Tao Te Ching

Chapter 11
[Original text]

Contains [1] camp soul [2].Hold one [3], can there be no separation?
Zhuan [4] Qi is soft, can it be like a baby?
Cleansing Xuanjian [5], can it be flawless?
Love the people and govern the country, can you do nothing?
Tianmen [6] opens and closes [7], can it be a female [8]?
Knowing all things, can you be ignorant[9]?
(Living animals [10] are born without being born, used without relying on them, and grown without being slaughtered. This is called "Xuande [11]".)
【Note】

[1] contains: auxiliary word, equivalent to "husband".

[2] Camp soul: soul.

[3] Hug one: become one.

[4] Special: Gathering.

[5] Purify the Xuanjian: Clear the distracting thoughts in the heart, and conduct in-depth observation of the mind with intuition.

[6] Tianmen: the gate of nature.For humans, it refers to the senses that are born with eyes, ears, mouth, nose, etc. These senses can be in contact with the outside world, like a door, so they are called "doors".

[7] 闺: pass "close", close.

[8] Female: Tranquility, weakness, modesty.

[9] Zhi: Tong "wisdom", here refers to ingenuity and scheming.

[10] Livestock: nurturing.

[11] Xuande: Mysterious and profound virtue.Sentences in brackets are inconsistent with the above and should be moved to Chapter 51.

【Analysis】

Can the body and soul be one without deviating from the Dao?

Can you be like a baby by gathering energy and pursuing a soft and docile form?

Can you get rid of the distracting thoughts in your heart, and then observe the depths of your soul, can you have no flaws in your heart?

Can loving the people and governing the country be truly inaction?

Can the senses you are born with be quiet and reserved when they come into contact with the outside world?
When one's own mind is very clear and accessible, can one live in the world without using ingenuity?

(The so-called mysterious and profound virtue is often to nurture and cultivate all things without taking them for oneself, and at the same time, not to be superior to all things because of one's meritorious service, and not to dominate all things because one is the leader of all things.)
【Explanation by Famous Artists】

Mr. He Shang:
Camp soul, soul also.People can live on the soul, and they should be loved and raised.Happy and angry dead souls, pawns frightened and hurt their souls.The soul is in the liver, and the soul is in the lungs.Delicious food and wine, corrupt the liver and lungs.Therefore, when the soul is quiet, the will and the way are not chaotic, the soul is safe and the life is prolonged.If a person can hold one in his arms so that he does not leave his body, then his body will last forever.One, born from the beginning of Dao, is also the essence of Taihe.Therefore, it is called one.One cloth is famous in the world, the sky gets one to be clear, the earth gets one to be peaceful, the princes and kings get one to think of justice, entering is the heart, going out is the action, giving is the virtue, the total name is one.One is to say that there is no other way.

Concentrate on guarding the essence so that it does not become chaotic, and the body can respond to it and be supple.It can be like a baby who has no thoughts inside and no political affairs outside, so the spirit does not go away.

Wash your heart and make it clean.The heart lives in a place of mystery, and you can know everything with a glance, so it is called Xuanlan.Not fornication and evil, the net energy is flawless and sick.

Those who govern the body, love the spirit, and the body is whole; those who govern the country, love the people, and the country is safe.Those who rule the body breathe the essence, and no one hears it; those who govern the country, donate and benefit, and know it without orders.

Tianmen is called the Arctic Ziwei Palace.Opening and closing are the beginning and end of the five periods.To treat the body, Tianmen is called nostrils, opening is called panting, and closing is called breathing.Governing the body should be like a female, quiet and weak, governing the country in response, harmonious but not singing.

The way of speaking is clear, like the sun and the moon extending all over the world, beyond the eight extremes of the world.Therefore, it is said: See what you don't see, hear what you don't hear, spread it in ten directions, and it is radiant and brilliant.No one can know the fullness of the world.

Dao produces all things and raises them.Dao produces all things, nothing can be obtained.Do not rely on the hope of retribution for what the Tao does.The Taoist nurtures all things and does not cut them for utensils.It is said that morality is mysterious, and it cannot be seen, and it is to make people like the Tao.

(End of this chapter)