–Livia Kohn Taoist Mystical Philosophy

The Tao originally is free from speech. Only in relation to beings does language develop. The Tao is originally free from action. Only in relation to beings does behaviour develop. (13.7)

Language here stands for the discriminating classifications of consciousness, just as action refers to intentional, artificial, man-made activity. Its opposite is found in non-knowledge, unknowing, and no-mind. The spontaneity of the innermost human psyche is beyond language. Only in freedom from language can human beings be close to the Tao. The more one turns away from language, the more one approaches the Tao.