The Taoteching #21

The expression of empty virtue
comes from the Tao alone
the Tao as a thing
waxes and wanes
it waxes and wanes
but inside there is an image
it wanes and waxes
but inside there is a creature
it’s distant and dark
but inside there is an essence
an essence undamentally real
and inside there is a heart
throughout the ages
its name has never changed
so we might follow our fathers
how do we know what our fathers were like
through this

Lao-tzu
from The Taoteching