Something formless, complete in itself There before Heaven and Earth Tranquil, vast, standing alone, unchanging It provides for all things yet cannot be exhausted It is the mother of the universe I do not know its name so I call it "Tao" Forced to name it further I call it "The greatness of all things" "The end of all endings" I call it "That which is beyond the beyond" "That to which all things return"
From Tao comes all greatness— It makes Heaven great It makes Earth great It makes man great
Mankind depends on the laws of Earth Earth depends on the laws of Heaven Heaven depends on the laws of Tao But Tao depends on itself alone Supremely free, self-so, it rests in its own nature