beck

The Formless Way
We look at it, and do not see it; it is invisible.
We listen to it, and do not hear it; it is inaudible.
We touch it, and do not feel it; it is intangible.
These three elude our inquiries, and hence merge into one.

Not by its rising, is it bright,
nor by its sinking, is it dark.
Infinite and eternal, it cannot be defined.
It returns to nothingness.
This is the form of the formless, being in non-being.
It is nebulous and elusive.

Meet it, and you do not see its beginning.
Follow it, and you do not see its end.
Stay with the ancient Way
in order to master what is present.
Knowing the primeval beginning is the essence of the Way.

blakney

They Call it Elusive ...

They call it elusive, and say
That one looks
But it never appears.
They say that indeed it is rare,
Since one listens,
But never a sound.
Subtle, they call it, and say
That one grasps it
But never gets hold.
These three complaints amount
To only one, which is
Beyond all resolution.

At rising, it does not illumine;
At setting, no darkness ensues;
It stretches far back
To that nameless estate
Which existed before the creation.

Describe it as form yet unformed;
As shape that is still without shape;
Or say it is vagueness confused:
One meets it and it has no front;
One follows and there is no rear.

If you hold ever fast
To that most ancient Way,
You may govern today.
Call truly that knowledge
Of primal beginnings
The clue to the Way.

byrn

Look at it, it can't be seen,
is called the invisible.
Listen to it, it can't be heard,
is called the inaudible.
Grasp at it, it can't be touched,
is called the fine formless..
These three elude all solid inquiries
And merge and become one.

Its rising brings no light;
its sinking, no darkness.
Unceasing, continuous,
it can't be defined,
on the way back to where there's nothing.
It's called shape free from shapes;
forms without form;
the image of nothingness.
That's why it's called the elusive;
Go towards them, and you can see no physical front;
go after them, and you see no rear.
Hold on to the dao of old to master the things of the present.
Master what once was, at the start,
It's the essence of rarefied, pearl-stringed dao.

feng

Look, it cannot be seen - it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.

From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

ganson

Looked for it cannot be seen; it is invisible.
Listened for it cannot be heard; it is inaudible.
Reached for it cannot be touched; it is intangible.
These three are beyond analysis; these three are one.

It rises like the sun, but does not illuminate.
It sets like the sun, but does not darken.
Without beginning, without end,
it is infinite, undefinable.

It is the form of the formless;
it is existence in non-existence;
it is the greatest mystery.
Meet it and it has no face;
follow it and it has no back.

Hold close to the ancient Tao
and be master of your present existence.
Knowing the present you mirror the past.
This is the clue to Tao.

gnl

Mystery
Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;
Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what can not occur;
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name silence;
Follow it, it has no back,
Meet it, it has no face.

Attend the present to deal with the past;
Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,
Which is its essence.

hansen

Metaphysical Issues
Look at it and fail to see: its name is 'remote.'
Listen to it and fail to hear: its name is 'diffuse.'
Feel it and fail to get anything: its name is 'subtle.'
This threesome cannot be exhaustively probed for portents.
Hence we blend them and deem them as one.
Its height is not sparkling.
Its depth is not murky.
String-like, it cannot be named.
It reverts to being no natural kind.
This we call the condition of being in no condition; the sign of no natural kind.
This we call 'confused' and 'indistinct.'
Facing it you cannot see its head; Following it you cannot see its rear
If you grasp guiding discourse from ancient times in dealing with today's reality
you can know the ancient beginnings.
This is called a guiding discourse's record.

legge

We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the
Equable.' We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the
Inaudible.' We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we
name it 'the Subtle.' With these three qualities, it cannot be made
the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and
obtain The One.

Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure.
Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again
returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless,
and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and
Indeterminable.

We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see
its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things
of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the
beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao.

mccarroll

Look at it, you cannot see it.
It is invisible.
Listen to it, you cannot hear it.
It is inaudible.
Reach for it, you cannot grasp it.
It is intangible.

These three qualities are unfathomable
and so they fuse together and become one.

The upper part is not bright.
The lower part is not dark.
Ceaselessly the Unnamed moves back to nothingness.
It has the form of the formless,
the image of the imageless.
It is indefinable and shadowy.
Go up to it and you will not see its front.
Follow it and you will not see its back.

Yet, hold fast to this ancient Tao and
you will experience the present now-moment.

Know its beginnings and
you can follow the path of the Tao.

mcdonald

Look for it, and it can't be seen.
Listen for it, and it can't be heard.
Grasp for it, and it can't be caught.
These three cannot be further described,
so we treat them as The One.

Its highest is not bright.
Its depths are not dark.
Unending, unnamable, it returns to nothingness.
Formless forms, and imageless images,
subtle, beyond all understanding.

Approach it and you will not see a beginning;
follow it and there will be no end.
When we grasp the Tao of the ancient ones,
we can use it to direct our life today.
To know the ancient origin of Tao:
this is the beginning of wisdom.

merel

The Continuity of Tao

Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beyond form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beyond sound;
Grasped at but cannot be touched - it is beyond reach;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.

In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what can not exist,
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name mystery,
Meet it, it has no face,
Follow it, it has no back.

Understand the past, but attend the present;
In this way you know the continuity of Tao,
Which is its essence.

merel2

Mystery
Looked at but cannot be seen - it is beneath form;
Listened to but cannot be heard - it is beneath sound;
Held but cannot be touched - it is beneath feeling;
These depthless things evade definition,
And blend into a single mystery.
In its rising there is no light,
In its falling there is no darkness,
A continuous thread beyond description,
Lining what can not occur;
Its form formless,
Its image nothing,
Its name silence;
Follow it, it has no back,
Meet it, it has no face.
Attend the present to deal with the past;
Thus you grasp the continuity of the Way,
Which is its essence.

mitchell

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.

muller

Look for it, it cannot be seen.
It is called the distant.
Listen for it, it cannot be heard.
It is called the rare.
Reach for it, it cannot be gotten.
It is called the subtle.
These three ultimately cannot be fathomed.
Therefore they join to become one.

Its top is not bright;
Its bottom is not dark;
Existing continuously, it cannot be named and it returns to no-thingness.

Thus, it is called the formless form,
The image of no-thing.
This is called the most obscure.

Go to meet it, you cannot see its face.
Follow it, you cannot see its back.

By holding to the ancient Tao
You can manage present existence
And know the primordial beginning.

This is called the very beginning thread of the Tao.

rosenthal

EXPERIENCING THE MYSTERY
The Tao is abstract,
and therefore has no form,
it is neither bright in rising,
nor dark in sinking,
cannot be grasped, and makes no sound.

Without form or image, without existence,
the form of the formless, is beyond defining,
cannot be described,
and is beyond our understanding.
It cannot be called by any name.

Standing before it, it has no beginning;
even when followed, it has no end.
In the now, it exists; to the present apply it,
follow it well, and reach its beginning.