道 可道也 非恆道也
[dao4] [ke3] [dao4] [ye3] [fei1] [heng2] [dao4] [ye3]
The Dao which can be described, is not the Unchanging Dao
道可道，非常道。
[dao4] [ke3] [dao4]， [fei1] [chang2] [dao4]。
The Dao which can be described, is not the Unchanging Dao
The first version uses a different literary construction in order to explain the same concept. Basically, the phrase “道 可道也 非恆道也” boils down to expressing that there is the Dao (which is the way, or, the path or way which can be made), but any Dao which can be expressed, is not the Unchanging Dao (or basically, any Dao which can be expressed is not the actual Dao). The Dao is something indescribable (but something which can be alluded to or else this entire work would contradict what it sets out explaining). The very act of describing the Dao renders whatever is being described as something no longer in touch with the true Dao. Even though it seems easy to say that we contradicted this assertion by saying that we described the Dao by attributing these things to it, we are basically saying what the Dao is not rather than what it is. If we say “[The location of] France is not in Canada,” we have done nothing to describe France except describe what it is explicitly not.
道 is typically translated as either “The Way” or “Dao” since the concept doesn’t really translate well. 道 describes a path or way, but the 道德经 works to describe the Way (of life or existence) by basically cutting off what it’s not and pointing out a rough direction for one to make their own way and stumble upon the true meaning of the Dao.
恆(恒) = 常.
名 可名也 非恆名也
[ming2] [ke3] [ming2] [ye3] [fei1] [heng2] [ming2] [ye3]
A Name which can be named, is not the Unchanging Name
名可名，非常名。
[ming2] [ke3] [ming2] ， [fei1] [chang2] [ming2] 。
A Name which can be named, is not the Unchanging Name
This is a parallel construction with the above. This is a bit of an awkward construction as rendered in English, but we get that something which is capable of being named in a fixed way is not really truly naming something. This is basically saying that even though we can attach a reference or a name to something, we still are only describing it in a rough way without true knowledge of the thing. If we say “I have a bottle,” we really haven’t described the “bottle” we have, just the general concept. The name is useless in truly describing the thing unless the experience and understanding is shared.
無名 萬物之始也
[wu2] [ming2] [wan4] [wu4] [zhi1] [shi3] [ye3]
From the Nameless, the Ten Thousand Things spring forth
無名，天地之始﹔
[wu2] [ming2]， [tian1] [di4] [zhi1] [shi3]﹔
From the Nameless, Heaven and Earth spring forth
This is the first spot where the texts really diverge, though they still end up saying roughly the same thing, just differently. The Nameless is also that which cannot be named, that which is ephemeral. Everything springs out of an abstract, conceptual nothingness. The concept of the Ten Thousand Things is basically a way to describe everything which happens or exists (I would argue that state and action are a bit hard to divorce from each other at this point). The second version uses Heaven and Earth which fits the same narrative, but in a different way, since what are the cosmos without both actions and agents?
有名 萬物之母也
[you3] [ming2] [wan4] [wu4] [zhi1] [mu3] [ye3]
The Named is the mother to the Ten Thousand Things
有名，萬物之母。
[you3] [ming2]， [wan4] [wu4] [zhi1] [mu3]。
The Named is the mother to the Ten Thousand Things
In the previous section, we had the Ten Thousand Things spring forth, and the act of naming and categorizing and the act of being named and categorized gives them shape and “mothers” them. Chinese (in general from literary Chinese to modern dialects) doesn’t really have a clear-cut distinction between nouns and verbs, so this section is a bit awkward in English. I always took this as a more active phrase that the act of naming mothers creation and defines existence. Existence sprang forth from namelessness and through categorization and naming became defined.
故恆无欲也 以觀其眇
[gu4] [heng2] [wu2] [yu4] [ye3] [yi3] [guan1] [qi2] [miao3]
Thus, by ceasing desire, one may observe the mysteries [of everything]
故常無欲，以觀其妙；
[gu4] [chang2] [wu2] [yu4]， [yi3] [guan1] [qi2] [miao4]；
Thus, by ceasing desire, one may observe the mysteries [of everything]
恆有欲也以觀其所徼
[heng2] [you3] [yu4] [ye3] [yi3] [guan1] [qi2] [suo3] [jiao4]
Continuously having desires is how one observes the boundaries
常有欲，以觀其徼。
[chang2] [you3] [yu4]， [yi3] [guan1] [qi2] [jiao4]。
Continuously having desires is how one observes the boundaries
Much as the act of naming causes a change in the nature of existence, desire causes a change in the nature of observation. By not having any desire in the outcome, you see the mystery behind the process without it being tainted by your own desires. By having desires, only the boundaries (limitations or end) of the process is noted. The act of desire or wanting causes the observation to have a focus, and by having a specific focus, only a piece of the picture is noted and the subtle mysteries fade out of view.
眇 = 妙
兩者同出 異名同謂
[liang3] [zhe3] [tong2] [chu1] [yi4] [ming2] [tong2] [wei4]
These two [the Named and the Nameless] come from the same [source], but are different names for the same thing
此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。
[ci3] [liang3] [zhe3] ， [tong2] [chu1] [er2] [yi4] [ming2] ， [tong2] [wei4] [zhi1] [xuan2] 。
The two [the Named and the Nameless] come from the same [source] but are differently named, and call the same mystery
This section diverges, but I am not sure if it is an omission to change the meaning, or to make the meter a bit better as the implication of the original statement is spelled out in the following section. The previous description of the Nameless and the Named also contribute to this section as well. The Nameless is the origin, but the Named is the mother; one creates and one maintains. It then goes to follow that as all actions and events of the Ten Thousand Things rely on both the Named and the Nameless, then they are entwined as having a name or being nameless are opposites which define one another.
玄之有玄 眾眇之門
[xuan2] [zhi1] [you3] [xuan2] [zhong4] [miao3] [zhi1] [men2]
[They are] darker than that darkest [alternatively: More mysterious than the most mysterious, obscurer than the obscurest, etc.]; the door to all mystery
玄之又玄，眾妙之門。
[xuan2] [zhi1] [you4] [xuan2] ， [zhong4] [miao4] [zhi1] [men2] 。
[They are] darker than that darkest [alternatively: More mysterious than the most mysterious, obscurer than the obscurest, etc.]; the door to all mystery
This last section sets up a construction that they are more obscure than the most obscure using a word in Chinese which has multiple similar meanings. The word itself is more in line with dark when commonly used, but any of the alternatives or it work as well here. These two forces are near unknowable as they are so mysterious and hard to comprehend, but they are the gateway to all the mysteries of the universe. By understanding that these primal processes give rise and give shape to existence, one can understand the universe itself.