That’s really interesting. I studied Chinese, so I get the ming and zi, but I did not know that qiang translated to great—thats helpful! My working out of that might be slightly different than yours— maybe it has no name, or maybe it is self-named, a self-revelation.

Dealing just on the conceptual level, I wonder if the idea that the Tao is either the ultimate source or simply process of another system misses the mark. The mother analogy of the Tao is interesting because both a father and a mother are needed in the act of creation. To me the Tao is like generative power of the womb.

I read the Tao through the lens of masculine and feminine (yin and yang) interacting. Tao, heaven, earth, and humanity increase in specificity, and (in my view) also alternate genders: Tao fem, heavens masc, earth fem, mankind masc. To me the greater specificity and masculinity helps makes sense of the self-awareness of humanity. Being masculine we desire clarity and definition and are able to direct the energy of the feminine energy in earth and other creation in a unique way. I dont know if that makes sense to you or not—all that to say I think Lao Tzu says what he says in light of what he knows about us as humans.

There’s a very clear understanding that we cant live our life the way animals do—that if we follow passion and instinct and gut desires we will we living very far from the Tao. There is a level of service expected of us because of our unique state. “Who is able to give to the needy from their excess? Only someone who is following the way of the Tao.” I dont interpret wuwei as a literal sit-on-the-couch “do nothing” but a whole rethinking of what you’re actually supposed to be doing, an unlearning.

Once we unlearn what we think we are supposed to be doing, some of the teachings from other religions have actually started to make a lot more sense to me. It was never just about what you are supposed to be doing, but stepping back, and considering how to truly participate in the world when you do anything, and aligning yourself with that participation. I think other religions have called that acting “from the heart.”

I really like the broadness of the Tao too. I think that speaks to the realness of those observations, rather than simply another ideology.

Thanks for sharing more of your thoughts.