This series of articles was written by my teacher, mentor and friend, Tom Bisio founder and chief instructor of Internal Arts International. Tom is an accomplished martial artist and Chinese Medicine practitioner. He is also the foremost practitioner and teacher of Baquazhang in the United States. Even though I did not write this I feel is important enough to include here in the hopes that it will reach a larger audience.
Dao De Jing as a guide to Daoist Meditation
By Tom Bisio, Internal Arts International
Part 1
May 26, 2025
This series of posts looks at the Dao De Jing as a guide to Daoist Meditation. The dual nature of the text often leads us to think that Lao Zi is talking about one thing, when there is actually a different meaning concealed within the text.
The Dao De Jing is perhaps the most frequently translated work in Chinese. There are numerous different translations of the book. The text of Dao De Jing is generally thought to be divided into two parts: Dao Jing, which includes the first 37 chapters of the book and De Jing, which is the rest of the book (chapter 38-chapter 81).
The Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), attributed to Lao Zi (Lao Tzu), is often viewed as the central text of what is sometimes referred to (perhaps erroneously) as “Philosophical Daoism.” The Dao De Jing (known as the Laozi) is a philosophical text, but it also addresses spiritual and religious issues of Daoist practice and therefore cannot be separated from these aspects of Daoism. In addition, the book has a veiled subtext that acts as a kind of instruction manual for the practice of Daoist meditation.
There have been numerous commentaries on Dao De Jing. One of the oldest known commentaries on the Dao De Jing is attributed to He Shang Gong (Ho Shang Kung). Very little is known about He Shang Gong. He Shang Gong (literally, “the old man on the banks of the Huang Ho” or “Riverside Elder), appears to be pseudonym for a Daoist hermit. Scholars are not sure exactly when he lived and wrote his commentary. It may have been as early as 160 BCE, or later, in the 2nd century. He Shang Gong’s commentary on the Dao De Jing has been very influential on future commentaries and translations.
In reading his commentary on the text of the Dao De Jing, it is clear that He Shang Gong is not merely providing a philosophical interpretation of the text. The aim of his commentary seems to be to enable the reader to make practical use of the Dao De Jing, teaching him or her how to use the book as a guide to Daoist meditation. To this end, He Shang Gong gives chapter headings that serve as instructions or guideposts for the practice of Daoist meditation. A bit like like a “how to” book, these headings attempt to instruct the reader. Some examples are “How to Embody the Dao”, “How to Use Emptiness”, and “How to Return to Purity”. What follows is an introduction to the Dao De Jing as a guide to meditation. It is by no means a complete discussion and to a large degree it is my own limited understanding of what the text and He Shang Gong’s commentary is aiming at.
Dao is usually translated as ‘way’ or ‘method’ and by extension ‘rule of life’ or ‘process’.[1] The Dao De Jing was originally divided into two halves, one called Dao (The Way) and the other De (power, potency, potential, charisma or virtue). Although both Dao and De are discussed in both sections of the book, one could say that the first half concerns itself largely with instruction in the Dao – in the context of our discussion, the way of practicing Daoist meditation and asceticism, while the second half of the book concerns itself with De (Te), the charisma and potency of the sage (one who has embraced the Dao), and how to manage and utilize the potency and power developed through the meditative process.
At this point I have planned thirteen posts that discuss some 20 chapters 0f the Dao De Jing, which I think is sufficient to see the relationship of the text to meditation and self-cultivation practices. Because of the interlocking and repetitive nature of the text, other chapters of the Dao De Jing will be referenced along the way. I have pulled from many translations and commentaries to elucidate the text and I thank those scholars and commentators for their many contributions to understanding this seminal text. As much as possible I have footnoted sources so that the reader can consult these books and make their own conclusions.
Important Note:
Unless otherwise indicated all Dao De Jing quotes are from Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes. Switzerland: Press of Artibus Asiae Ascona (First published in Journal Artibus Saiae 1950). I highly recommend this translation and commentary if you can obtain a copy.
Dao De Jing Chapter 1: How to Embody the Dao
The Dao that can be discussed,
Is not the eternal Dao.
The name that can be named,
Is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of all things.
Always without desire, thereby one beholds its secret.
Always having desires, thereby one sees its return.
The two are of the same origin but different in name.
Together they are called the dark one.
The one still darker than the dark one.
The gate of every mystery.
This chapter is probably the most famous and most oft-quoted section of the Dao De Jing. It is the root or foundation of all that follows and prepares the way for what follows in subsequent chapters.. Because this chapter is the “gateway” to the rest of the text, it is worth spending some time analyzing it.
The first four lines of this chapter set the tone for self-cultivation by acknowledging the need for human beings to try and conceptualize and explain the meaning of life and the nature of reality. However these lines also tell the reader that human conceptions about life and reality are just that: conceptions. They do not signify the ultimate reality as “names” and words cannot adequately convey ultimate reality. Dao represents something subtle and difficult to grasp with the conscious, conceptual mind. The Dao is a mysterious and numinous unity that underlies and sustains all things, and is therefore inaccessible to normal thought, language and perception.[2]
The Dao that can be discussed,
Is not the eternal Dao.
The name that can be named,
Is not the eternal name.
He Shang Gong comments that the name (that can be named) is not the name of that which of itself exists externally (in other words the ultimate reality of which we are speaking). He says: The eternal names likes [to be] like a child that does not yet talk, like a chicken that has not yet broken through [the eggshell].[3]
These very famous lines in regard to naming, concepts which are reiterated in later chapters of the Dao De Jing, are, to some degree, a reaction to the “School of Names” (Ming Chia), a label for a diverse group of thinkers of the Warring States Period (479-221 BCE). Among other things, these thinkers reflected on the importance of language including “names” or “words” and their relation to actual things or “stuff” – objects, events, situations, etc. The thinkers of the School of Names are also thought of as dialecticians (those skilled in philosophical debate), or more commonly as “disputers”, because they spent much of their time in “disputation” which focused on defining and differentiating concepts through language. This lead to form of dialectical persuasion, inquiry and philosophical debate, sometimes leading to philosophical hairsplitting or sophistry.
While the School of Names focused on defining and differentiating concepts through language, Daoists viewed language as inherently limited and potentially misleading, believing that true understanding comes from direct experience and aligning oneself with the natural flow of the Dao. Daoism rejects the idea that language and definitions can accurately capture reality, and essentially criticized the School of Names for its focus on overly precise language and categorization which they believed distorted understanding of the world. In particular the Daoist writings ascribed to Zhuangzi employ paradoxes and skepticism to challenge the fixation of language and naming that was prevalent in the School of Names. This critique appears as a theme throughout the Dao De Jing and is as relevant today as it was in 300 BCE.
Although I only studied very briefly with the late Tom Brown Jr., known for his knowledge of nature, the outdoors and his amazing tracking skills, I remember him telling story about teaching children about plants, trees, animal sand the natural world. He said he quickly learned not to name a new plant, tree, or animal when presenting it to a child. He found the minute something was named, the child lost interest in it, so his approach became one of having the child examine the living characteristics and sensations of the plant, tree, or animal, initially without the name. He found that this approach created an ongoing living, breathing engagement with what was being observed. Similarly in internal martial arts, learning a form, or a Qi Gong set or a meditation practice is not actually “knowing” these things. Only through practice and engagement does one experience a “knowing.” Forms and methods are merely vehicles for an ongoing exploration/engagement that is alive and constantly changing and transforming.
The nameless (Dao) is without physical form, It is effectively a primordial energy, hence its inability to be named, or described with words. He Shang Gong says that the nameless spits forth the breath expands the changes, proceeds from the void. Therefore it serves as the basis and beginning of Heaven and Earth.[4] Heaven and Earth are named, so they have a form and a place. Heaven and Earth are Yin and Yang, soft and hard, light and dark, etc. This relates to Dao De Jing Chapter 42: On the Changes of Dao.
Tao generates one. One generates two. Two generates three. Three generate all things.
All things turn away from yin and embrace yang.
The empty breath effects the union.
Dao generates one. One generates two (yin and yang). Two generates three: the turbid-yin, the clear-yang and the harmonious. These three correlate with Earth, Heaven, and Human Beings respectively.[5]
When movement occurs within the undifferentiated matter there is movement. This movement is like a small breeze just beginning, like a breath, like an inhalation and exhalation: the primordial Breath or primordial Qi, the “Original” or “True” Qi. With movement (Dong), there is also stillness (Jing). With movement, things begin to divide and separate. The lighter transparent Qi rises and the heavier opaque Qi sinks down. The polarity of Heaven and Earth is created. Heaven is Yang and Earth is Yin. Qi that is influenced by Yang floats, rises and moves so it can be characterized as Yang Qi. Qi that sinks, falls and is quiescent is influenced by Yin, and can be characterized as Yin Qi.
The polarity created by the cosmic Qi/Breath is called the Tai Ji, often translated as “Supreme Ultimate.” However, Tai Ji is more properly understood as “Great Polarity,” “Great Differentiation,” or “Complete Differentiation.” It can be represented as Heaven and Earth as diagrammed above. The Tai Ji represents the division of things into Yin Qi and Yang Qi, movement and stillness, up and down, right and left, etc. This process of differentiation is illustrated in an early version of the Tai Ji Diagram shown below
Yin and Yang
The spiraling action of the breath that creates the separation of the Wu Ji into Yin and Yang and Heaven and Earth can be likened to a centrifuge, which spins and separates lighter matter form heavier matter. This is sometimes diagrammed in a variation of the Tai Ji symbol:
Humanity (Ren), or in a broader sense, sentient beings, is the fruit of the union of heaven and earth. Heaven is above and Earth is below. Heaven first initiates, Earth nurtures, and then life emerges. The “One” generated by the Dao is undifferentiated Pre-Heaven Qi, the energy that creates everything else. All natural things, including human beings and human Qi, are connected to and determined by the natural cycles of Heavenly Qi and Earthly Qi. Heaven, earth and human beings are inter-connected, hence there is inherent relationship and integration between heaven, earth, and human beinngs
Heaven, Earth and Human Beings are also signifiers of respectively the Shen (spirit), Jing (essence) and Qi (vital force), the energies within us, which are derived from the undifferentiated Pre-Heaven primordial energy. These energies interact and inter-transform and, although we name them separately, they can be considered as one matrix (Jingqishen).
All things turn toward the sun (yang), the source of life, and are a mixture of yin and yang, light and dark, fire and water. In all things there is the original breath (original Qi). The ten thousand things reach their union (achieve harmony) through blending of the breaths, which in turn relies on emptiness – Emptiness here referring the undifferentiated Pre-Heaven Energy. Within the breast are the organs, within the bones is the marrow and within plants there is emptiness. The harmonious blended Qi and Breath flows through and pervades them and thereby they obtain long life.[6] Here it is made clear that the free circulation of the Qi and Breath is ultimately the reason why emptiness or nothingness (what is unseen) is critical to understanding the Dao. The definition of the Dao as what is empty, in this regard, also means the fullness of Q and Breath.[7] This fullness of Qi and Breath in turn creates the limitless and inexhaustible changes and transformations of the natural world and the living beings within it.
The first four lines also tell the reader, something that is reiterated several times in later chapters, that religion, gods and demons, prayer, etc. – things that can be named and understood intellectually or through faith – are not the answer to understanding life’s meaning.
Lines 5 and 6
The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of all things.
The nameless is formless and the origin of the universe. According to He Shang Gong, it spits forth the breath expands the changes, proceeds from the void. Heaven and Earth can be named, so they are not the origin, but they generate everything else (all other things that can be named) so they act as the Mother.
In Chinese thought, the primordial unity before the division of things into heaven (yang) and earth (yin) is known as Hun Dun ( ). This nebulous state of the universe before heaven and earth separated is described as undifferentiated chaos, a state prior to the formation of the universe where nothing is perceptible or can be named. It can also refer to the innocence of a child. Interestingly Hun Dun is also sometimes likened to an egg.
He Shang Gong says that the Mother (heaven and earth) swallow the breath, generate all things and let them grow and ripen like a mother nourishing her children. Here the text begins to reveal the importance of the breath in self-cultivation.
Lines 7, 8 and 9
Always without desire, thereby one beholds its secret.
Always having desires, thereby one sees its return.
The two are of the same origin but different in name.
These lines tell us that remaining without desires allows one to contemplate the unitary principle, while always having desires one contemplates the world of words and conceptions. Having desires and being without desires have the same origin but different names. Lines seven and eight contain the character Guan ( ), which can mean contemplation, to observe, behold, or regard. However Guan also refers to a Daoist Monastery, and therefore contemplation and meditation. Guan also references the Guan Hexagram (Hexagram 20: Contemplation). Guan resembles a watchtower with two solid-yang lines at the top overlooking four broken-yin lines below. This could also be understood as a temple on a mountain. Both idea offer a a broader, more clear view of things, so that one can view one’s own activity from a more objective perspective Guan is composed of the Xun-Wind Trigram over the Kun-Earth Trigram, referencing heaven’s penetrating insight connecting with earth’s stability and stillness – a good description of meditation, which involves inner observation and contemplation of the breath and the internal energies.
Line nine talks about the previous lines as having different names but the same origin. What does this mean? The next three lines explain.
Together they are called the dark one.
The one still darker than the dark one.
The gate of every mystery.
The dark one (Xuan) is discussed in more detail in Chapter 6, which He Shang Gong entitles “How to Complete the Idea.” Chapter 6 is one of the most frequently quoted passages of the Dao De Jing. This Chapter contains many important concepts related to Meditation. Hence it is worth comparing several translations and commentaries.
Below are two other translations of Chapter 6, the first by Alan Chan and the second by Richard John Lynn:
Translation 1: Alan K. L. Chan
The spirit of the valley never dies
It is called the mysterious female.
The door of the mysterious is called the root of Heaven and Earth.
Flimsy and continuous, as if barely existing,
Yet use will never exhaust it.[8]
Translation 2: Richard John Lynn
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.[9]
In He Shang Gong‘s commentary, he refers to the mysterious as the “dark” or the “dark one”, sometimes differentiating it as yang or Heaven associated, as opposed to yin, associated with Earth.
In his commentary, He Shang Gong relates the dark one to Heaven and the nose, and the female to the mouth: Heaven nourishes human beings by means of the five atmospheres. Through the nose these “atmospheres or energies enter the viscera and penetrate to the heart.” [10] Red Pine’s commentary on this passage seems to build off of He Shang Gong’s:
The valley is what nourishes. Those able to nourish the spirit do not die. ‘Spirit’ means the spirits of the five organs. When these five are injured the five spirits leave. ‘Dark’ refers to Heaven. In a person this means the nose, which links us with Heaven. The female refers to ‘Earth’. In a person, this means the mouth, which links us to Earth. The breath that passes through our nose and mouth should be finer than gossamer silk and barely noticeable, as if it weren’t actually present. It should be relaxed and never strained or exhausted.[11]
The five spirits are rarefied essences of the Five Qi of the five viscera. The five spirits produce the senses of the body. There are two key spirits. The Hun (spirit associated with the liver) is yang. It is connected to Heaven. Hence, it is mysterious and dark. The Hun relates to the liver and is in charge of what enters and leaves the body through the nose. The Po (associated with the lungs) is related to Earth and yin. The Po nourishes man with tastes, which enter through the mouth. Relative to the rarified vapor of Heaven, foods and the tastes ass0ciated with food, are turbid and dense. They “form” and provide nourishment for the frame of the body – the bones, muscles, flesh, etc.[12] The other spirits are the Yi (Intention) which is linked to the spleen and stomach, the Shen (Heart-Spirit) and the Zhi (Will), linked to the Jing (essence) which is stored in the kidneys.
The Hun and Po are important concepts in Daoist meditation. The sensory perceptions of the eyes, ears, mouth, etc, are thought to comprise the Po. When these become Qi they are called the Hun, which is said to have three “spirits” that are akin to the Three Treasures – Jing, Qi and Shen. The Po is said to have seven “souls” that are related to the emotions and senses – joy, anger, pleasure, sorrow, like, dislike, and desire.
In Daoist meditation and internal alchemy the passions of the Po are thought to dominate the Hun in most people. This causes the vital force to decay. Meditation aims to reverse this dynamic, so that one’s desires and sensations become ruled by the Hun. During the day the Hun resides in the eyes, the windows of the Shen (spirit), while at night it resides in the liver. When the Hun resides in the eyes, one can “see”; when it resides in the liver, one can “dream.” In one who “dreams” too much, the Po controls the Hun. In one who is “awake” (i.e.: not ruled by dreams and desires), the Hun controls the Po.[13]
When the Hun and the Po, the yin and yang manifestations of the spirits, are harmonized, one connects or reconnects to an inner unity. This unity is itself a manifestation of the balanced and harmonious breaths of Heaven and Earth moving through us.
Breathing continuously, infinitesimally and smoothly is the door that connects us with the fundamental essences of Heaven and Earth, which in turn harmonizes and nourishes the spirits. He Shang Gong describes the breath as being performed uninterruptedly and in a mysterious way, as if one could flee and return, as if one did not exist. In using the breath, one should proceed with ease and not to make haste and to make oneself tired.[14] This is essentially a description of the meditative process.
Some commentators consider the “mouth”, related to earth, to actually refer to the anus and genitals. During meditation, one inhales through the nose and gathers Qi (energy), but by controlling desire and holding up the anus one prevents leakage of the vital force accumulating in the center of the body.
These ideas are similar to internal boxing training, which employs standing and moving meditation in the training methods. In arts like Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang, one is taught to uphold Qi internally without it leaking and to circulate Qi through the internal organs. The great Xing Yi Boxer Liu Wen Hua sites the importance of gathering Qi internally as follows:
It is said that Qi in the Dan Tian area is inherited from the Pre-Heaven, staying sufficiently in the interior and not wandering to the exterior, but it can be nourished and supplemented to a sufficient volume, even without training. If people are able to avoid indulging in sexual desire avoiding the loss of Kidney Jing (Essence) and are able to maintain good life habits, then primary Qi will automatically be sufficient. Then life can be prolonged.[15]
Liu Wen Hua goes on to say that to train Dan Tian, one must accumulate Qi in Dan Tian, and secondly one must circulate Qi so that it flows through the organs and channels without any blockage. He ends by saying that this can only be accomplished through diligent training and not by “sitting in meditation praying the immortals” – again reiterating the Dao De Jing’s recurring theme that religion, gods and demons, prayer – things that are named and understood intellectually or through faith, rather than through one’s unspoken and unnamed inner experience – are not the answer to real knowledge and ability.
Guo Yun Shen, perhaps the most famous Xing Yi boxer, says that practicing Nei Dan, (Daoist “Inner Elixir” meditation) and practicing the martial art of Xing Yi Quan are essentially the same:
The way to train the Nei Dan all depends upon respiration, beginning with the small heavenly circle and large heavenly circle and then achieving a return to emptiness; each stage a transformation through breath. The methods of the boxing art are the same except that one is training the body, sinews and bones. Training the inner elixir seeks movement within stillness, and upon reaching its peak, movement returns to stillness. In boxing one seeks stillness within movement, and the peak of stillness returns to movement. In the initial training, they look different, but become the same in returning emptiness.[16]
In the text the Mysterious Female is referred to as Xuan Pin ( ). Xuan means “black”, “dark”, “profound”, or “abstruse”, while Pin refers to female (yin). The Xuan Pin “Gate” is referred to as the origin of the universe, and the place where vitality resides, hence the source of the Dao. This gate is formless, infinite, and eternal, a realm that transcends time and space. Entering this gate is to transcend the mundane world and reach the Dao, thereby attaining both wisdom and energy.[17]
This term appears at the end of the first chapter of the Dao De Jing. In the He Shang Gong version it is as follows: The one still darker than the dark one, the gate of every mystery. Below are three other interesting translations of this line:
The mystery upon mystery, and gateway of all subtleties.[18]
Darker even than darkness, gate of multiple subtleties.[19]
The obscurest of the obscure, they are the swinging gateway of the manifold mysteries.[20]
According to some scholars, the Chinese oracle bone character for Xuan depicts hands turning something, creating a kind of spinning whirl, a vortex, which is deep and dark and is associated with the mysterious downward spiraling of water. The whirl functions as a gate that lets things in and out like a cosmic source through which everything passes.[21]
Xuan Pin is the passage between life and death, between being and non-being, the place where Yin and Yang communicate. These concepts are illustrated in an ancient representation of the Xuan Pin depicted below.
The “Valley” is like the low ground where water collects without effort. Han Dynasty commentator Wang Bi describes the Valley as the “nothingness in the center of the valley”, which has neither form nor appearance.[22] Sinologist D.C. Lau writes that “the valley is but the empty space between two mountains, and so it only seems as if it were there.” After the mountains wear away, the space is still there.[23] This void space is also compared to a deep dark gorge, the place from which Heaven and Earth emerged. This can be a metaphor for the Dao. It conjures up the image of a still pool, which can be likened to the cultivation of stillness in meditation – when the outward senses are withdrawn to look inward and the mind moves only within itself.[2
Although Gu Shen, taken literally, means “Valley Spirit,” Howard Dewar feels that Gu Shen refers to the energy center in the perineum – in Chinese traditions the area is also called Hui Yin (“Yin Meeting” or “Convergence of Yin”), Yin Qiao (“Yin Motility” or “Yin Bridge” and Pin Men (“Female or Yin Gate”). Brewer goes on to postulate that: this center is actually the place where a human being connects to the universe, it is the gate of heaven and earth. While most religions emphasize the heart as the seat of human nature, the Daodejing says that a human being, whose ultimate being is a manifestation of energy traceable to the dao, connects to the dao via the xuanpin center.[25]
He Shang Gong seems to concur with this viewpoint. If one nourishes the spirits, “one dies not.” They are nourished through breathing and meditation. Xuan Pin is a “gate.” Focusing on the “gate” (the Valley Spirit) yields continuous unbroken energy that does not die (does not stop), because it is overflowing and as the text tells us: to use it [the energy] is not fatiguing.[26]
Returning to Dao De Jing Chapter 1 the last three lines are saying that both the man who has desires and he who has none, receive the same breath of Heaven – the “Dark One.” According to He Shang Gong, the “One still darker then the Dark One,” means that within heaven there is another heaven; within the breath, there is another breath; within the mind, there is another mind. In the breath there is both fullness and emptiness, which allows us to cast aside feelings and desires and remain in the middle, in harmony.[27] Understanding this place of unity and harmony is the gate of the mystery.
The text and commentary are directing us to understand the key to attainment of the Dao is to step away from desires and find the breath within the breath (True Breath) to reach the mind within the mind (True Mind). Finding this True Breath and True Mind allow us to cast aside desires and dwell in the middle – the nameless, harmonious center. So here, in this first chapter, it becomes clear that meditation and breathing as a method of self-cultivation are the gate to our return to the source – the primordial energy that generates all things.
Notes
[1] Taoism: Growth of a Religion, by Isabelle Robinet. Translated by Phyllis Brooks. Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1997, p. 26.
[2] The Secret Teachings of the Tao Te Ching, by Mantak Chia and Tao Huang. Rochester Vermont: Destiny Books, 2002 and 2005, p. 10.
[3] Ho-Shang-Kung's Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes. Switzerland: Press of Artibus Asiae Ascona (1950) p. 13.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991, p. 146.
[6] Ibid, p. 126.
[7] Ibid, p. 127.
[8] Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991, pp. 139-140.
[9] The Classic of the Way and Virtue Tao-Te-Ching of Lao Zi as interpreted by Wang Bi, Richard John Lynn (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999) p. 62
[10] Ibid. p. 22.
[11] Lao-tzu’s Taoteching: with Selected Commentaries of the Past 2000 Years, translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter). Townsend WA: Copper Canyon Press, 2009, p.13.
[12] Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. p. 140.
[13] Daoist Sleeping Meditation: Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Gong. Tom Bisio (Denver: Outskirts Press 2018) p. 74.
[14] Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 22.
[15] Detailed Collection of the Art of Xing Yi Quan. Liu Dian Chen (Liu Wen Hua). Translated Huang Guo Qi & Tom Bisio
[16] Authentic Explanation of Boxing Concepts. Sun Fu Quan (Sun Lu Tang). March, 1924.
[17] https://www.webnovel.com/ask/q333371448681480
[18] The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as interpreted by Wang Bi, translated by Richard John Lynn, p. 52.
[19] Dao De Jing: The New, Highly Readable Translation of the Life-Changing Ancient Scripture Formerly Known as the Tao Te Ching, translation and Commentary by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 3.
[20] Daodejing, “Making This Life Significant”: A Philosophical Translation, Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall, p. 77.
[21] Dao De Jing. Hans-Georg Moeller, p. vii.
[22] The Classic of the Way and Virtue Tao-Te-Ching of Lao Zi as interpreted by Wang Bi, Richard John Lynn, p. 62.
[23] D. C. Lau. https://www.centertao.org/essays/tao-te-ching/dc-lau/chapter-6-commentary/
[24] The Way and Its Power, A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought, by Arthur Waley. New York: Grove Press Inc., 1958, p. 57.
[25] Sweetness &Light: What Laozi is Really Saying in the Daodejing, Howard Dewar, 2004, p. 9.
[26] Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 22.
[27] Ibid, p. 14-15.
