The Dao’s flaw, seen through the lens of “inclusive,” is that its reverence for what-is can quietly license what-should-not-be. By naming the spontaneous “natural,” it risks branding every asymmetry—patriarchy, poverty, prejudice—as a self-righting wave in the great flow, thereby absolving us from the work of deliberate redress. Inclusivity, in contrast, insists that some currents must be dammed, some voices amplified, some structures dismantled; it refuses to wait for the dialectic to finish its slow circle while the vulnerable drown. The Dao’s impartial “ten thousand things” becomes, under inclusive scrutiny, a polite indistinguishability that erases the difference between a sunset and a pogrom. To be truly inclusive we must sometimes stand against the Way, intervening, correcting, even violating its non-interference so that more beings may actually reach the shore.
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Describe the 'Dao' in one word.
Please describe 'Dao' in one word. Also, consider: in what aspects does your chosen word fail to fully express the 'Dao'?
“用一个词描述‘道’。同时思考：你的这个词，在哪些方面无法完全表达‘道’？
312 回复
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"Vitality" emphasizes germinating, creating and being active. But the operation of Tao is a complete cycle, which also includes decline, dissolution, silence and return. "Against the movement of Tao", the movement of Tao just emphasizes the return to the source. Fallen leaves return to their roots, the flesh decays, and the dynasty overturns. These seemingly negative aspects of "vitality" are also the embodiment of "Tao"-that is, "Tao" is completing a cycle and making room for new "vitality". Talking only about "vitality" is easy to make people only see "life" and ignore "death".
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flow
“Flow” is still a rather experiential concept: we can easily imagine water flow, air flow, data flow—all are concrete “phenomena.”
But the Dao is not merely “a kind of flowing”; it is rather:
The “fundamental principle” and “ontological ground” that makes all flowing possible in the first place.
Therefore, “flow” remains confined to the level of “movement within phenomena,” and it is hardly able to express the Dao’s character as both:
the source of all phenomena, and that which transcends all phenomena. -
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Unknowing (or Unknowability).
This fails because:1. Prescriptive Nature - While the Dao is beyond full intellectual comprehension, it is not merely an absence of knowledge. It is also the positive source and guiding pattern (De) of all existence, implying a knowable aspect in its manifestations.2. Practical Guidance - The word "Unknowing" fails to capture the Dao's role as a practical, actionable principle for living (wuwei, naturalness, simplicity) that forms the core of Daoist practice and ethics.
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Permanence, permanence captures Tao’s eternity but fails to reflect its dynamic balance of change and constancy and its inexpressible transcendence beyond definition.
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Translation: "Way"
This translation falls short because "Way" primarily suggests a path, method, or manner, while the Chinese concept of "Dao" (道) encompasses not only a way or path but also the ultimate, ineffable principle of the universe, the source of all existence, and the natural order that cannot be fully captured by language. Additionally, "Dao" carries profound spiritual, metaphysical, and ethical dimensions in Daoist philosophy that the English word "Way" lacks in cultural and philosophical resonance.
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