The TAO is like the Yoni. As the Great Mother it is empty yet inexhaustible; it gives birth to infinite worlds and nourishes all. Other images of the TAO are: the GROUND, the DARK, the EMPTY, and the SEA, from which all beings emerge into the light of existence. It is the hidden ROOT giving rise to the flower; the flower bears the fruit; the fruit contains the seed; and the seed falls back to the ground, which nourishes the root. In the image of "returning to the root", one attains quietude, tranquility, rest. All beings must return to this center in order to be re-invigorated, recharged for re-emergence into life. "THE QUIET" is the Root, as with STILLNESS. The root being quiet, tender, humble and lowly, does not die, and is everlasting. To recover life means to be deathless, immortal. This is the everlasting path of the TAO. Everything upon perishing withdraws into its root. The whole world returns to TAO as its root, in which the many become one. This withdrawal is the individual's recovery of the everlasting "returning" to the root. One recovers life, attaining the everlasting, which brings illumination. The TAO is always present within you. You can use it any way you want.