"It is used but never spent."
|
Tao Te Ching — Chapter 6
The Taoist Classic by Lao Tzu
Translated and Explained
6
The valley spirit never dies.
It is called the mystical female.
The entrance to the mystical female
Is called the root of Heaven and Earth.
Though gossamer,
As if barely existing,
It is used but never spent.
The Womb
Lao Tzu allows himself some play with words here.
The Chinese word for valley, ku, can be translated gorge, and
the word for female (of any species) also refers to a deep
gorge. The word for mystical, hsüan, can be translated dark
or deep. So, Lao Tzu describes a dark depth, from the
entrance of which the whole world springs, like a child does from
its mother's womb.
The sign for entrance, also meaning gate or door,
shows a swinging door, just like the one to the saloon in
every Western movie. In the context of this chapter, it's an
image also suggesting the gate to a woman's womb, which is
certainly a birthplace of tremendous significance.
To Lao Tzu, the origin of the world is female, like
a mother of any species. Heaven and Earth are rooted at
the entrance to this womb, but there is a vast depth beneath
the entrance, from which so much more can emerge.
This mother of all is endlessly fertile. She never ceases to
breed and nurture.
This mystical female is Tao, the Way. Again an
intriguing imagery. The way to this primordial female leads
into the dark gorge.
Tao as a mother of all, like the Greek Earth goddess
Gaia, is a returning theme in the Tao Te
Ching. Although ancient China was indeed a patriarchal society, Lao Tzu praised
the traditionally female qualities repeatedly. Since the nature
of Tao resembles the female much more than the male,
so should people behave. Giving instead of taking,
humble instead of proud, yielding instead of forcing, and so on.
This preference must have been very radical in the
days of Lao Tzu. Actually, it still is.
In the last line of this chapter, Lao Tzu leaves the
metaphor of the womb, although he still talks about Tao.
He moves on to another aspect of it, another way of looking
at it. The essence of the Way is as vague and fine as
cobweb, because it's a principle, a natural law, with no substance
of its own. That's why it lasts, no matter how much it is
used. Like a formula.
© Stefan Stenudd.
Tao Te Ching Explained
The 81 Chapters of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
translated and explained by Stefan Stenudd.
My Taoism Books:
The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu translated, and each of the 81 chapters extensively commented.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
More about the book here.
The Ancient Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. 389 quotes from the foremost Taoist classic, divided into 51 prominent topics.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
More about the book here.
Erroneous Tao Te Ching Citations Examined. 90 of the most spread false Lao Tzu quotes, why they are false and where they are really from.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
More about the book here.
My Other Websites:
The 64 hexagrams of the Chinese classic
I Ching and what they mean in divination. Try it online for free.
The ancient Chinese life energy
qi (
chi) explained, with simple instructions on how to exercise it.
The many ancient and modern life force beliefs all over the world explained and compared.
Other Books by Stefan Stenudd:
The Greek philosophers and what they thought about cosmology, myth, and the gods.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
The life energy
qi (also
chi or
ki) explained, with exercises on how to awaken, increase and use it.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
Basic concepts of the peaceful martial art. Aikido principles, philosophy, and fundamental ideas.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
Qi, prana, spirit, ruach, pneuma, and many other life forces around the world explained and compared.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
Freudian theories on myth and religion examined, from Sigmund Freud to Erich Fromm.
Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).
About me
I'm a Swedish author and aikido instructor. In addition to fiction, I've written books about Taoism and other East Asian traditions. I'm also an historian of ideas, researching ancient thought and mythology. Click the image to get to my personal website.