Returning to Source
The Report the Root Makes
The Tao which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all. When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard the qualities of the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril. Let him keep his mouth closed and shut up the portals of his nostrils, and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. Let him keep his mouth open and spend his breath in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety for him.
Key Insight
Return is a closed door as much as a remembered mother. The open mouth that spends itself on affairs never gets back to the quality it was supposed to guard.
“Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up the portals (of his nostrils), and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion.”Explore full theme analysis
