Lao Tzu, Chapter 6
Author: [Pre-Qin] Li Er
Ceres is immortal[1], which is called Xuanmu[2]. The Gate of Xuanmu[3] is the root of heaven and earth[4]. If it survives[5], it is not used diligently[6].
Exegesis:
[1] Ceres: Too vain. The metaphor of the “Tao”. “Zhuangzi Zhibei Tour” has the saying “don’t swim too empty”. Valley: Valley, used here as virtual. “Dai Li Ji Yi Benmei” recorded: “The hills are oysters, and the valleys are Mu.” [2] It is predicate: that is, “predicate is”, meaning to call this. Xuanmu: The mother and female who created all things, referring to the “Tao”. Xuan: Deep, mysterious. Mu: Female, female. [3] Phylum: vagina, genitals. It refers to the infinite creative power of the Tao. [4] Root: root, origin. [5] Mianmian: A fine and continuous appearance. “Warring States Policy Wei Ce I” recorded: “Book of Zhou” said: “Endless, what is the vine helping?” Without a centimeter, an axe will be used. [6] Diligent: exhaustive, exhausted. “Huainanzi Original Daoist Training” says: “Xuanxian (as ‘mian’) cannot be investigated, and it is subtle and industrious. Gao lured and said: “County, Judah is also small; Diligent, diligent. “In the Shu and Han Jian Scripts, this chapter is combined with the seventh chapter of the Chuanshi Book.
Comments:
This chapter focuses on the characteristics and virtues of the “Ceres” and “Xuanmu”. This chapter is to the effect that the infinite god of vain is eternal, and it is called mysterious motherhood. Mysterious motherhood, which can be called the root of heaven and earth. The mysterious motherhood is delicate and weak, as if it were something ordinary, but its fertility is endless.
The book “Lao Tzu” does not talk about historical figures, does not talk about historical events, likes to use metaphors to refer to “Dao”, and likes to resort to symbols to say “Dao”. Take “Dao” as the god of ceres, and “Dao” as the Xuanmu. “Ceres” is “Great Valley” and “Okawa Valley”, empty and capable, containing rivers and forests. Xuanmu is a great mother and female, it can give birth to everything, it can give birth to nature.
Ordinary people celebrate fullness, extoll possession and practicality; Lao Tzu celebrates emptiness, praises the source, and celebrates infinite creativity.