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The Valley Spirit never dies, and we call it the “Mysterious Female.” The gate of the Mysterious Female is referred to as the “root of Heaven and Earth.” On and on, with only apparent existence, it functions inexhaustibly.
The Valley Spirit [Gushen] is the nothingness in the valley. It has neither form nor appearance and is utterly free of contrariness or disobedience. Lying low and unmoving, it maintains its quiescence and never weakens. Even though all things are completed by it, we do not see its form, for this is the most perfect thing. Lying low and maintaining quiescence, it cannot be grasped in order to give it [the Dao] a name, so the text refers to it as the Mysterious Female [Xuanpin]. The gate is the place from which the Mysterious Female comes. Because it is rooted in that from which it comes, it is the embodiment of the [great] ultimate [yu ji tong ti], and this is why the text refers to it as “the root of Heaven and Earth.” Do you wish to say that is does exist? Well, we do not see its form. Do you wish to say that it does not exist? Well, the myriad things are produced by it. Thus the text says, “On and on, with only apparent existence.” Not one single thing fails to be completed, yet it never tires. Thus the text says, “it functions inexhaustibly.”
Again the fecundity of emptiness is stressed. It neither exists nor does not exist, but rather is inferred to exist separately not because of its ability to be manifested but rather because of the ability of other things to manifest themselves within it. Because it is used as a medium for things rather than existing as a thing itself, the Dao is inexhaustible.
Knowing that the origin of things lies in emptiness and their completion lies in manifestation, we can grasp the transient nature of existence and model ourselves to it. Manifestations are fleeting but emptiness is eternal – though it may be filled, it will invariably be empties again.
What this means for us, as individuals, is that we cannot become too attached to anything. By entering a relationship with something, we are creating a fleeting, temporary thing. That shouldn’t be taken to mean that we should avoid such attachments but rather that we have to understand their transient nature. That allows us to cherish them while we have them and to let them go when their course has run.