It
is so clear:
it cannot be seen,
yet is ever-present.
It is so mild:
it seems to have no flavour,
yet is totally refreshing.
It is so light:
it seems insubstantial, yet
is fully satisfying.
So refined? So undefined!
As a philosophical or mystical
concept, the
'properties' or 'powers' of Tao
show a resemblance to those of
'The Philosophers Stone' or 'Universal Solvent' of
alchemy, or to 'The Water of Life' in Christian
symbolism.
These all use the metaphor of a unique and intangible
substance which acts as a catalyst for transformation:
especially of the 'base' into the 'refined', of the fallible
into the perfect, or of the 'earthly' into the 'divine'.
