Dao De Jing: Chapter 1

source:
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation
by Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall

Way-making (dao) that can be put into words is not really way-making,
And naming (ming) that can be assigned fixed reference to things is not really naming.

The nameless (wuming) is the fetal beginnings of everything that is happening (wanwu),
While that which is named is their mother.

Thus, to be really objectless in one's desires (wuyu) is how one observes the mysteries of all things,
While really having desires is how one observes their boundaries.

These two--the nameless and what is named--emerge from the same source yet are referred to differently.

Together they are called obscure.
The obscurest of obscure,
They are the swinging gateway of the manifold mysteries.