Completing the Image
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谷神不死，是謂玄牝。玄牝之門，是謂天地根。綿綿若存，用之不勤。
The valley spirit does not die: this is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female: this is called the root of heaven and earth. Unbroken, unbroken, it seems to be there; use it without strain.
Heshang Gong titles it 成象 “Completing the Image”.
One of the shortest chapters, and one of the strangest. Heshang Gong reads it as a lesson in breathing. 谷 “valley” becomes “to nourish”, 神 are the spirits of the five organs, and the mysterious female is the nose and the mouth, the doorways through which heaven’s breath and earth’s food come in. Read his way, the chapter is instructions for keeping the body alive.
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