Page 506 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L ,

gushen

Spirit of the Valley

The term gushen can be traced back to Daode jing 6, where it is associated
with the Mysterious Female (*xuanpin). It denotes both an opening and the
experience of the state of openness, and accordingly has two meanings. In
the first, it refers to the sanctuary of the Spirit, i.e., the upper Cinnabar Field
(*dantian, also called Tiangu A -t-::. or Celestial Valley) as a location similar
to an open valley (Yin) between two high mountains (Yang). In the second
meaning, it alludes to the Spirit residing within the upper Cinnabar Field, and
to its experience of "spatiality."
When "Mysterious Female" defines the opening produced by the conjunc-
tion of Yin and Yang, "Spirit of the Valley" analogously emphasizes the order
of spatiality. Indeed, the focus of this term is on the state of openness in which
the Spirit is pervading like an echo in a valley: the valley merely conveys a
sound without retaining it, like a mirror that reflects an image without any
intention of doing so. This is suggestive of the Original Spirit (yuanshen Jl: fIt!)
that resides in emptiness, free from the contents of the discursive mind. The
term gushen alludes to this experience of the spatiality of Mind or Spirit, i.e.,
the original nature of the state "before Heaven" (xiantian yuanshen 1G 7C:51: f$),
which is tranquil and unperturbed and spontaneously resonates with things.
Monica ESPOSITO

W Billeter 1985; Cleary 1986a, 82-83; Emerson 1992; Esposito 1993, 175-77
* jing, qi, shen; xuanguan; xuanpin

Guwen Zhouyi cantong qi

Ancient Text of the Zhouyi cantong qi

Several Ming and Qing exegetical works on the *Zhouyi cantong qi are based on
a version of the scripture that claims to be its authentic "ancient text" (guwen).
The origins of this version can be traced as far back as Du Yicheng ;f± -- ~,

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