The Yellow Emperor had ruled for nineteen years with his orders running the world when he heard of Master Wide-win who lived on Mt. None-one. He went to see him and said, "I have heard, sir, the you have penetrated the perfect way. May I inquire about its essence? I want to get at the essence of heaven and earth to help the five grains and nourish the people, and I want to control yin and yang to satisfy all living things. How do I do it?"
Master Wide-win said, "What you are asking about is the substance of things, but your desire to control is the destruction of things. Since you've governed the world, it rains before the clouds gather, leaves fall before turning yellow, and the light of the sun and moon grow more and more pale. With your flatterer's mind all snip-snip, what good will it do to speak of the perfect way?"
The Yellow Emperor withdrew, gave up the world, built a special shack, sat on a grass mat, and lived idly for three months. Then he went and sought him out. Master Wide-win was lying with his head to the south. The Yellow Emperor approached obediently in a humble manor on his knees, kowtowed twice, and asked, "I have heard, sir, the you have penetrated the perfect way. May I inquire how to govern myself and survive?"
Master Wide-win got stumbling to his feet. "Good question! Come! Let me tell you about the perfect way. The essence of the perfect way is deep deep, dark dark. The means of the great way dusky dusky, quiet quiet. Unseen and unheard, it embraces the spirit with stillness and appears naturally upright. Be still and pure. Don't tire your body, don't stir your essence. Then you can live long. Eyes won't see, ears won't hear, the mind won't know. Your spirit will guard the body and the body will live long. Watch your inner, close your outer. Much knowing is loss.
"I will take you above the great brightness, getting there to the source of the perfect Yang. I will take you in to the deep dark's door, getting there to the source of the perfect Yin. Heaven and earth have officers, Yin and Yang have stores. Watch guard over yourself and things will self-sturdy. I guard the unity to inhabit the harmony, so I've kept myself twelve hundred years. My body has yet to decline."
The Yellow Emperor kowtowed twice and said, "Master WIde-win, you're what I mean by 'heaven'."
Master Wide-win said, "Come. I'll tell you. This thing is inexhaustible but people all think it has an end. This thing is immeasurable but people all think it has a limit. Those who achieve my way were earlier emperors and later kings. Those who lose my way sees light before but are dirt after. The hundred glories are born of dirt and return to dirt. So I am going to leave you. Enter the inexhaustible door to wander in the limitless wilds. I'll shine together with the sun and moon and last with the sky and earth. Standing by me, I'm disky. At a distance, I'm dusky. People can all die, and I alone survive."