The 1st Verse

Tao Te Ching, 1st Verse

The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal name.

The Tao is both named and nameless.
As nameless it is the origin of all things;
as named it is the Mother of 10,000 things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery;
ever desiring, one sees only the manifestations.
And the mystery itself is the doorway
to all understanding.

On Saturday, I got a tattoo on the upper right part of my back.

I've been planning on getting a tattoo and have been thinking about what to get most of the summer.

Quite obviously, tattoos are a permanent mark on a person's body. So I wanted to get a tattoo that would stand the test of time.

I've had an interest in eastern religion and philosophy since my freshman year in college but I only recently finished reading the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

Written over 2,500 years ago, it is a work of 81 verses that describes a way to live a balanced, moral and content life.

The Tao has been translated as the way or the path but it is best described by the paradoxical verses of the Tao Te Ching.

After I finished reading the Tao Te Ching, I knew that I wanted this to be my tattoo.

I played around with the idea of doing the Chinese symbol for the Tao but decided against it after thinking how cliche Chinese tattoos have become. Also, I use English to communicate and not Chinese so why wouldn't I want to communicate the idea of the Tao in my own language anyway.

Plus, I found the simplicity of the three letters "T-A-O" to exemplify much of what Taoism is about.

The font I chose to use for my tattoo is Baskerville. It was designed by John Baskerville in 1757. As a traditional serif font, I figured it had stood the test of time so far and it wasn't a trendy font that might look silly later in life.

I played around with the letters in Photoshop because the "o" seemed too separated from the "a". I simply brought the "o" a little bit closer to the "a" and I think it made the word a little bit more cohesive.

At a later time, I hope to blog more about Taoism and explain my reasons for connecting with the writings of Lao Tzu. But for now, I'm going to use someone else's words to explain why I got my tattoo.

The author of the following text also got a Tao tattoo:

"To remind me to keep my chin up.

To remind me not to sweat the small stuff.

To remind me to live in accordance with the nature of things.

To remind me to stay balanced.

To remind me to decrease my wants.

To remind me to indulge myself every now and then.

To remind me that everything is as it should be.

To remind me to stop comparing myself to others.

To remind me not to use force against the world, and embrace the way of the universe.

To remind me to follow my own nature, and not the trappings of life.

To remind me to have no claims to life.

To remind me to be spontaneous, deliberate, watchful, reverent, humble, pure, and accepting."

To remind me to....

Enjoy the ride,
DAMM