The valley spirit that doesn’t die
we call the dark womb
the dark womb’s mouth
we call the source of Heaven and Earth
as elusive as gossamer silk
and yet it can’t be exhausted
Endlessly creating
Endlessly pulsating
The Spirit of the Valley never dies
She is called the Hidden Creator
Lao-tzu’s Tao Teching
Interpreted by Red Pine
Although She becomes the whole universe
Her immaculate purity is never lost
Although She assumes countless forms
Her true identity remains intact
Whatever we see or don’t see
Whatever exists or doesn’t exist
Is nothing but the creation of this Supreme Power
Tao is limitless, unborn, eternal—
It can only be reached through the Hidden Creator
She is the very face of the Absolute
The gate to the source of all things eternal
Listen to Her voice
Hear it echo through creation
Without fail, She reveals her presence
Without fail, She brings us to our own perfection
Lao-tzu’s Tao Teching
Interpreted by Jonathan Star
THE SHANHAICHING says, “The Valley Spirit of the Morning Light is a black and yellow, eight-footed, eight-tailed, eight-headed animal with a human face” (9). The Shanhaiching’s “valley spirit” is the moon, which runs ahead of the sun during the last eight days of its thirty-day cycle, lags behind during the first eight days, and faces the sun during its eight days of glory. For the remaining days of the month, it’s too close to the sun to be visible. Like many other cultures, the ancient Chinese viewed the moon as the embodiment of the female element of creation.
WANG PI says, “The valley is what is in the middle, what contains nothing, no form, no shadow, no obstruction. It occupies the lowest point, remains motion-less, and does not decay. All things depend on it for their development, but no one sees its shape’
YEN Pu says, “Because it is empty, we call it a valley.’ Because there is no limit to its responsiveness, we call it a spirit.’ Because it is inexhaustible, we say `it doesn’t die: These three are the virtues of the Tao.
su CH’E says, ‘A valley is empty but has form. A valley spirit is empty but has no form. What is empty and has no form is not alive. So how can it die? Valley spirit’ refers to its virtue. Dark womb’ refers to its capacity. This womb gives birth to the ten thousand things,
HSUEH HUI says, “The words Lao-tzu chooses are often determined by the demands of rhyme and should not be restricted to their primary meaning. Thus, p’in [female animal] can also be read pin [womb] “
HO-SHANG KUNG Says, “The valley is what nourishes. Those able to nourish their spirit do not die. Spirit’ means the spirits of the five organs: the gall bladder, the heart, the kidneys, and the spleen. When these five are injured, the five spirits leave. Dark’ refers to Heaven. In a person, this means the nose, which links us with Heaven. `Womb’ refers to Earth. In a person, this means the mouth, which links us with Earth. The breath that passes through our nose and mouth should be finer than gossamer silk and barely noticeable, as if it weren’t actually present. It should be relaxed and never strained or exhausted.”
wU CH’ENG says, “The empty valley is where spirits dwell, where breath isn’t exhausted. Who relaxes their breath increases their vitality. Who strains their breath soon expires.”
TE-CH’ING says, “Purposeful action leads to exhaustion. The Tao is empty and acts without purpose. Hence, it can’t be exhausted”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “The valley spirit, the dark womb, the source of Heaven and Earth all act without acting. That we don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist’
LIU CHING says, “It’s like the silk of a silkworm or the web of a spider: hard to distinguish and hard to grab. But then, it isn’t Humankind who uses it. Only the spirit can use it”
TU TAO-CHIEN Says, “This verse also appears in Liehtzu: I.i, where it is attributed to the Yellow Emperor instead of Lao-tzu. Lao-tzu frequently incorporates passages from ancient texts. We see their traces in thus the sage proclaims' orhence the ancients say.’ Thus Confucius said, `I don’t create. I only relate’ [Lunyu: 7.1]”.
LIEH-TZU says, “What creates life is not itself alive” (Liehtzu: I.I).
This is one of the few verses for which no significant textual variations exist. It is not present in the Kuotien texts.
Verse 6 Spanda shakti is the perfect, pure “I”-consciousness…. In Shiva, She manifests in infinite shapes and appears as the innumerable and unique forms of the universe…. She vibrates eternally…. This vibrating Shakti is the Supreme Reality. Because it is the Supreme Reality, it has the freedom to perform any action. It gives birth to every visible object that exists in the world.
—MUKTANANDA, Secret of the Siddhas, p. 156
Kundalini is Shakti, supreme energy, whom the sages of India worship as the mother of the universe…. She is the active aspect of the formless, attributeless Absolute … [For devotees] she becomes the object of their love. Enlightened men of knowledge perceive Her in all forms and objects in the universe, and seeing everything as one in That, they merge in That. There is nothing higher, nothing greater, nothing more sublime and beautiful than Shakti. Dwelling within the center of the heart, She shines with all the colors of the morning sun, and when She is awakened within us, we can see Her there, blazing in all Her effulgence…. She is the supreme creative power of the Absolute Being. … She is Brahman in the form of sound, the sound vibration of the Absolute, which manifested as the universe…. She becomes the sun, the moon, the stars…. She becomes the breath, the vital force to keep all creatures alive. To quench our thirst, She becomes water. To satisfy our hunger, She becomes food. Whatever we see or don’t see, whatever exists, right from the earth to the sky, is nothing but Chiti, nothing but Kundalini. It is that supreme energy which moves and animates all creatures, from the elephant to the tiniest ant. She enters each and every creature and thing that She creates, yet never loses Her identity or Her immaculate purity…. It is very difficult to know the supreme principle. Even though it does everything, it does not identify itself as the doer…. When the Self is limitless, unborn and eternal, how can it be known? Only through the medium of Shakti can we gain entry to the Self. Shakti is the pathway to God. Shakti is the face of Shiva. When we look at someone’s face we know who he is; and in the same way, when we perceive the Shakti working within, we come to know God.
—MUKTANANDA, Kundalini, pp. 13-17
06-09 96 玄 hsuan mysterious / profound / secret / dark >Alt: yuan (origin, first cause, primal principle)
06-10 93 牝 p’in female/woman/mother
[2] Hsuan pin: “Mystic / Mysterious Female” (Yutang) (Blakney) (Lin) (Lau) (Chan) (Waley) (Wei) (Cheng), “Mysterious Feminine” (Wu), “mysterious feminine element” (Au-Young), “Mysterious Femininity” (LaFargue), “profound female” (Chan), “dark female” (Duy), “Subtle Female” (Wing), “Mysterious Mother” (Ould), “Mother of the Abyss” (Medhurst), “Mother-substance of the Deep” (Mears), “primal mother” (Feng), “Mother of Heaven” (Tze), “abstruse womb” (Ku), “mystery of passivity” (Chung), “Dark Mare” (Chen)