Commentary on the Tao Te Ching (6): The Valley Spirit never dies; this is called the Mysterious Female. The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of heaven and earth. Continuous and enduring, it seems to exist; using it, it never fails.

Original Text: The Valley Spirit never dies; this is called the Mysterious Female. The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of heaven and earth. Continuous and enduring, it seems to exist; using it, it never fails.

Explanation: Like water flowing from a stream valley, drawing from it can produce all things, never perishing, just like the maternal nature that nurtures all things. This gateway is precisely the root of heaven and earth, its resonance lingering and continuous, lasting long without interruption.

What is the Mysterious Female? It is the Mysterious Gate. As it is said: “The empty single aperture is called the Mysterious Gate, located between the heaven and earth of the human body,” and it is also called the “Empty Cave.” Patriarch Xue Daoguang said: “Only the primordial chaotic true unified qi of the pre-heaven is produced within the two substances.” One Mysterious and one Female are called the two substances; the Mysterious does not depart, the aperture is the gate. It is called the gate because it has opening and closing.

Some say: Concentrate the spirit into the qi cavity.

If the Mysterious Gate is not obtained, and its location is unknown, where does one concentrate the spirit? This statement does not refer to the initial practice, and one must not confuse it.

Some say: Between the kidneys and the heart, a hollow place.

The body is transformed by the post-heaven; where is the pre-heaven stored? The movement between the kidneys is merely a point of primordial yang within. This point of primordial yang is sufficient to strengthen the body, but without the Mysterious Gate, there is ultimately no pre-heaven qi. The primordial yang is consumed, and human life reaches its end. Those with exceptional natural gifts can achieve success through cultivation relying on some resources, but most in the world are flawed; how can they achieve success based on this?

Some say: Between the two eyes.

The heart is the residence; although it is said that the eyes are the sun and moon, and yin and yang combine, where is the heart placed?

Some say: An aperture in the brain.

The “Ling Shu · Meridians” states: “When humans are first born, essence is formed first; when essence is formed, brain and marrow are born.” The brain is originally a post-heaven thing, and the essence generated from it is also a post-heaven thing. Can this thing be called the Mysterious Gate?

The Yin Fu Jing states: “The evil of the nine apertures lies in the three essentials, which can determine movement and stillness.” If the three essentials are not obtained, how can there be movement and stillness? If there is no movement and stillness, with the nine stars above and the nine apertures below, how can one rely on them?

Therefore, to understand the Mysterious Gate, one must first understand the “Mysterious.” The meaning of “Mysterious” has been discussed in previous chapters, but in human cultivation, what is the constant that remains unchanged?

“When emptiness is extreme and stillness is profound, the self-body disappears, and one only feels the profound darkness, merging with heaven and earth, while spirit and qi brew within. This is the most wondrous place of cultivation, hence it is called the Mysterious Gate, the single aperture.”

The “Zhong He Ji” states: “As for the Mysterious Gate, the single aperture... From the top of the head to the heels, the four great elements and the whole body, if even one part is attached to, it is not correct; nor can it be sought outside this body.”

The previous chapter said “It is better to guard the middle,” but where is this middle? It is the place where spirit and qi brew. However, this place is not on one's own body, so what connection does it have with oneself?

Although it is not one's own body, one can still perceive it. This is because it is connected to the pre-heaven. Thus, even though one has no body, one can obtain an aperture in the void.

When this aperture is seen, there will be verification. It is said: “A thunderclap north and south of the mountain.” This is similar to the saying: “The Tao is empty, yet using it, it may not be full.”

Once this aperture is obtained, it is obtained forever. Its breath is continuous and seems to exist; using it, it never fails and never becomes lazy. The pre-heaven qi slowly emerges from the middle, transforming into all things, misty and ethereal, like the hot air from a hot spring, rising steadily, reaching the Three Heavens directly. However, the Three Heavens are nothing more than Kunlun, which is also a symbol of Qian.

What incense burners are there in the world? This is merely using incense to replace qi, imitating this qi by the rising smoke. Thus, in ancient sacrificial rites, incense was often used as firewood, with smoke rising to the sky, burning to imitate the image. However, the result of this method is also post-heaven, hence the illusion of incense and fire transforms to form the dharma realm.

If the aperture is opened, there will be verification.

How is the verification? Internal cultivation forms the elixir; external use forms the method. This single qi of the pre-heaven can transform all things. It should be applied with method. If it can transform, it is correct; if it cannot, it is incorrect. It can distinguish yin and yang, transform into the Four Symbols, and form the Eight Trigrams, governed by the Five Elements, circulating through the whole body, following wherever the Thunder Gate points.

There is another verification: Only this aperture is where the six roots do not touch the ground, and where the five elements do not reach. If the spirit is stored in the aperture, then a hundred evils are not feared, and ten thousand evils do not invade. It cannot be grasped, and it cannot be deduced. Although fate encounters disasters and tribulations, they can be avoided, having a verification that deceives heaven.

There is yet another verification: Those who obtain this aperture, when they move it, exhale to create life qi, and inhale to create killing qi. One life and one killing, generating life and killing for all things. Applied to people, all diseases recede. Borrowed for talismans, no talisman is ineffective. There is no need to rely on supernatural or ghostly explanations, nor the practice of incense, fire, and soldiers. All spirits in the world, if I say they exist, they must exist even if they are not, and they all compete to respond. Hence it is called the “Primordial Decree.”

Discussing this aperture in detail, although it can be obtained once and forever, it has divisions of opening and closing. There are those who open it, those who close it, and even those who are half-open and half-closed. However, in daily walking, lying, sitting, and living, continuous non-interruption serves as opening, intermittent existence serves as half-opening, and not coming forth during quiet meditation serves as closing.

Only when it is constantly open, continuous and uninterrupted, can one practice without practicing, and cultivate without cultivating. Only then is it called “Transforming without action.”

Therefore, even upon obtaining it, there are divisions in the depth of merit and practice. Knowing this makes it clear.

The Mysterious Gate, the single aperture, is a profound principle. It is the root of heaven and earth. I, the humble and dull one, have not yet fully awakened to its deep principles. I only know the principles of cultivation, but do not know how to argue it mathematically, nor how to attract it with objects outside the human body. Hence, this chapter only speaks of cultivation and nothing else.

Only knowing that in ancient times, the way of external elixirs only required gathering herbs and refining the elixir, because the medicinal materials received the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and existed for hundreds or thousands of years, one could refine the single qi of the pre-heaven. Following this with qi guidance and leading, one would naturally achieve success. However, the environment of the modern world is polluted, and most spiritual herbs and medicinal materials are even harder to find. Those who refine elixirs are also rare, making it extremely difficult.

In the modern world, cultivators can only cultivate through the Mysterious Aperture, using their own bodies as medicinal fields, planting and obtaining medicine to gather it. Then, establishing the furnace and tripod, refining internally to achieve success, replacing the way of external elixirs. Although it requires more effort, it can ultimately be achieved.