Chapter 40

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The ultimate source is described via negation as non-existent and not named.

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The movement of the Tao is explicitly described as proceeding by contraries and distinguishing existence from non-existence.

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The emphasis on weakness and non-striving aligns with the practice of radical letting-go of will and grasping.

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The supreme principle is characterized by being unnamed and non-existent, indicating radical concealment.

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

[auto] The Tao is depicted as a singular 'It' without parts from which multiplicity flows.

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text describes a flow where all things spring from the Tao as existing, and that existence springs from the non-existent source.

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

[auto] The Tao is presented as the singular, undivided source from which all things under heaven spring.

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage centrally employs paradox by stating weakness marks mighty deeds and existence springs from non-existence.

The Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena lack independent self-nature; emptiness as the positive recognition that things arise only in dependence on conditions — distinct from kenoma's mere deficiency.

The concept of existence springing from non-existence mirrors the doctrine of emptiness as the positive ground from which things arise.

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The text asserts that all things originate from a single source, implying an underlying ontological unity.

Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting.

[auto] The passage explicitly states that weakness marks the course of Tao's mighty deeds, which is the core definition of effortless action without forcing.