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The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders

(Chapter 1 “Tao Te Ching”)

It's pathetic how we can't live with the things we can't understand.  How we need everything labeled and explained and deconstructed. Even if it's for sure unexplainable.

(Chuck Palahniuk)

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Tao cannot be described in words

Yet, without words Tao is proclaimed

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Tao is not an object or a thing

Yet, naming Tao leads us to think of Tao as such

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Tao cannot be perceived

Yet, it can be observed in all things

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Tao gives rise to all being

Yet, Tao does not itself have being

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The word Tao means “path” or “way”

Yet, Tao is a “pathless way”

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Tao is not God and is not worshipped

Yet, Tao is revered in all Creation

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Tao is both a religion and a philosophy

Yet, Tao is neither

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Tao is not the way from question to answer

Tao is the way from question to further question

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Tao is the way of Nature

Tao is the way of the Shaman

Every time the physicists asked nature a question in an atomic experiment, nature answered with a paradox, and the more they tried to clarify the situation, the sharper the paradoxes became. It took them a long time to accept the fact that these paradoxes belong to the intrinsic structure of atomic physics, and to realize that they arise whenever one attempts to describe atomic events in the traditional terms of physics.

(Fritjof Capra ~ "The Tao of Physics")

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My words are easy to understand
And my actions are easy to perform
Yet no other can understand or perform them.
My words have meaning; my actions have reason;
Yet these cannot be known and I cannot be known.
We are each unique, and therefore valuable;
Though the sage wears coarse clothes, his heart is jade.

(Chapter 70  “Tao Te Ching”)

Lao Tzu is traditionally regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching, (The Canon of the Way of Virtue), the fundamental book of Taoism, though the identity of its author(s) has been debated throughout history. It is even debated if “Lao Tzu” (Old Man) is actually a name or an honorary title meaning “Venerable Master”. Lao Tzu’s association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be considered the founder of Taoism as a system of guidance for developing oneself so as to live in harmony with Tao.  

According to the legendary origin of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu worked as the Keeper of the Archives for the Royal Court of Zhou in China during the 6th century BC. Sickened by the immorality and corruption he found at court and by the unwillingness of men to follow the path to natural goodness, he is said to have left the court and ventured west to live as a hermit in the unsettled frontier. At the western gate of the kingdom, he was recognized by a guard. The sentry asked the old master to produce a record of his wisdom and Lao Tzu is said to have left behind a collection of 81 poems, often paradoxical, which became the Tao Te Ching.

The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten the words?  He is the one I would like to talk to.

(Chuang Tzu ~ “The Book of Chuang Tzu”)

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 Too much colour blinds the eye,
Too much music deafens the ear,
Too much taste dulls the palate,
Too much play maddens the mind,
Too much desire tears the heart.
In this manner the sage cares for people:
He provides for the belly, not for the senses;
He ignores abstraction and holds fast to substance.

(Chapter 12  “Tao Te Ching”)

The Way of the Tao is at the heart of The Way of the Shaman.  It is a way of being; a way of living, not in conformity to the way of man and society, but in the way of Nature and Spirit. In Taoism, the goal is to achieve harmony with the Tao and with this harmony comes awakening and with awakening comes enlightenment. Enlightenment comes in the casting away of the complex thoughts and behaviors we develop during the living of life in response to the illusions of the world.

Enlightenment comes when we accept the plainness of life; when we begin to live in spontaneity and naturalness, living within the Taoist concept of "effortless doing".  We begin to be filled with enlightenment when we become an empty bowl, for it is not the substance of the bowl that is of use, but the emptiness that lies within, into which enlightenment may flow.

Thirty spokes join in one hub
In its emptiness, there is the function of a vehicle

Mix clay to create a container
In its emptiness, there is the function of a container

Cut open doors and windows to create a room
In its emptiness, there is the function of a room

Therefore, that which exists is used to create benefit
That which is empty is used to create functionality

(Chapter 11 “Tao Te Ching”)

Some might say that we are in harmony with Tao when we find ourselves living in a state of sublime bewilderment; open and accepting; without judgment or prejudice, so that ephiphany may enter and lead us from one unfolding mystery to another.

The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.

(Albert Einstein - "The Merging of Spirit and Science")

Additional Links

Tao Te Ching translation by Derek Lin

Tao Te Ching translation by Peter Merel

The Daily Tao

"Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that's why he never understands anything."

(Benjamin Hoff  "The Tao of Pooh")