 Tao ( Chinese : 道 ; pinyin : dào ) literally means " way " , but can also be interpreted as road , channel , path , doctrine , or line . In Taoism , it is " the One , which is natural , spontaneous , eternal , nameless , and indescribable . It is at once the beginning of all things and the way in which all things pursue their course . " It has variously been denoted as the " flow of the universe " , a " conceptually necessary ontological ground " , or a demonstration of nature . The Tao also is something that individuals can find immanent in themselves . 
