Tao of the Day

Tao of the Day

Your Daily Dose of Taoism

 
«
»

40. Return is the motion of the Tao

Return is the motion of the Tao.
Softening is its function.
All things in the cosmos arise from being.
Being arises from non-being.

Share This Post

May 13th, 2007 | Category: Daily Tao | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL

One Response to “40. Return is the motion of the Tao”

  1. 1
    Dr_Arcane:
    May 13th, 2007 at 11:08 am

    I think that must be the shortest of all the chapters, so I’ll add a little extra here… My thoughts on it.

    > Return is the motion of the Tao.
    > Softening is its function.

    This reminds me of a recent discussion about rocks in a stream or in the ocean. As the water breaks over the rocks, the rocks become “softened.” This is the function of water.

    > All things in the cosmos arise from being.

    Obviously all things that we can see and touch have being.

    > Being arises from non-being.

    This is the sticky point. I’ve spent a good deal of time lately reading about epistemology (how we make meaning). Some people think language makes meaning. That is a thing could exist, but until we make language to describe it, people don’t notice it.

Leave a Reply

Sign Up

Google Groups
Subscribe to Tao of the Day
Email:
Visit this group

Additional Info

Tao of the Day is a site for all things related to the Tao (also spelled Dao). We'll cover the entire Tao Te Ching several times each year, with one chapter being the center of attention each day. You can always comment on past days, but let's try to keep it flowing as the days progress.

Meta