Dao De Jing – Chapter 6

The valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious feminine.
The gateway of the mysterious feminine is called the root of heaven and earth.
Everlasting and yet seemingly faint, its use is inexhaustible.

Note

The Dao resembles a primordial valley: it nourishes all existence without discrimination‌. It operates without fatigue or interruption, revealing a subtle dynamics that flows with cosmic persistence‌.

Further Reading

Chapter Six’s statement, “The valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious female,” employs maternal imagery as a metaphor for the Dao, resonating with the chaotic origin of “Non-being” in Chapter One’s “Non-being is the beginning of heaven and earth.” While Chapter One introduces “Being” and “Non-being” as two aspects of the Dao, Chapter Six concretizes “Non-being” as an ever-generative maternal source through the concept of the “mysterious female.” Together, they construct the Daoist philosophical framework of “the Dao giving birth to all things.”

The empty nature of the “valley spirit” in Chapter Six directly corresponds to the idea in Chapter Four that “the Dao is empty, yet when used it is not exhausted.” Chapter Four emphasizes the Dao’s emptiness and infinite potential, while Chapter Six uses the “valley spirit” as a metaphor for the Dao’s inclusiveness and eternity. Together, they elucidate the Dao’s essence of being “formless yet governing all things.”

The phrase “the gate of the mysterious female is called the root of heaven and earth” in Chapter Six is related to Chapter Twenty-Five’s “there was something formlessly fashioned, born before heaven and earth.” Chapter Twenty-Five clearly defines the Dao as the ultimate existence transcending time and space, while Chapter Six emphasizes the Dao’s generative power as the root of all things. Together, they reinforce the Dao’s primordial nature and eternal existence.

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。