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Tao Te Ching · 47 of 81 · tr. James Legge

Chapter 47

Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.
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Themes
Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

[auto] The Tao is seen without looking out the window, suggesting it is concealed from ordinary external perception.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] Understanding the Tao of Heaven is described as occurring without external sensory input or travel, indicating direct intuitive knowledge.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] The phrase 'sees the Tao' without looking out suggests an internal vision or illumination independent of physical sight.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] It asserts that one can understand all under the sky without leaving their door, locating cosmic knowledge within the individual.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

Understanding all that takes place under the sky without leaving one's door implies the human interior mirrors the structure of the cosmos.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

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

[auto] The text relies on paradoxical statements such as knowing without travelling and naming things without seeing them to convey wisdom.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The passage explicitly contrasts going out from oneself with gaining knowledge, positioning introspection as the primary path to understanding.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

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

[auto] The ability to know the macrocosm from within the microcosm implies a fundamental non-duality between the self and the universe.

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Wu Weipraxis

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 describes accomplishing ends without purpose or striving, which is the core definition of effortless action aligned with the Dao.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
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