Five - The Bellows
Chapter Five is a good example of what I mentioned in my first post; that is, there are many ways to translate the text Lao Tsu has given us and it is often useful to consider several interpretations to get a clearer picture of the whole. Feng and English use the word “dummies” 
in the first stanza, but the original is closer to “straw dogs.” Taken together, these terms help us to see what is meant more clearly. Sub specie aeternitatis. As Spinoza taught, under the aspect of eternity, temporal accidents can never be confused with Being. The trick is achieving that point of view. Clearly, such a view would be a side effect of a deeper achievement and not merely a shift in perspective.
The second stanza of Chapter Five is more interesting. “Heaven and Earth and all that lies between is like a bellows.” It is empty, but, when it is worked, it gives rise to the ten thousand things. The more it moves the more it yields. Lao Tsu contrasts this with the operation of the intellect: the more words, the less understanding. Thus: “Far better is it to keep what is in the heart.” Or in another translation: “Hold fast to the center.” Here is the core of Taoist anti-intellectualism which flows forward equally into Zen, as well. I have always found it difficult to accept this core belief. But I am content to leave it at a realization that there are in fact mysteries that confront us more often than some of us like to admit.