| Selection - The Spirit of Lao Tsu |
| Chapter 1: The Nameless Is the Beginning of Heaven and Earth |
People have a tendency to want to attach forms to the things about them, and it is for this reason that we often find people craving a visual image of God almost as soon as that name is attached. Fully aware of this predilection for forms, Lao Tsu avoids using the terms ‘God’ or ‘Omnipotent’ and opts, instead, for the neutral expression, ‘The Nameless.’
And yet, once given a name, even The Nameless ceases to be nameless-ceases to be God itself-and exists as nothing more than a single manifestation of God instead. When a title is affixed, the fine spiritual wavelengths of The Nameless are gradually transformed into the coarser wavelengths of material phenomena. Put in Lao Tsu’s words, that which possesses a name then gives birth to the ‘Ten Thousand Things’ and becomes the mother of all creation.
Take, for example, the distinction between a dishtowel and a rag used for dusting. The same piece of cloth can be applied to either chore, yet becomes locked into its role as one or the other as soon as it is decided that one is to be a dishtowel and the other a dust-rag. The respective roles of dishtowel and dust-rag are thus determined the instant a relativistic name is attached. Obviously not limited to dishtowels and dust-rags, other objects are similarly restricted by their titles as well.
Let us turn now to the final, and related, section.
Thus, with true Nothingness one may view the mystery,
And with true Being one may perceive the barrier.
These two are of the same origin, yet their names differ.
These two are called Profound.
Beyond the Profound lies the gateway to the Universal Mystery.
The expression ‘true Nothingness’ is used by Lao Tsu to point to the same thing that he does with the expression The Nameless: both refer to the divine reality, or ‘God.’ Within God is hidden the strange and wondrous. God is, for this reason, also called Omnipotent, Omniscient, and All-Able.
Just as it is possible for us to behold aspects of this divine Reality itself, we can also discern ‘barriers’ or distinctions in the ways in which this Reality manifests itself. Lao Tsu goes on to say that because both are manifestations of the same, ultimate Reality, they differ in name only.
Both, on the other hand, can be called Profound. The Profound is the phenomenal representation of the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and mysterious spiritual existence of God Itself. Timeless and possessing infinite depth and width, this mysterious spiritual entity called ‘the Profound’ by Lao Tsu is, likewise, said to have given birth to all creation.
Indeed, nothing is more difficult than trying to describe God. When writing a manuscript such as this, one is faced with the all-but-impossible task of wielding the written word to depict something invisible and untouchable, and capable of instantly taking on an infinitely grand or minuscule form. In short, one cannot escape from having to rely upon phenomenal forms when describing God to others. As a consequence, people are often left puzzled after listening to the incredible rhetoric philosophers and others frequently resort to when attempting to depict the Divine, and all that they retain from it is a vague sense of satisfaction over having added to the store of their knowledge.
A simple review of some of the terms used by Lao Tsu to describe The Divine (God) should be more than adequate to convince the reader of the enormity of this problem. Take, for example, the character gen in Japanese. By itself, gen means profound, mysterious, or sublime. It may also be combined with the character for ‘person’ (hito), to form the compound ‘expert’ (kurôto). The expert is the master of a given way and therefore holds the highest and most magnificent powers in that way. Remove the ‘person’ from this compound, and we are left with gen alone—the highest being in every and all ways. We are, in short, left with God.
Yet human beings cannot fully comprehend the reality of God via the small, individual self. Only when one discards the restricted self and becomes Emptiness (Kuu) itself is it possible to enter deep within the divine spirit of God. Lao Tsu concludes by stating that this Emptiness can be either shallow or deep. Whether shallow or deep, it is, nevertheless, Profound.
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