Each of these three is subtle for description.
By intuition you can see it,
hear it,
and feel it.
Then the unseen,
unheard,
and untouched
are present as one.
Its rising brings no dawn,
its setting no darkness;
it goes on and on, unnameable,
returning into nothingness.
Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You cannot know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Discovering how things have always been
brings one into harmony with the Way.
Living Beyond Form
Try to imagine the idea of forever: that which has never changed, that which has no beginning or end. It cannot be seen, heard, or touched . . . but you know it is and always has been. Think of that which even now, in this very moment as you read these words, is the very understanding that’s within you—that essence that permeates you and everything else, yet always eludes your grasp.
This primordial principle has ruled—and still rules—all beings; all that is or has ever been is a result of its unfolding. Lao-tzu insists that you become aware of this amorphous precept by not relying upon your senses to experience this oneness. In the opening of this verse, you’re urged to see without eyes, hear without ears, and hold without touching; these three ways of living beyond form need to be a part of your awareness. These shapeless realms merge into the one world of spirit (the Tao), which creates and rules all life. You’re being encouraged to live with a total awareness of this all-encompassing principle.
Some scholars have singled out this 14th verse of the Tao Te Ching as the most significant of all its 81 offerings because it stresses the significance of the single principle that’s the underpinning of all existence. Tapping into this invisible, untouchable, immeasurable force will enable you to gain the harmony that comes with being connected to the oneness, and harmony is your ultimate objective in deciding to live an “in-Spirited” life. You want to learn to abandon your ego—which identifies with the world of things, possessions, and achievements—and reenter the placeless place from which you and all others originated. By doing so you regain the mystical, almost magical powers of your eternal Source of being. Here, you live beyond the world of form.
When you live exclusively “in-form,” you concentrate on accumulating “in-form-ation.” This 14th verse of the Tao calls for you to immerse yourself in inspiration rather than information, to become at one with that which has always been. And as this verse of the Tao concludes so insightfully, “Discovering how things have always been brings one into harmony with the Way.”
The Way has no conflict in it. How could it? There is only the oneness that is a blend of the invisible, inaudible, and intangible. Imagine a world where conflict is impossible, where Lao-tzu says that there is no darkness or light. The nameless Source that has always been gives only the peace and harmony you desire, so recognize this infinite oneness and keep it in your awareness. You’ll know that the Way is simply the Way when you stop questioning why things have been as they have! Free of the fears that attend sole identification with this world of form, you can embrace your infinite nature. That is, you can love your foreverness, rather than dread that life ends with the death of your body. You, your body, and all of life are the result of the unwinding of this eternity.
Here’s what Lao-tzu is relating in this 14th verse of the Tao Te Ching from his 2,500-year-old perspective:
Use the technique of walking meditation to obtain knowledge of the absolute.
Stay in a persistent state of awareness of the eternal principle that animates all of life. By seeing the unfolding of God in everyone you encounter—and in all of your identification with your ego-based world—you’ll come to be more like Him, and less like that which has tarnished your link to Him. This is the alignment that will bring you back into balance and restore the harmony that is your true egoless nature.
Improve your vision by looking beyond what your eyes see.
Whatever you gaze upon, ask yourself, What is the true essence of what my eyes reveal to me? Wonder about that magical something that awakens a tree in the springtime and places blossoms where frozen limbs existed only a few weeks before. Inquire, What is the energy behind the creation of that mosquito—or behind my every thought, for that matter? Do the same thing with everything you hear as well. Those sounds emerge from, and return to, a silent world—improve your hearing by listening for the “quiet sounds.”
Awe and gratitude will grow when you embrace this forever principle. But even greater than this, you’ll awaken to new possibilities that include your own Divine magnificence. Your mind will free itself from a false identification with the transitory world, and you’ll see the eternal in all things. Yes, Lao-tzu tells you, you’ll transform your life by being in-Spirit. It is here that you will recognize what Rumi poetically offered some 1,500 years after Lao-tzu’s powerful words:
Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing, those which average eyes would see as fixed and still.
I urge you to see the dance of “how things have always been” in the unseen, unheard, and untouched present.
Do the Tao Now
Take note of as much invisibleness as you can when gazing at a tree, a distant star, a mountain, a cloud, or anything else in the natural world. Embrace the principle that allows it to be, and then turn it inward and do the same
