"Tao called Tao is not Tao. Names can name no lasting name. Namless: the origin of heaven and earth. Naming: the mother of ten thousand things. Empty of desire, perceive mystery. Full of desire, perceive manifestations. These have the same source, but different names. Call them both deep- deep and again deep: The gateway to all mystery" (1). In studying for the midterm, I chose to memorize the first ten lines of Tao Te Ching. I decided on these lines not only because they were on the first page, nor because they are a complete thought that only use ten lines, but because I believe Lao-Tzu explains the essence of Tao in these lines. The theme of names runs rampant throughout his philosophies. Names are not lasting. They are not the real essence of a person or thing. In the introduction, Burton Watson says, "Tao lies beyond the power of language to describe..."(xiii). On August 8th, a headline in the news caught my attention. A New Zealand couple wanted to name their child "4real" but were denied because the government sanctioned that names could not start with a number. In rebellion, the couple decided to name their child "Superman" instead. Does it matter what a person's name is? According to Lao-Tzu, names are irrelevent in this lifetime.