When the properly aligned form takes in De, The kindness* of heaven and the righteousness* of earth Then naturally arrive, and overwhelmingly. This highest of spirit-like understanding[K] - Is it illuminating? You will understand the ten thousand creatures.[L] Maintain the righteousness* of the center, and you will not err : Do not allow creatures to confuse your senses, Do not allow the senses to confuse your heart/mind. This is called attaining the center. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- There exists a spirit[-like understanding] naturally located in the self - One moment it goes, one moment it arrives; There is no one who can contemplate it. Lose it and you will certainly be confused, Attain it and you will certainly be regulated. Respectfully* empty its dwelling[M], And essence will naturally arrive. This essence - consider it and contemplate it, Rather than study ways to regulate it. Keeping a serious appearance, and an attitude of awe and respect*, Essence will arrive and settle. When you attain it and never let go of it, Your ears and eyes will be restrained, Your heart/mind will have no other plans. With a properly aligned heart/mind located in the center, The ten thousand creatures attain their proper value. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dao fills the world Every place the citizens are located, But the citizens can not understand this! With the liberation of one word[J] : Your head can observe what is in heaven, Your lowest extreme is on earth, And your coils fill the nine provinces.[N] What does it mean to be liberated by it? You will reside in a calm heart/mind. I regulate my heart/mind and my senses are then regulated; I calm my heart/mind and my senses are then calm. That which regulates them is the heart/mind! That which calms them is the heart/mind! The heart/mind thus contains a heart/mind; The center of the heart/mind also has a heart/mind! In that heart/mind of the heart/mind : Thought thus comes before words; After thought comes form; After form comes words; After words comes manifestation; After manifestation comes regulation. Without regulation, there will certainly be confusion; Confusion, then death. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where essence exists, there is naturally life - Outside you, calmness flourishes; It collects inside you, thus acting as a primal spring. Like a vast lake[O], it is harmonious and equable. It thus becomes a fountainhead of Qi. As long as the fountainhead does not dry up, The four limbs are then strong. When the spring is not used up, The nine bodily openings[P] are then open [to the flow of Qi]. Then you can span the limits of heaven and earth, And cover the four seas[Q].