The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.
It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
The spirit of the valley does not die, and is called Mysterious Female.
The door of the Mysterious Female is called the root of heaven and earth.
It lingers in wisps; Use it without haste.
The valley spirit that doesn't die we call the dark womb
the dark womb's mouth we call the source of creation
as real as gossamer silk and yet we can't exhaust it.
There were enough differences here, and it was short enough, that I decided to post three of the translations. I notice that Mitchell again prefers to use "Tao" in place of anything remotely mythic. The valley is classically symbolic of Tao, as it is empty and water is naturally drawn down towards it. Next line indicates an opening of some sort from which the world, or maybe all worlds, come. I prefer Gibbs' term "root," here, as it is more suggestive of something that continues to nourish even after the 'birth,' and that ties it to the last line. Just as a tree draws nutrients from its roots, so we draw sustenance from the source of all creation.
One note: Red Pine's translation has doubled up a few lines in the on-line version that I link to at the side. I removed the duplication above, so that it now matches the translation in Red Pine's book.
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