Tao Te Ching · Chapter
XXV explained
This chapter describes the Tao as an undefined, complete, and formless entity that existed before Heaven and Earth.
What happens
This chapter describes the Tao as an undefined, complete, and formless entity that existed before Heaven and Earth. It is still, unchanging, and omnipresent, serving as the Mother of all things. The Tao is named 'Great' and is characterized by a cycle of passing on, becoming remote, and returning. The chapter establishes the Tao, Heaven, Earth, and the sage king as the four great things in the universe, with each taking its law from the preceding, culminating in the Tao's law being its own nature.
Themes in this chapter
The Tao as the Ultimate Principle
The chapter explicitly describes the Tao as the undefined, complete source of all things, existing before Heaven and Earth and serving as the Mother of all.
Return to Origins and Stillness
The Tao's cycle of passing on, becoming remote, and returning emphasizes the concept of returning to the origin, a key aspect of stillness and the natural order.
Characters to notice
- Laozi
Attributed author of the Tao Te Ching, presenting the Tao as the primordial and ultimate principle.
Key passages
“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.”
Before the universe existed, there was a formless, perfect entity—silent, solitary, unchanging, and omnipresent. This entity is the source from which all things arise.
This passage introduces the Tao as the primordial, undifferentiated ground of being, emphasizing its stillness and completeness.
“Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is.”
Human conduct follows the patterns of the Earth; the Earth follows the patterns of Heaven; Heaven follows the patterns of the Tao. The Tao's only pattern is its own intrinsic nature.
This hierarchy illustrates the natural order, with the Tao as the ultimate source of all law and the principle of spontaneity.