Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 1, as interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992)
Context: The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnameable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
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Leonard Bernstein 17
American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and p… 1918–1990Related quotes
Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 1, as interpreted by Ursula K. LeGuin (1998)
Context: The way you can go
isn't the real way.
The name you can say
isn't the real name.
Heaven and earth
begin in the unnamed:
name's the mother
of the ten thousand things.
So the unwanting soul
sees what's hidden,
and the ever-wanting soul
sees only what it wants.
Two things, one origin,
but different in name,
whose identity is mystery.
Mystery of all mysteries!
The door to the hidden.
1850s, Two Discourses at Friday Communion (August 1851)
“Since I have neither sign nor name
I shall speak only of things unnamed and without sign.”
As quoted in Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew Poems (2001) by Bernard Lewis, p. 119
Context: I shall grasp the soul's skirt with my hand
and stamp on the world's head with my foot.
I shall trample Matter and Space with my horse,
beyond all Being I shall utter a great shout,
and in that moment when I shall be alone with Him,
I shall whisper secrets to all mankind.
Since I have neither sign nor name
I shall speak only of things unnamed and without sign.
“The Taste of the Age”, p. 12
A Sad Heart at the Supermarket: Essays & Fables (1962)
“The purest way to communicate the human condition is through the beauty of music.”
From an interview in “My Favorite Song: Edward W. Hardy of 'The Woodsman'” https://12e3365e-df7a-3f83-6964-dce78c2d6819.filesusr.com/ugd/118bef_84bd82e1c6e1489da21ac1822508662c.pdf NewYork.com (2016 May 13), “‘Why we joined the union’ - Edward W. Hardy” https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/new-members-feb-2020-4/ Allegro Magazine - Local 802 AFM (2020 Feb 4)