line of the Abysmal" which is not very meaningful and certainly does not
convey the sense of the positivity, creativity, or celestial nature of the
"light" that the text emphasizes.
13. The movement of creative energy becomes "traceless" and
"indiscernible" in the sense that the ecstasy accompanying the initial mating
of consciousness and the true sense of real knowledge later subsides in
favor of a more subtle experience.
14. "Living midnight" is a Taoist term for a state of profound mental
stillness and quietude that is nevertheless pregnant with primal energy,
preceding the "dawn" of resurgent light.
1.
The restless "human mind" is stilled so that the clear "celestial mind"
may come to light. Wilhelm translates "living midnight" which is an
extremely common expression in this sort of Taoist literature, as "the
time when the child comes to life."
15. The images of the master becoming a servant and taking the servant for
the master are common in Chan Buddhism. In Taoist terms, this means that
the mundane conditioning of the "human mentality" comes to govern the
whole mind and is consequently mistaken for the self.
