Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 6
"The manifestations of Infinity never cease manifesting.
Infinity is the primal creator, the oneness of male and female.
Infinity is the gate though which heaven and earth manifested.
It is invisible to the senses, yet totally permeates all things.
It is inexhaustible and eternally available for any purpose."
- Translated by John Worldpeace, Chapter 6
"The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet never-ending,
it gives birth to unlimited worlds.
It is always at hand within you.
Use it gently, and without force."
- Translated by Rivenrock, Chapter 6
"The spiritual valley can never be extinguished.
It is correctly referred to as the mysteries of the receptive.
The entrance to mysterious receptivity is correctly referred
to as
the origin of the whole universe.
It is continuous and unbroken!
Its usefulness seems to persevere without effort."
- Translated by
Nina
Correa, 2005, Chapter 6
"The valley spirit not expires,
Mysterious woman ’tis called by the sires.
The mysterious woman’s door, to boot,
Is called of heaven and earth the root.
Forever and aye it seems to endure
And its use is without effort sure.”
- Translated by
D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 6
"Like the sheltered, fertile valley,
the meditative mind is still,
yet retains its energy.
Since both energy and stillness,
of themselves, do not have form,
it is not through the senses
that they may be found,
nor understood by intellect alone,
although, in nature, both abound.
In the meditative state,
the mind ceases to differentiate
between existences,
and that which may or may not be.
It leaves them well alone,
for they exist,
not differentiated, but as one,
within the meditative mind."
- Translated by
Stan Rosenthal, Chapter 6
"The concept of Yin is ever present.
It is the Mystic Female from whom
the heavens and the earth originate.
Constantly, continuously, enduring always.
Use her!"
- Translated by
C. Ganson, Chapter 6
"The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 6
"The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain."
- Translated by Stephen McIntyre, 2009, Chapter 6
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. - Chinese characters, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching
ku shên pu ssu, shih wei hsüan p'in.
hsüan p'in chih mên.
shih wei t'ien ti kên.
mien mien jo ts'un.
yung chih pu ch'in.
- Wade-Giles Romanization, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching
"The valley spirit that doesn't die we call the dark womb
as real as gossamer silk and yet we can't exhaust it.
The valley spirit that doesn't die we call the dark womb the dark womb's mouth
we call the source of creation as real as gossamer silk and yet we can't exhaust it."
- Translated by Red Pine, Chapter 6
"The spirit of the valley does not die
It may be known as the mysterious feminine
The gateway of the mysterious feminine
May be known as the source of heaven and earth
Endless, continuous, seeming to exist
To practice this is not effort."
- Translated by Bradford Hatcher, 2005, Chapter 6
"The unlimited capacity of valleys;
the unbelievable power of Spirits;
and the unending life of immortality are called the Profound Origin Mother.
The beginning of the Profound Origin Mother is the root of Heaven and Earth.
Endlessly, endlessly!
It is existing.
Yet its usefulness is invisible."
- Translated by
Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 6
"The Tao never dies;
It is a deep womb.
And the opening of the womb
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
It exists for ever,
And its use can never be exhausted."
- Translated by
Gu Zengkun, Chapter 6
"The mystery of the valley is immortal;
It is known as the Subtle Female.
The gateway of the Subtle Female
Is the source of Heaven and Earth.
Everlasting, endless, it appears to exist.
Its usefulness comes with no effort."
- Translated by
R. L. Wing, 1986, Chapter 6
"La Esencia del Todo no muere.
Es la Mujer Misteriosa, Madre del Universo.
El camino de la Mujer Misteriosa
es la raíz del Cielo y de la Tierra.
Su duración es perenne, su eficiencia infatigable."
- Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capítulo 6
Valley Spirit, Gu Shen, Concept, Chapter 6
"Der Geist des Tals stirbt nicht,
das heißt das dunkle Weib.
Das Tor des dunklen Weibs,
das heißt die Wurzel von Himmel und Erde.
Ununterbrochen wie beharrend
wirkt es ohne Mühe."- Translated by Richard Wilhelm, 1911, Chapter 6
"The spirit of the valley never dies.
It is called the subtle and profound female.
The gate of the subtle and profound female
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It is continuous, and seems to be always existing.
Use it and you will never wear it out."
- Translated by Chan Wing-Tsit, 1963, Chapter 6
"
The spirit of emptiness is immortal.
It is called the Great Mother
because it gives birth to Heaven and Earth.
It is like a vapor,
barely seen but always present.
Use it effortlessly."
- Translated by
John H. McDonald, Chapter 6
A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter. Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization. Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. These are hypertext documents, and available online under Creative Commons 4.
Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. Complied by Mike Garofalo.
Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index
Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
Taoism: A Selected Reading List
