Chapter 6 — Forming the image成象
1The spirit of the valley does not die
谷神不死，是謂玄牝。玄牝之門，是謂天地根。緜緜若存，用之不勤。
The spirit of the valley does not die. It is called the dark female. The gate of the dark female is called the root of heaven and earth. Faint and unbroken, it seems to be there. Use it, and it is never used up.
note 6
谷神，谷中央無谷也。無形無影，無逆無違，處卑不動，守靜不衰，谷以之成而不見其形，此至物也。處卑而不可得名，故謂天地之根，緜緜若存，用之不勤。門，玄牝之所由也，本其所由，與極同體，故謂之天地之根也。欲言存邪，則不見其形，欲言亡邪，萬物以之生。故緜緜若存也，無物不成，用而不勞也。故曰，用而不勤也。
The valley spirit (谷神) is that which, in the midst of the valley, is not the valley. It has no form and no shadow, and it neither runs counter to anything nor goes athwart anything. It dwells in the low place and does not move; it keeps to stillness and does not wane. The valley is made by this, yet its form is not seen, and so it is the utmost. Dwelling in the low place, it cannot be given a name, and so it is called the root of heaven and earth; faint and unbroken it seems to be there, and so it is said that use never uses it up. The gate (門) is that by way of which the dark female comes. Taking as root that by way of which it comes, it is one body with the utmost, and so it is called the root of heaven and earth. Try to say that it is there, and its form is not seen; try to say that it is not there, and the ten thousand things come to life by it. And so it is said to be faint and unbroken. There is nothing it does not complete, yet using it costs no toil. And so it is said that use never uses it up.
谷，養也。人能養神則不死也。神，謂五臟之神也。肝藏魂，肺藏魄，心藏神，腎藏精，脾藏志，五臟盡傷，則五神去矣。
The valley (谷) means to nourish. If a person can nourish the spirit (神), they do not die. Spirit here means the spirits of the five viscera (臟). The liver holds the soul (魂), the lungs hold the animal soul (魄), the heart holds the spirit, the kidneys hold the essence (精), and the spleen holds the will; when all five viscera are harmed, the five spirits depart.
言不死之有，在於玄牝。玄，天也，於人為鼻。牝，地也，於人為口。天食人以五氣，從鼻入藏於心。五氣輕微，為精、神、聰、明、音聲五性。其鬼曰魂，魂者雄也，主出入於人鼻，與天通，故鼻為玄也。地食人以五味，從口入藏於胃。五味濁辱，為形、骸、骨、肉、血、脈六情。其鬼曰魄，魄者雌也，主出入於人口，與地通，故口為牝也。
This says that not dying lies in the dark female. The dark (玄) is heaven, and in a person it is the nose. The female (牝) is earth, and in a person it is the mouth. Heaven feeds a person with the five breaths (氣), which enter by the nose and are held in the heart. The five breaths are light and subtle, and they become the five natures: essence, spirit, keen hearing, clear sight, and voice. Its shade is called the soul, and the soul is male; it governs the going in and out by a person's nose and communicates with heaven, and so the nose is the dark. Earth feeds a person with the five flavors, which enter by the mouth and are held in the stomach. The five flavors are turbid and foul, and they become the six feelings: form, frame, bone, flesh, blood, and vessel. Its shade is called the animal soul, and the animal soul is female; it governs the going in and out by a person's mouth and communicates with earth, and so the mouth is the female.
根，元也。言鼻口之門，是乃通天地之元氣所從往來也。
The root means the origin (元). This says that the gate of the nose and the mouth is precisely the road along which the origin-breath of heaven and earth comes and goes.
鼻口呼噏喘息，當綿綿微妙，若可存，復若無有。
When breathing in and out through the nose and the mouth, one should be faint and subtle, seeming to be there and again seeming not to be there.
用氣當寬舒，不當急疾懃勞也。
In using the breath one should be easy and unhurried; one must not be hasty and quick, straining and toiling.