Chapter 52: Returning to Clarity (第52章：歸元)

天下有始，以為天下母。
既得其母，以知其子；既知其子，復守其母，沒身不殆。
塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。
開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。
見小曰明，守柔曰強。
用其光，復歸其明，無遺身殃；是為習常。
☸

Translation

The world had a beginning, which is the Mother of the world.
Having found the Mother, you know the child.
Knowing the child, yet holding to the Mother,
Though your body dies, you are never in danger.

Close the mouth; guard the gates.
And your life will be effortless.
Open the mouth; meddle in affairs.
And your life will be beyond help.

To see the small is enlightenment (Ming).
To hold to softness is power (Qiang).
Use the light, but return to enlightenment,
So that you bring no disaster upon yourself.
This is called practicing the Eternal.

✦ ◆ ✦

📜 Liuren Perspective

This chapter contains vital technical instructions for Liuren cultivation. "Closing the gates" (塞其兌，閉其門) refers to the practice of withdrawing the senses during meditation. The "mouth" (兌) is the gateway through which Qi is lost. By keeping the mouth closed and the senses guarded, the practitioner's internal power becomes "effortless" (不勤).

"Having found the Mother, you know the child" means connecting with the source (Jiutian Xuannu/Dao) to understand the manifested world (Child). In ritual, we "hold to the Mother" (the source) while working with the "Child" (the ritual manifestation). This ensures that we are never in "spiritual danger."

"Using the light, but returning to enlightenment" is the rule for magical work. We use our Spiritual Light (Fa-energy) to help others, but we must immediately "return" that light to the internal "Enlightenment" (Source) to prevent the "disaster" of spiritual depletion or ego-inflation. This is "Practicing the Eternal" (習常).

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