Verse 14: Tao Te Ching

by Lao Tzu

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.

~ Lao Tzu, Translation by Stephen Mitchell

The Tao Te Ching has many translations. Verse number 14 was one of the favorites of Dick Price, Esalen Institute's Co-founder. He often referred to the Tao Te Ching to inform his development of Gestalt Practice and his leadership of Esalen Institute. While this particular translation was done after his death, it captures the essence of this verse.

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