This chapter unravels the ontology of the Dao, with Laozi proposing the four great entities: “Dao,” “Heaven,” “Earth,” and “Human.”
There was something undefined and complete, coming into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in no danger (of being exhausted)! It may be regarded as the Mother of all things.
I do not know its name, and I give it the designation of the Dao (the Way or Course). Making an effort (further) to give it a name I call it The Great.
Great, it passes on (in constant flow). Passing on, it becomes remote. Having become remote, it returns. Therefore the Dao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; and the (sage) king is also great. In the universe there are four that are great, and the (sage) king is one of them.
Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Dao. The law of the Dao is its being what it is.
Note
The Ontology of the Dao
- Silent and formless;
- Mother of the cosmos: An undifferentiated and complete existence preceded the birth of Heaven and Earth;
- The Dao is an undivided totality, not a synthesis of parts;
- Cyclical motion.
Among the four great entities—”Dao,” “Human,” “Heaven,” and “Earth”—the Dao holds the highest position: Dao > Earth > Heaven > Human.
Humanity finds its purpose by “emulating Earth, Earth emulates Heaven, and Heaven emulates the Dao”.
Further Reading
Chapter Twenty-Five’s statement, “There was something formless and complete, born before heaven and earth,” and Chapter Fourteen’s description, “Look for it, and it cannot be seen – we call it ‘formless’; listen for it, and it cannot be heard – we call it ‘soundless’; grasp for it, and it cannot be held – we call it ‘intangible,’” together construct the ontological portrayal of the Dao. Both chapters characterize the Dao as “indistinct and vague” or “formless and complete,” depicting its imageless and transcendent nature beyond sensory perception, and emphasizing its role as the origin of all things in the universe.
有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，獨立不改，周行而不殆，可以為天下母。吾不知其名，字之曰道，強為之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰遠，遠曰反。故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。域中有四大，而王居其一焉。人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。
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