《道德真經廣聖義》Vol. 12

Scroll Eleven

Written by Master Guangcheng of the Tang, Du Guangting

Chapter Ten: Bearing the Spirit and Soul

(Commentary: The previous chapter explained that indulging desires and becoming arrogant and complacent invite calamity. This chapter discusses nurturing the spirit and cherishing Qi, showing that when the mind is undistracted, one remains free of fault. From “bearing the spirit and soul” through “cleansing and clearing,” it teaches self-cultivation to preserve De (Virtue/Power). From “loving the people” through “clear and bright,” it shows that when De is complete, one can govern a state. It concludes with “giving life and nurturing,” expressing the mysterious work that extends to all things. ○ Meaning: This chapter reveals the benefits of embracing the One, in contrast to the error of “sharpening the point” in the previous chapter: embrace the One and the spirit is whole and the soul at rest; sharpen the point and fullness inevitably brings collapse. The subtlety of attaining softness and the mysterious gaze, the principles for loving the people and governing the state, and the great Dao’s work of giving life and nurturing all things together reveal the profound De that supports and assists the mysterious Dao.)

Scripture: Bearing the spirit and soul, embracing the One—can you keep them from parting?

Commentary: When a person first receives life, what takes shape is called the po (corporeal soul). Once the po has come into being and the Yang Qi is abundant, it is called the hun (ethereal soul). The po belongs to Yin and is empty; the hun belongs to Yang and is full. This means that a person bears an empty po and must constantly nurture and protect it, so that Yang Qi can become full again and it can become the hun. When the hun can move, life is complete. “The One” means undividedness: to restore Yang and preserve life, one must not become tainted or distracted. Thus one is instructed to embrace and preserve pure unity, keeping it from leaving the body.

Commentary: “Bearing” means receiving at the beginning; “nurturing” means protecting and nourishing. At the start of life, a person receives only the empty form of the po. After birth, Yang Qi becomes full; when the empty po can move, it is called the hun, just as the moon’s po gives off light when illuminated by the sun. Zichan of the Spring and Autumn Annals said: “At the beginning of life, its first formation is called the po. Once the po has come into being, Yang is called the hun.” When a person first bears the empty po, they should nurture and protect Yang Qi, keeping it full at all times; then life is complete. If they act without constancy and let Yang Qi dissipate, it returns to emptiness and the person dies. Zhuangzi said: “Do not let the heart on the verge of death become Yang again.” Thus one is told to nurture and protect the empty po, restoring Yang so that life may be complete. Embrace and preserve pure unity, do not let it become tainted or distracted, and keep it from leaving the body: then life is complete. This is a teaching on nurturing the spirit.

Meaning: “Bearing” means carrying. The human body is where the spirit and Qi dwell and where the hun and po reside. The body carries them as a cart carries its cargo. The Scripture of Western Ascension says: “The body is the spirit’s cart.” Since the body is likened to a cart, it must indeed carry them. As for the empty po…

Brief glossary of terms: Nurturing the spirit and soul (yingpo)—protecting and nourishing the Yin po received at birth so that Yang Qi becomes full again and it takes the form of the hun; embracing the One (baoyi)—preserving simplicity and undividedness, with the mind free of distraction or contamination; bearing (zai)—here it means both receiving at the beginning and carrying within the body.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Guangshengyi Commentary on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Power

Yin Qi has form and appearance, like the human body. Yang Qi is formless, like the human spirit (Shen).

When the physical form has taken shape but Yang Qi has not yet joined it, it is like a stubborn stone or a withered tree, wholly without awareness. Once Yang Qi descends and attaches to it, a person can move. Thus the body is called the po (corporeal soul), which belongs to Yin, while the spirit is called the hun (ethereal soul), which belongs to Yang.

As long as even a trace of Yang Qi remains in the body, a person will not die. As long as even a trace of Yin Qi remains, a person cannot become an immortal. Therefore, refining away Yin Qi allows one to transcend the nine heavens and become an immortal; immortals belong to the same kind as Yang. Refining away Yang Qi, by contrast, causes one to fall into the nine springs and become a ghost; ghosts belong to the same kind as Yin. One should therefore preserve the Yang hun and protect the Yin po so as to bring this life to completion. “Embracing the One” means keeping to the Dao. By restraining the hun and controlling the po, and taking adherence to the Dao as one’s foundation, a person can keep to the Dao and control the souls, preventing them from scattering.

“Empty image” refers to the state in which physical substance has just begun to take shape; this is called an empty image. “Image” means something resembling another thing, as with the moon’s “soul”: its light appears only by reflecting sunlight. The Tianyuan Jing says: The moon is originally Yin Qi. It has form and appearance, but no light of its own. The sun is the essence of Yang. It travels eastward along the ecliptic, covering a little more than one degree in a day and night; one degree is about 2,932 li. The moon is the essence of Great Yin. Its form is round and its substance clear; it receives sunlight, which reveals its body. The part the sunlight does not reach is called the “soul.” The moon also travels eastward along the ecliptic, sometimes passing outside it and sometimes inside it, moving at varying speeds. At its slowest, it travels about 12 degrees and two-nineteenths of a degree per day; on average, about 13 degrees and 37 minutes; and at its fastest, 14 degrees and thirteen-ninths of a degree per day. After slowing down, it speeds up; after speeding up, it slows down. It completes one circuit in 27 days and 52 minutes, and its full cycle of slowing and speeding ends after 417 minutes. Then the cycle begins again.

On the first day of each lunar month, the moon and sun share the same degree; this is called the conjunction at the new moon. Since the moon moves faster than the sun, the moon’s shadow first appears after about three days. After that, its brightness gradually increases. On the days of the first and last quarters, sunlight falls on the side of the moon, so observers see it from the side, half bright and half dark. On the last and first days of the lunar month, sunlight falls on the moon’s far side while people are on the side facing away from it, so the moon is not visible. At the full moon, the sun and moon are opposite one another, with people between them viewing the moon’s face; thus the moon appears round and fully illuminated. After the full moon, it can be seen in the east in the morning. This is called “moving sideways,” because the moon travels more slowly. The same applies at the end of the lunar month, according to the text’s account of the moon’s changing speed and the phases of the lunar cycle.

A Broad Commentary on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue

Astronomy and the Hun and Po Souls (Excerpt)

Sunlight and the Dark Void

When you look west toward the sun in the evening, it seems especially bright because it is moving quickly and its light is rushing toward you. Someone asked, “If that light resembles sunlight, why isn’t it always so bright?” The answer: before the light reaches its limit, it is called the “dark void.” When the dark void meets the moon, a lunar eclipse occurs; when it meets a star, the star disappears. The sun and moon travel along the central path, and when they reach the new moon or full moon, they are likely to encounter the dark void and be eclipsed. The sun and moon are each circular, with diameters of about three thousand li. (This is the scale the ancients described based on what they could see and on numerological calculation.)

Zheng Bo You and the Hun and Po Souls (Zuo Tradition, Duke Zhao, seventh year)

The soul that forms when a person first takes shape is called the Po. In the past, Bo You of Zheng held power, and Si Dai killed him. The people of Zheng cried out to one another in terror, “Bo You has come!” Someone dreamed that Bo You, wearing armor, said, “On the day of Renzi, I will kill Si Dai; next year, I will kill Gongsun Duan.” Just as he predicted, Si Dai died on the day of Renzi, and Gongsun Duan died the following year. The people of Zheng grew even more afraid and asked Zi Chan, “Can Bo You really become a ghost?” Zi Chan said, “At birth, a person’s Yin aspect is called the Po, and the Yang aspect is called the Hun. The more Jing and Qi a person uses, the stronger the Hun and Po become. If an ordinary person dies violently, their Hun and Po can still attach themselves to someone else and cause trouble. How much more plausible, then, that Bo You—who held power in the state for three generations and insisted on becoming a spirit—could do so?” Bo You was a descendant of Duke Mu, the grandson of Zi Liang, and the son of Zi Er; that is why he is said to span “three generations.” Zi Chan installed Zi Liang’s son to reassure the people, and the hauntings then stopped. The Zhuangzi, in “Discussion on Making All Things Equal,” says, “Do not let a heart close to death return to Yang.” It refers to the fear that calamity might arise again and an Yin intention might prevail; this is the kind of thing it describes.

Purity, Oneness, and Nurturing Shen

When Nan Guo Ziqi answers Ziyou about the “heavenly pipes,” he is speaking of “purity and oneness”: remaining harmonious and unmixed, clearing away defilement and stopping disorder, and not allowing the mind and Shen to become entangled. Lao Jun points out the meaning of guarding the One with the Ying Po: he is teaching people how to nurture Shen.

The Hidden Book of Shangqing: The Sun, the Moon, and Restraining the Hun and Controlling the Po

The Hidden Book of Shangqing describes the methods of Yuyi racing to the sun and Jielin racing to the moon. One imagines that each of the sun and moon contains five emperors, calls out their secret names, visualizes the emperors’ forms and attire as they descend, and then swallows the essence of the sun and moon. Those who attain the Dao can thereby share the lifespan of the sun and moon. The book also describes restraining the Hun and controlling the Po. On the third, thirteenth, and twenty-third days of each lunar month, one regularly visualizes the red Qi in the heart transforming, calls the names of the Three Hun—Taiguang, Shuangling, and Youjing—and silently recites a spell to restrain them. Then, on the new moon, full moon, and last day of the month, one visualizes the white Qi at the tip of the nose transforming, calls the names of the Seven Po—Shigou, Fushi, Queyin, Tunzei, Chuhui, Choufei, and Feidu—and silently recites a spell to control them. Each method has a specific sequence of visualization, though the original text does not provide the full details.

The following is a plain-language interpretation of relevant passages from the Guangshengyi (Expansive Meaning of the Perfect Scripture of the Dao and De).

(Shangqing methods of cultivation)

Reciting incantations and using ritual implements belong to the methods of the Shangqing tradition. With long practice, one may hope to become light in body, rise in spirit, and transcend the world of dust. This is the Great Dao transmitted by the Most High: it protects the ethereal soul and leads beings beyond the world toward long life.

“Concentrate the Qi and bring it to softness; can you be like an infant?”

Note (brief explanation): Focus the harmonizing Qi until it becomes soft and gentle. Can you be like an infant, without distinctions?

Commentary (detailed explanation): “Concentrate” means to make single-minded. “Harmonizing Qi” refers to the subtle Qi of harmony. Human life takes this harmony as its foundation. Once people become tainted by the world of dust, their harmonizing Qi disperses and their spirit and soul lose stability. So people are taught to concentrate and preserve this harmony, making body and mind soft and yielding, like an infant with no attachments. This passage is about nurturing Qi.

Exposition (further development of the principle): An infant does not yet know how to deal with worldly affairs and simply follows the harmonizing Qi: untouched by customs outwardly and given to little thought inwardly, it becomes soft with the Qi and does not let the harmonizing Qi disperse. Those who cultivate the Dao should be like infants: free of distractions and excessive worry, so that the Shen does not leave the body. The Scripture of the Westward Ascension says: “Pitying others is not as good as pitying the body; pitying the body is not as good as cherishing the Shen; cherishing the Shen is not as good as containing the Shen; containing the Shen is not as good as guarding the Real. Only by guarding the Real can one endure.” It also says: “The Shen cherishes people, but people do not cherish the Shen.” Thus the Lord Lao teaches people to nurture the Shen and nurture Qi.

“Cleanse and clear the mysterious mirror; can you leave it without flaws?”

Note: The “mysterious mirror” refers to the mind’s illumination, its inward clarity. “Flaws” are defects or the root of an affliction. Can you wash and purify the mind’s illumination until it is still and clear, leaving no faults?

Commentary: “Cleanse” means to wash; “clear” means to put in order. The mysterious mirror is the mind’s illumination, and flaws are afflictions. Attachment to circumstances gives rise to desire. One must cleanse and set the mind in order, making its illumination still and clear so that cravings do not arise. Only then can one be free of affliction. This passage is about cultivating the mind.

Exposition: The mind’s illumination reaches through being and nonbeing and extends throughout Heaven and Earth, yet it runs after whatever it encounters. Without stillness to settle and restrain it, each movement draws it into the stain of desire. When that stain deepens, every kind of evil springs up and troubles begin. The Lord Lao warns people to cleanse and put things in order, cutting away the mind’s desires. When the mind’s illumination is still and clear, there are no flaws or afflictions. The Scripture of the Westward Ascension says: “The Shen gives me life; the mind brings about my death.” Therefore, one should restrain one’s intentions and stay far from excessive thought. This is a teaching in cultivating the mind.

“In caring for the people and governing the state, can you practice Wuwei?”

Note: In caring for the people and governing affairs of state, can you act through Wuwei (non-action)—without rash action or excessive interference—so that all under Heaven transform of themselves?

(If the following text includes further “Commentary” or “Exposition” sections, they can be translated in the same format.)

Note: The source is a plain-language interpretation of passages from the Daodejing commentary tradition represented by Song-dynasty Daoists such as Cheng Xuanying. Its “Note,” “Commentary,” and “Exposition” sections develop the text in stages: explaining phrases, clarifying their meaning, and connecting them to cultivation and scriptural teachings. The plain-language interpretation aims to stay close to the original meaning, retaining terms such as “harmonizing Qi,” “mysterious mirror,” and “Wuwei,” with brief explanations.

Plain-Language Interpretation

(Continuing from the previous passage) From cultivating the hun and po souls to cultivating oneself, the teaching is all about self-cultivation. Once one has cultivated oneself, one’s De (Virtue/Power) is complete, and one is fit to rule as a sovereign.

Explanation: “Loving the people” means keeping them from being crushed by tyranny; “labor service” should not damage their inherent nature. To govern a state, one must value farming and conserve grain, while keeping political affairs simple and free of needless burdens. Then the people can live in peace, and the sovereign can transform the world without saying much. This is the teaching of Wuwei (non-action). Can it be done?

Interpretation: The people are the foundation of the state, and Wuwei is the Dao’s power to nurture and transform. When the people are protected and cared for through the Dao of Wuwei, the state’s foundations become secure. Tyrannical decrees are “oppression”; heavy taxes and burdensome labor damage people’s nature. If labor service does not follow the farming seasons, it obstructs cultivation; if frugality is not upheld, grain is treated carelessly. These are all matters of statecraft. The foundation of rulership is to take the Dao as its ground and De as its root. If one loses the Dao and abandons De, on what basis can one rule the world? These are the essentials of governing taught by the Old Master.

Scripture: When Heaven’s Gate opens and closes, can you remain receptive?

Commentary: “Heaven’s Gate” is a symbol of the succession of dynastic fortunes from which the ruler’s mandate and destiny emerge. “Opening and closing” refers to the rise and fall of order and disorder. The meaning is that a sovereign who receives the mandate at the appointed time must be able to remain receptive and yielding, and to hold fast to stillness, in order to enjoy Heaven’s favor for a long time. Another interpretation draws on the Book of Changes, which says, “One opening and one closing are called change.” The sage responds to the shifting times and adapts, without following a fixed pattern. Success cannot be achieved through force; one must remain receptive and yielding, like Heaven’s Gate opening and closing and the alternation of decrease and increase, while becoming even more humble and self-effacing.

Explanation: Cultivating De makes one fit to be a sovereign, but a ruler must also receive the mandate of dynastic succession. “Heaven’s Gate” is where the succession of imperial fortunes issues forth: its opening means Heaven bestows a precious mandate, and its closing means a ruler is deposed and loses his position. When Heaven bestows its precious mandate and blessings upon a person of De, that person can remain receptive and yielding and enjoy great good fortune. Hence the question, “Can you remain receptive?”

Interpretation: Even after becoming a sovereign who rules with ease, having cared for the people and governed the state, one must still keep oneself reverent, serve Heaven, and follow the succession of Heaven’s mandate. This succession refers to the cycles of the mandate and the numbers of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). When Shun appointed Yu, he said, “Heaven’s succession is entrusted to you.” The statement that Heaven’s favor endures to its appointed end means that the succession rests with the ruler and that he has received Heaven’s mandate; this is why it is called the Great Treasure. The “treasure” is the precious mandate, bestowed by Heaven, and so it is said to be received from Heaven. The Appended Statements to the Book of Changes says, “The sage’s great treasure is his position,” and this is what it means. When Heaven’s Gate opens, extraordinary auspicious signs appear: the Yellow Star shines with color, the Red Talisman signals its omen, purple Qi fills the court, the Five Planets gather at the Well mansion, a rainbow flows around the moon, and fire and lightning circle the pivot. All are signs of responding to Heaven and receiving its mandate.

This passage explains such lines from Chapter 10 of the Dao De Jing as “明白四达，能无知乎” (“Bright and perceptive in every direction, can one remain free of knowing?”), while drawing on the Classic of Changes, the Zhuangzi, and principles of imperial rule.

On the Mandate of Heaven and the Fall of a State

After the pivotal moment, a sage is born, endowed with the vital energy of mountains, and is appointed to assist the ruler. In this way, he can respond to Heaven and comply with the people, rescue all beings, eliminate harm and evil, inherit the Mandate of Heaven, and take possession of all under Heaven.

But when a ruler governs from the throne in the wrong way, and punishments and policies become perverse, the people turn against him and his kin disperse. Warfare erupts; rebellion rises below, while ominous signs appear above: the sun changes, the sky splits, mountains collapse, and rivers run dry. Calamities and portents swarm forth, and the state falls. This is the closing of the “Heavenly Gate.” Closing and opening in turn is called “change.” The Appended Statements of the Classic of Changes says: “Opening and closing follow one another; Yin and Yang arrive in turn.” This is the principle by which fortune and misfortune depend on and transform into each other.

Reducing Excess and Increasing Humility

The Judgment of the Qian Hexagram in the Classic of Changes says: “Reduce what is full; increase what is humble.” It is like the sun passing its meridian and then slanting west, or the moon becoming full and then waning. When fullness reaches its extreme, it diminishes; humility brings gain. This is the pattern by which position and circumstance depend on each other, and fortune turns into misfortune and back again. The Lord Lao admonishes rulers: having received the Mandate of Heaven to govern the people, they should rule through the receptive stillness of the feminine, gentleness, Wuwei (non-action), and simplicity, following Heaven’s cycles to care for all regions.

The Appended Statements of the Classic of Changes also says: “Closing the doors is called Kun.” Kun is Yin, and closing means storing away. All things are first stored and then emerge, like a room whose doors are opened and shut; hence the phrase “closing the doors.” “Opening the doors is called Qian.” Qian is Yang, and opening means bringing forth life. Under Yang, things unfold; Yang can bring all things into being, like opening a room’s door. Some also explain closing as obscurity and opening as brightness.

One Must Not Rely on Strength to Succeed

The Great and Venerable Teacher chapter of the Zhuangzi says: “Do not oppose the few; do not boast of success”—that is, do not rely on your own accomplishments to claim precedence. A ruler should preserve receptive stillness to transform the people, and must not rely on strength to contend for precedence and achieve results.

Bright and Perceptive in Every Direction, Can One Remain Free of Knowing? (Commentary)

If a ruler can preserve receptive stillness, the people will gladly uphold his De (Virtue/Power). His De will shine brightly, like the sun illuminating all directions. Yet he must still forget his achievements and not dominate what he has accomplished. Hence the words, “Can one remain free of knowing?”

Explanatory Commentary

Having received the mandate of the dynastic cycle and taken up rule over all regions, an emperor who can preserve receptive stillness will have De as bright as the sun, illuminating in every direction. His achievements will benefit all things, yet he will not claim them as his own. This is what is meant by forgetting achievement, as though knowing nothing. Hence the words, “Can one remain free of knowing?”

Meaning

“Bright and perceptive” refers to a mind that shines with benevolence. Its illumination reaches near and far, radiant in every direction and without obstruction. Once illumination reaches this degree, one should quiet thoughts and forget the mind, without becoming attached to “seeing”—as though one knew nothing. If one prides oneself on knowing, one becomes attached to something once more.

Holding Fast and Losing the Dao

If a ruler governs the world solely by his own opinions, issuing overly detailed commands and scrutinizing everything, the people will be impoverished. Lao Jun (Laozi) therefore admonishes: what is now called “forgetting achievement and quieting the light” is like the yellow silk wadding in an emperor’s ceremonial hat, which blocks the ears so that nothing is heard, and the strings of beads hanging before the eyes, which prevent clear sight. This does not mean being truly deaf or blind, but deliberately avoiding careless listening and looking.

Giving Life and Nurturing

The Lower Scripture says, “The Dao gives them life, and De nurtures them.” Here, “giving life” and “nurturing” mean that a ruler models himself on the Dao’s stillness and clarity, allowing each thing to come into being in its own way; and models himself on De’s broad beneficence, allowing each thing to be nurtured in its own way.

Meaning: The Dao pervades all things and gives them life, so it is called “giving life”; De embraces all things and nourishes them, so it is called “nurturing.” An emperor who takes the Dao as his model and embodies De lets things be born and nurtured, each according to its share and fulfilling its own nature. All find what suits them, and nothing is displaced. “Model” means to take as an example and imitate; “emulate” means to learn from and follow.

Giving Life Without Claiming Ownership, Acting Without Relying on One’s Power, Leading Without Ruling: This Is Profound De

Commentary: Let things fulfill their lives and nurture them; let them fulfill their lives without claiming ownership of them, carry out one’s work without relying on one’s achievements, and occupy a leading position without acting as their ruler. When a ruler can do this, it is profound De.

Explanation: When things are able to fulfill their lives, the sage forgets his own contribution. Their lives are fulfilled, and their natural order is complete; his contribution is forgotten, and its effects endure. This is to achieve selflessness through having no self-interest, and to lead without ruling. Thus, “giving life without claiming ownership” means letting each thing fulfill its life without the ruler claiming it as his own; “acting without relying on one’s power” means letting each thing act in its own way without taking credit for its achievements; “leading without ruling” means being above the people and so being called their leader, yet not relying on one’s achievements and so not ruling them. This is called profound De.

Meaning: A ruler holds fast to simplicity and unity, purifies his heart and turns his awareness inward, cherishes the people and governs the state, and acts in accordance with Heaven’s seasons. He remains receptive, still, and even-tempered; withdraws his gaze and turns his hearing inward; embodies the Dao to give life to things and follows De to nurture them. He gives life to things without claiming credit, governs without relying on his power, and lets his sight and hearing reach in all directions, yet does not rest on his achievements. This is the way of cherishing the people through cultivating both oneself and the state, and the De of following Heaven. “Profound” means Heaven.

The General Meaning of the Scripture

The Classic and Being, Nonbeing, and Function

The classic explains that being and nonbeing support one another, and only through this mutual support can function be realized. Thus, Heaven and Earth (Qian and Kun) are the source concealed within the Great Change. The wheel, hub, spokes, and body of a cart together form a useful object; the example of a vessel shows how nonbeing serves a purpose.

The Examples of the Cart, Vessel, and Room

The room is used as an example to convey the principle of making use of what is empty.

Meaning: Cherish Qi and nourish Shen; esteem stillness and quiet. Use nonbeing to benefit being: each supports the other. “Support” means to draw upon. A cart, a vessel, and a room all rely on what is present in them to make use of what is empty within: a cart carries loads, a vessel holds things, and a room provides a place to dwell. In each case, what is present on the outside must be there for the empty space within to serve a purpose; only then can the object be useful.

Heaven, Earth, and the Classic of Changes

Heaven and Earth are the storehouse of the Great Change. The Appended Statements of the Classic of Changes clearly state that the Changes takes its foundation from Heaven and Earth. Without Heaven and Earth, the way of change could not arise. Hence Heaven and Earth are the source in which the way of change is stored up, the deep repository of the Changes. This is why the text below says: “Heaven and Earth take their places, and the Changes is established between them; when Heaven and Earth are destroyed, the Changes can no longer be seen.” It is just as the wheel, hub, spokes, and cart body make up the substance of a cart: if the spokes and body are destroyed, the cart can no longer be seen. The three examples are given to explain how usefulness comes about.

Governing the State and Cultivating the Self

In governing a state, if the people remain, there is a state; if the people disperse, the state is endangered.

In cultivating the self, if Shen remains, life continues; if Shen departs, the body perishes.

The way of making use of things truly rests on their supporting one another.

Chapter Eleven of the Dao De Jing and Commentaries

Thirty spokes join at one hub; where there is emptiness, the cart is useful.

Commentary: This explains that being and nonbeing support one another to bring about function. The thirty spokes show how the cart is made with all of them joined at one hub: the few serve as the center that gathers the many. The spokes and cart body, through their solid presence together, form a cart; the empty space inside it makes it possible to use. Without the presence of spokes and cart body, there would be no cart to use. If the cart were not empty within, the spokes and body would all be useless materials.

Subcommentary: The thirty spokes pass through one hub, showing that the many take the few as their center. Only when the cart is empty within can it carry loads, showing that what is nonbeing benefits what is being.

Meaning: The hub gathers the spokes to form a wheel, and the cart gathers its many parts to serve a purpose. What is put to use is the empty space inside the cart. Without the wheel and hub, the cart could not be made; once it is made, its empty interior lets it carry loads. This is an analogy for a ruler who draws inwardly on the counsel of ministers and entrusts himself outwardly to the support of the feudal lords.

A state can exist just as thirty spokes converge at a single hub. Once a state exists, if its people can humbly embody the Great Dao, all under Heaven will be transformed and nurtured of themselves, like the empty space at the wheel’s center.

The human body depends outwardly on the structure of its many parts and inwardly on the harmony of the Five Qi—the Qi of the five organs—just as spokes converge to form a body. Once the body exists, if one can humbly embody the Great Dao, original Qi circulates unseen and may bring about long life. This explains how “being” and “nonbeing,” and what each makes possible, depend on and fulfill one another.

Commentary: What is the Dao? It is the utmost “nonbeing” and the utmost “One.” It can therefore set all kinds of living beings in motion and give force to every kind of material, allowing the myriad differences among things to form their own domains. What brings them into being is only a single “image”—the manifestation of the Dao.

Explanation: The Dao’s true unity has neither color nor sound, yet all kinds of living beings and materials depend on it. Among things that move are humans and other animals, creatures with fur, feathers, scales, or shells, and insects; among things that grow are plants and trees. “Kind” refers to shape, and “material” to substance. The countless differences among moving and growing things are the “myriad differences.” Though things differ in myriad ways, it is the Dao that nourishes and brings them into being. The Dao is nothing other than this single image. The Scripture says, “Within the indistinct and elusive, there is an image.” This is the pure, undivided essence that gives rise to and transforms the myriad things; it may be called the source from which the many proceed from the few.

Commentary: The many apertures each make their own sound, yet what sets them all vibrating is only one sound. If we trace the activity of all under Heaven and the origin of its generation, we find that they have never departed from the utmost “nonbeing” and the utmost “One.”

Explanation: “The many apertures” comes from the “Discussion on Making All Things Equal” in the Zhuangzi. Nan Guo Ziqi tells Ziyou that when the Great Block exhales, its breath is called wind. When it is still, nothing happens; when it stirs, the myriad apertures roar. The openings in a great tree may resemble noses, mouths, ears, or the sockets in a bracket; some make a rushing sound, some a shrill one, some a hissing sound, some a sucking sound, some a cry, and some a howl. A gentle breeze brings a soft harmony, while a gale brings a loud one. The sounds of the many apertures differ in volume and kind, yet the force that sets them in motion is only one wind. As for the activity of all under Heaven, the Book of Changes, in its “Appended Statements,” says that the sage observes the movements of the world. This means that through the subtle Dao, the sage perceives how all things under Heaven move and act, and understands that their generation all derives from the pure, undivided, subtle Dao. Hence the claim that they have never departed from the utmost “nonbeing” and the utmost “One.”

Commentary: Consider a cart: its shafts and carriage have substance, while its interior is empty. The cart can be put to use because its interior is empty; without the “being” of its shafts and carriage, however, that emptiness would have nothing to serve.

Explanation: “Being” is what allows one to hold fast to this One—the Dao’s true unity.

A Plain-Language Interpretation

On the Use of “Nothingness”

A wheel can turn because of the empty space between its hub and its spokes. Without that emptiness at the center, the spokes and the body of the vehicle would be useless materials. This is also the principle behind the Yijing saying, “When Heaven and Earth are formed, the work of the Yijing becomes manifest.”

Explanation of the Meaning: This explains the phrase “When Heaven and Earth are formed, the Yijing is established within them.” Just as spokes and the body of a vehicle depend on the empty space at the center for the vehicle to function, so too does the Yijing depend on Heaven and Earth.

Commentary: The Dao’s function becomes manifest through the flow and transformation of all things. A simple analogy is therefore used to show how the “ultimate emptiness” gives subtle function to what exists.

Explanation of the Meaning: The myriad changes all receive their workings from the Dao. Without them, the Dao’s function could not be revealed. It is like the spokes and body of a vehicle, which are where the vehicle’s function resides, and like Heaven and Earth, which contain the meaning of the Yijing. A vehicle is a familiar object that everyone can see; it is used to illustrate the wondrous Dao, hence the term “simple analogy.”

“Clay is kneaded to make a vessel; it is the empty space within that gives the vessel its use.”

Note: Shan means to knead; zhi means clay. The potter kneads the clay and makes vessels such as tiles and jars.

Commentary: Shan means to knead, and zhi means sticky clay. The potter mentioned in the note comes from the Book of Documents: “Molding earth is called pottery.” The potter kneads the clay and fires it to make earthenware, whose purpose is likewise to provide an empty space for holding things.

Explanation of the Meaning: Making a vessel by kneading clay makes the same point: “Use comes from what exists by means of what is empty.” Vessels come in countless shapes—large or small, square or round, finely or roughly made, humble or precious—but what truly gives them their function is the empty space inside. “Molding earth is called pottery” is a saying from the Book of Documents. When Shun was still of humble status, he farmed at Mount Li and made pottery by the river; this is the event it refers to. The Biographies of Immortals says that the Potter Lord and his disciple Shimen were potters in ancient times and could command the five-colored flames and ascend to Heaven.

“Doors and windows are cut to make a room; it is the empty space within that gives the room its use.”

Note: In ancient times, people made rooms by digging into the earth, and they still had to make doors and windows. That is why the text says “cut.”

Commentary: “Cut” means to dig or bore through; a window beside a door is called a you. The ancients lived in caves. The Book of Odes says, “They made a dwelling by hollowing out the earth and digging a cave”: they dug the soil out of a hollow and then covered it with earth, which is why the text says “cut.” Later, the sages replaced such dwellings with palaces and houses, but these too relied on interior emptiness for people to live in. The Zhuangzi says that if a room has no empty space, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will have to contend for passage, because it is too cramped. The Erya says, “A palace is called a room.”

Explanation of the Meaning: The “Mianmian” chapter of the Book of Odes, in the Greater Odes, recounts the story of Gugong Danfu.

The Broad Commentary on the True Meaning of the Dao De Jing

General Meaning of the Passage

They shaped earth into walls and dug out caves; there were not yet homes and households.

This refers to the time when the Old Duke (Danfu) was still in Bin, before he settled beneath Mount Qi. People piled earth to make walls and dug hollows in the ground for shelter. They did not yet have proper houses or established households.

The Old Duke was the Duke of Bin. “Old” means belonging to the distant past. Duke Dan was his courtesy name; he was the great-grandfather of King Wen. He lived in Bin and influenced people through his De (Virtue/Power), so many came to join him. When the Di people invaded, the Old Duke first offered them furs, then dogs and horses, and then pearls and jade, but they still would not relent. So he summoned the elders and said, “What the Di people really want is our land. I have heard that a noble person would not harm the people in order to secure the things they need to live. Why should you worry about having no ruler?” Then, leaning on his staff, he left, crossed Mount Liang, and established a new settlement beneath Mount Qi.

The people of Bin said, “We cannot lose such a benevolent man.” They followed him eagerly, like people rushing to a market. They shaped the earth into walls and dug hollows in the ground for shelter. Fathers and sons, husbands and wives lived together; this was what made a household. At that time there were still no ancestral temples and no fully developed system of households.

Key Points from the Commentary

A feudal lord’s subjects addressed their ruler as “lord.” Walls were made by piling earth above ground; caves were made by digging into it. Both methods involved shaping earth as one would when making pottery. Here, shaping means forming earth as in a modern kiln. This passage describes the beginning of the settlement in Bin. Bin was the name of the land granted to him.

The Appended Statements of the Book of Changes says that in ancient times people lived in caves and out in the open. Later, the sages built palaces and houses, modeling them on the Great Strength hexagram. Great Strength is presented in contrast to cave dwelling and life outdoors, so the Book of Changes uses it to describe what came after ancient times.

“Ancient times” refers to the period before palaces and houses were built, when people lived in tree nests during summer and caves during winter. Later they built dwellings to replace these shelters. This does not mean that what came later completely rejected what came before. The text simply says “ancient times,” probably referring to the period between Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor.

The Zhuangzi, in the chapter “Robber Zhi,” says that people in ancient times lived in trees during summer and gathered acorns and chestnuts in winter. This describes dwelling in nests and caves, which offered hollow spaces to live in. Houses today also provide hollow spaces for people to inhabit. That is why the Laozi says, “It is because of what is empty that a room is useful.”

A daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law clash over a narrow path: path means a small road; clash means to become hostile and angry.

The Zhuangzi, in “Outer Things,” makes a similar point: if a house has no open space inside and its paths are narrow, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law will fight over room to pass. According to the meaning of the Book of Changes, a daughter-in-law should defer to her mother-in-law as an expression of filial respect. But here they fight over the path in anger. This shows that the house is cramped and offers no room to move about; people feel stifled inside, and hostility and conflict follow.

The point is that when a house is cramped and lacks open space, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law fight over the path, and the heart, too, becomes obstructed.

How This Relates to the Main Meaning of the Passage

This section sets the Old Duke’s migration to Qi and the time when people shaped earth into shelters before they had households alongside Laozi’s ideals of “a small state with few people” and “keeping the people mindful of death, so they do not migrate far.” First there is a small piece of land and simple shelter; palaces and ritual systems come later. A room is useful because it has open space; when it becomes too crowded, people fall into conflict.

The commentary draws on the Book of Changes and the Zhuangzi to explain that the transition from cave dwelling to palaces associated with Great Strength depends on what is empty: it is what is empty that makes a room useful. If people pursue only fullness and narrow their paths, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law will clash. This goes against simplicity, frugality, and not contending.

When a room is not empty, all kinds of cravings and desires will take the opportunity to enter. The Erya says that a large residence is called a “palace” and a small one a “room”; palace and room differ only in size and ritual status. Ritual distinctions mark rank: the residences of sages and honored people are called palaces, while those of ordinary people are generally called homes, houses, buildings, halls, and rooms. Huang Kan’s commentary on the Analects explains that a hall is divided into inner and outer areas, with partitions forming separate rooms. This is why people speak of “ascending to the hall” and “entering the room”: “hall” is a general term, while a room lies within the hall, deeper inside.

Thus, “being” can bring convenience, while “nonbeing” can serve a function.

Note: “Being” refers to what has form and substance, and is suited to “use.” Use depends on “nonbeing” (emptiness and open space), so being takes nonbeing as its benefit. “Nonbeing” refers to what has no fixed form and is suited to establishing “substance.” Substance depends on “being” (concrete material), so nonbeing takes being as its function.

Commentary: Being is beneficial because it can be put to use; use always depends on nonbeing, so being takes nonbeing as its benefit. Nonbeing serves a function by giving rise to substance; substance always depends on being, so nonbeing takes being as its function.

Explanation: The Dao’s “nonbeing” depends on “being” to make its function visible; without being, the Dao’s function cannot be seen. The “being” of things depends on the Dao to sustain and form their substance; without the Dao, things cannot come into existence. Things cannot be generated without the Dao, and the Dao cannot display its efficacy without things. It is like a cart, a vessel, or a room: each gains benefit for its “being” through “nonbeing,” and gives “nonbeing” a function through “being.”

The commentary quotes the note: “‘That which is above form is called the Dao; that which is below form is called a vessel.’” This comes from the “Appended Statements” in the Book of Changes.

Explanation: “Above form” refers to the Dao as the source of things: clear, empty, and Wuwei (non-action), occupying the higher position. “Below form” refers to the Dao in operation: it endows things with substance and unfolds into visible forms, occupying the lower position. When the Dao’s function is made visible in things, the things that receive substance are called “vessels.” Vessels belong to the realm of what has form. The sages modeled themselves on the Dao’s way of operating and fashioned implements: they drew the trigrams and observed their images to create writing; hollowed out wood for boats and carved wood for oars; cut wood for pestles and dug the ground for mortars; bent wood for bows and sharpened wood for arrows; planned palaces and houses; made nets for catching fish and birds; harnessed oxen and rode horses to carry loads over long distances; cast metal into weapons; raised poles as banners; carved wood for plows and bent wood for plow handles. All such things were made to benefit the world, and each expresses one part of the Dao’s function.

To fashion them into implements are all principles commonly discussed in the Yijing. Here, “Dao” names the level of nonbeing; “form” refers to things that have material substance and can serve a purpose. All things arise from nonbeing, and the various forms are established through the Dao: first comes the Dao, then form. The Dao is above form, and form below the Dao. Thus, what is above form is called the Dao; what is below form is called an implement.

Although form lies between the Dao and implements, it belongs on the side of implements and is not identical with the Dao itself. Once something has form and substance, it can be fashioned into an implement and put to use. Hence the saying, “What is below form is called an implement.” The Dao is nonbeing, while form is being: being has limits and an end, whereas nonbeing alone can endure. Those who cultivate the Dao should strengthen the body outwardly and cherish the aspect of being; inwardly, they should nurture the spirit and return to the source in nonbeing. By gradually attuning themselves to wondrous nonbeing and becoming one with the Dao, they may attain long life.

Commentary: At the level of nonbeing, it is called the Dao; when it enters the realm of being, it is called an implement. To understand the Dao’s function, one must reveal it through form and implements. Though the text uses “three analogies” (such as a carriage, an implement, and a room), they ultimately point to the same principle: making use of nonbeing.

Interpretation: The utmost and the utterly formless are the Dao; what has image and form is an implement. The Dao is made clear through implements, and the examples of a carriage, an implement, and a room provide “three analogies.” Their underlying aim—making use of nonbeing—is one and the same principle.

When the sage governs the realm, rewards and punishments are set out, laws and standards established, teachings and commands issued, and distinctions between high and low made clear: all these belong to being. Yet if the ruler governs with composure and stillness, leads people through calm and quiet, transforms them without speaking, and lets the myriad things order themselves, then—even though rewards and punishments, institutions, commands, and distinctions of rank remain—there is no need to rely on them. This too may be called making use of nonbeing through what exists. It is the highest principle.

The same applies to self-cultivation: one awakens to principle through the scriptures, then forgets the words through awakening. To understand the wondrous gate fully without becoming attached to verbal teachings is also to follow this principle.