of the Dao can be contemplated; Similarly it is always from the Being-within-form That the manifestation of Dao can be perceived. These two have the same source but different names, They both may be called deep and profound. The Deepest and most profound Is the doorway to all subtleties.

Ron Hogan (2002)
If you can talk about it, it ain't Tao. If it has a name, it's just another thing. Tao doesn't have a name. Names are for ordinary things. Stop wanting stuff; it keeps you from seeing what's real. When you want stuff, all you see are things. Those two sentences mean the same thing. Figure them out, and you've got it made.

Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall (2003)
Way-making (dao) that can be put into words is not really way-making, And naming (ming) that can assign fixed reference to things is not really naming. The nameless (wuming) is the fetal beginnings of everything that is happening (wanwu), While that which is named is their mother. Thus, to be really objectless in one’s desires (wuyu) is how one observes the mysteries of all things, While really having desires is how one observes their boundaries. These two -- the nameless and what is named -- emerge from the same source yet are referred to differently. Together they are called obscure. The obscurest of the obscure, They are the swinging gateway of the manifold mysteries.

Red Pine (2009)
The way that becomes a way is not the Immortal Way /the name that becomes a name is not the Immortal Name no-name is the maiden of Heaven and Earth /name is the mother of all things thus in innocence we see the beginning /in passion we see the end two different names for one and the same /the one we call dark the dark beyond dark the door to all beginnings

William Scott Wilson (2010)
The Way that can be articulately described is not the Unchanging Way. The name that can be said out loud is not the Unchanging Name. With your mouth unopened, and things left undefined, you stand at the beginning of the universe. Make definitions, and you are the measure of all creation. Thus, being forever without desire, you look deeply into the transcendent. By constantly harboring desire, your vision is beset by all the things around you. These two enter the world alike, but their names are different. Alike, they are called profound and remote. Profound and remote and again more so: This is the gate to all mysteries.

David Hinton (2015)
A Way called Way isn’t the perennial Way. A name that names isn’t the perennial name: the named is mother to the ten thousand things, but the unnamed is origin to all heaven and earth. In perennial Absence you see mystery, and in perennial Presence you see appearance. Though the two are one and the same, once they arise, they differ in name. One and the same they’re called dark-enigma, dark-enigma deep within dark-enigma, gateway of all mystery.

Bruce R. Linnell (2015)
The Dao that can be spoken of is not the ever-constant Dao. The name that can be named is not the ever-constant name. That which is without-name is the beginning of heaven and earth. That which possesses a name is the mother of the ten thousand creatures. Therefore: always without-desire, thus you observe its subtle mystery. Always possessing desires, thus you observe its external appearances. These two, they arise from the same source but have different names; This sameness is called their deep mystery. Deep mysteries, and again deep mysteries – The gateway of many subtle mysteries.