In various Chinese religions and philosophies, the Tao or Dao[note 1] is the natural way
of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential
for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, religion,
and related traditions. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it
is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. Its name derives from a Chinese
character with meanings including 'way', 'path', 'road', and sometimes 'doctrine' or'principle'.[1]
In the Tao Te Ching, Laozi explains that the Tao is not a name for a thing, but the
underlying natural order of the universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe
because it is non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. The Tao is "eternally
nameless" and should be distinguished from the countless named things that are considered to be its
manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it.