The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

The Tao [Way] that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;The name that can be named is not the eternal name.The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;The Named is the mother of all things.Therefore, let there always be non-being, so we may see their subtlety,And let there always be being, so we may see their outcome.The two are the same,But after they are produced, they have different names.They both may be called deep and profound.Deeper and more profound,The door of all subtleties!

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.

The sage does not hoard. Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more; having given all he has to others, he is richer still.

The well-run group is not a battlefield of egos.

There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name; I call it Tao.