The Beginning Of Meditation

“Renouncing all actions with the mind,
The masterful embodied self
Dwells at ease in its nine-gated fortress—
It neither acts not causes action.” (Fifth Teaching)
“Renouncing to all actions” is as if doing nothing, understanding that too many actions bring too many consequences, yet doing nothing is also doing something.
“in its nine-gated fortress”, what could be understood from a fortress? A fortress is something that keeps you from going inside something, or somewhere. Keeping yourself from doing actions keeps your “embodied self” to yourself, ergo; you can keep on searching for tranquility. At least that’s what I understood with the line, it might probably mean something else, but things are written to be interpreted the way each reader can. Bhagavad-Gita has a very similar point of view as The Tao Te Ching. Tao’s view is to clear your head form everything and be able to focus on letting live pass you by you applying the values learned, following the Tao.
“Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.” (TWO TTC).
“Doing nothing” = “Renouncing to all actions”.
Actions, as showed in Bhagavad-Gita, are the physical actions that bring negative consequences. When you kill a person, for example, it is then believed that you go to jail, or are brought into justice. This is a more literal example of the concept, because I can’t find a better one.
“He is said to be mature in discipline
When he has renounced all intention
And is detached
From sense objects and actions.”(Sixth Teaching)
When you are in total discipline and mature then there is no need for actions, or material things. I picture this in my head as the Buddha. He lasted meditating, I don’t know for how long, and there was no need for any actions, or what so ever. The Renouncing of the Actions is the beginning of meditation, there is no need to do actions to be in inner peace.