Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-9 Heaven torn apart

Today's Tao

If heaven were not clear, it might be torn apart. (Ch.39)


"Oh, my god! Heaven got dark. It is a bad omen. Something bad is gonna happen. Heaven is gonna be torn apart."

Don't worry. The world is safe.

Because you are the one who is projecting it.

Here Lao Tzu is not scaring you. On the contrary, he is assuring you.

Heaven is always clear because it is the manifestation of Tao.

Your world will be always safe because it exists within you.


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-Mean = Root 39-18
-No honor 39-19
-No jade 39-20
-Like stone 39-21
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-Ryokan is a Saint Francis of Assisi of Japan. Or, he went even further in terms of loving other living beings. He even loved fleas and lice. Once in a while he felt sorry for those living on his body and had them sun-bathe by taking off his clothes and stretching them out in the sun.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-8 One = Tao

Today's Tao

It is One who did these. (Ch.39)


One = Tao.

Tao creates all. That means you create all.

Creation of everything.

Projection of holograms.

They are the same.

Where do you project them?

In Mind with a capital M as Daisetz Suzuki put it.

In you the energy.

In Tao. We haven't got anywhere else.


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-Like stone 39-21
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-Mind with a capital M. In Daisetz Suzuki's «Manual of Zen», the words of Obaku Ki-un 黄檗希運 (Huang-po) are quoted: "This Mind is no other than Buddha; there is no Buddha outside Mind, nor is there any Mind outside Buddha." [«Manual of Zen»; IV. From the Chinese Zen Masters, 6. Obaku's (Huang-po) Sermon from "Treatise on the Essentials of the Transmission of Mind (Denshin Hoyo)] Mind is Kokoro in Japanese.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-7 Hologram's master

Today's Tao

Lords and kings attained One and became the masters of the world under the sky. (Ch.39)


Let's decode Today's Tao sentence step by step.

What is "the world under the sky"?

It's holograms.

What are "the masters"?

They are those who project the holograms.

Who project them?

You do. "Lords and kings" mean true You, Tao.

That's why Buddha said:

"Above heave, below heaven, I am the only respectable being". 天上天下唯我独尊[tenjo tenge yuiga doku son]


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-"Ura" in Japanese means "flip side".
So, "Ura-Nihon" can be translated as the B side region of Japan, the areas touching Sea of Japan. It implies the land in the darkness without sunshine with the gusty cold wind from Siberia dropping tons of snow in its long winter. Naturally, the Japanese word is regarded as a pejorative especially by the residents of the region, including Echigo, the old name of Niigata Prefecture. But is it so? "Ura" is indeed the heart and soul of hidden Japan, the place you must not miss if you a connoisseur of traveling.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-6 Hologram's birth

Today's Tao

Everything attained One and was born. (Ch.39)


This is one of the key sentences in Tao Te Ching.


Step 1 There is nothing. It is Tao the fundamental energy.

Step 2 A thing before its birth (=Bumo misho izen) gets Tao.

Step 3 The thing will be projected, be born, and become a hologram and catalyst.

Step 4 The hologram stimulates Tao the energy.

Step 5 Go back to the first step. There is nothing.

Step 6 More holograms will be created.


Tao emits Tao. The energy emits more energy. Nothing emits nothing. You emits you. They are saying the same thing.

This cycle is the reincarnation, the prayer wheel, the wheel of manifestation 法輪 [horin] or the Yin Yang circle.


«Advice»
Don't mix the element of "self" with the idea of the Tao/hologram cycle before you fully accept it. Your own self does not create holograms, and is projected along with the rest of the world.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39
-Tao by Matsumoto / You and non-you


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-Let's not talk about taste here. Some works are too important to ignore. The photographer Nobuyoshi Araki tells his stories with photos. One wonders why Japan has lost things once so adorable to those who know about its literature and philosophy. Araki will tell you: "You ain't seen nothing yet". True geisha souls never disappear so easily.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-5 Filled valley

Today's Tao

The valley attained One and got filled. (Ch.39)


In Taoism, "the valley" means emptiness.

"Valley God exists any time any where", says Lao Tzu in Chapter 6. (☞See also Valley God 6-1)

Once the emptiness gets Tao's energy, it gets filled and becomes a hologram.

The hologram constitutes the so-called world.

What you think has colours is in fact a hologram and emptiness.

色-[shiki]=colour (☞See Tao by Matsumoto / Chapter 4b / Color)

即-[soku]=just (or immediate)

是-[ze]=be

空-[kuu]=emptiness (or sky)

色即是空　[shiki soku ze ku]

空即是色　[ku soku ze shiki]

"Colour is justly nothing.

 Nothing is justly colour. " (Heart Sutra 般若心経)

That's how the Buddhists summarize the mechanism.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39
-Full = Empty 45-3


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-You can compare Japanese society before and after the bubble-economy. Everything has changed? Not exactly. We still eat. We still sleep. The sun rises. The moon shines.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-4 Gods

Today's Tao

Gods attained One and got spiritual. (Ch.39)


Where do feelings and thoughts come from?

Where does time come from? Where does it go?

Where do "gods" live?

All of them are part of your hologram.

Therefore it is you who project them.

"Gods" need Tao the fundamental energy to exist as Today's Tao sentence says.

"Gods" are there to stimulate you as a catalyst like feelings and thoughts, time and space, and people and objects.

Can you abandon the idea of the one and only objective world outside you?

If you can, you will not have to be afraid of "gods" or responsible for your feelings and thoughts.

You will even have an unlimited supply of time and space.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-If you are interested in homeopathy, Masaru Emoto's books will help you understand why it works. Water has memory. It remembers the state when it was working without problems. About 60% of our body consists of water. We are water with memory.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-3 Earth

Today's Tao

Earth attained One and got stable. (Ch.39)


Heaven can be abstract, but earth is concrete.

They seem different, but both of them are part of your hologram.

The words "earth" and "stable" suggest space.

Space, as well as time, is part of the hologram.

Space is just a parameter to reconstruct the imaginary world in your mind.

Without Tao, no holograms.

Without holograms, no space.

Without you, .... Oh, no! It's impossible because you are the One, the fundamental energy Tao.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-«At the hawk's well» is the title of a "Noh" play written by W. B. Yeats. At the moment of writing, the poet had never seen any Noh performance. Nevertheless, he used a few features of the Japanese traditional theatre and wrote a magnificent one act play.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-2 Heaven

Today's Tao

Heaven attained One and got clear. (Ch.39)


You project the clear "heaven" in your hologram, which is the world in front of you.

To do that, you need One, the fundamental energy Tao.

Don't worry. You are the energy, so you've got plenty of it.

Just don't mix true You and your own self.

Your own self is part of your hologram which you project.

You project the hologram, and it stimulates you.

You may react saying:

"What a clear and beautiful sky it is!"

You appreciate the hologram. Then, you emit the energy.

This "give and take" is taking place constantly inside true You.

This exchange is the Yin Yang circle.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-Noh is a traditional theatre in Japan. It is a mixture of various performing arts and may have come to be the form as we know of by the name in the fourteenth century. The word Noh 能 means "ability" in Japanese.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-1 Attain One

Today's Tao

Once upon a time, somebody attained One. (Ch.39)


One signifies Tao.

"Once upon a time, somebody attained Tao."

Masters in the olden days used such an expression as this.

A little too often, I suppose.

It is called Hoben 方便 in Zen Buddhism.

It means a tool to explain about a highly metaphysical concept.

I don't want to blame old masters, but it is clear that their Hoben the thought tools have created many misunderstandings among latter-day seekers of the truth.

All right, let's go straight to Today's point.

It is you who attained Tao.

In fact, you didn't even attain it because you didn't need to. You are Tao.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


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-Renzaburo Shibata is a good novelist. Although he is very well-known in Japan, his name is hardly mentioned in the international literary circles. He is a comercial writer. That's for sure. But it doesn't deny that his works are a reflection of Japanese society and a manifestation of its collective psyche. Besides, he was a bun-shi, a literature samurai, who adored gambling like pachinko.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-15 Leave it

Today's Tao

Therefore, he leaves that and takes this. (Ch.38)


Therefore, leave your hologram and remember that you are Tao.

That's for sure.


But can we leave Tao and go into the floating world of holograms?

Yes, that's what great masters do.

Knowing that this fragile world of holograms is just a catalyst, you play there.

You have fun and appreciate the holographic world for existing right here right now.

"This" and "that" are interchangeable. This exchange makes a circle. It is the act of turning Tao's wheel. (=転法輪 [tenborin])

Let's do it. We are masters of life, too.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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☞Some want a prayer wheel at home. Other don't know anything about it, but live a life of prayer wheel without prayers, just with sincerity. Both of them are the same. No one is better than any. Kurosawa embody a life of a sincere prayer in his «Dodes'ka-Den».

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-14 Tao's Flower

Today's Tao

He remains in its fruit and stays away from the flower. (Ch.38)


Certainly, "its fruit" means Tao, and "the flower" its hologram.

You always remain in Tao's "fruit" because true You are Tao itself.

Nevertheless, holograms are important, too.

In Dogen's «Shobogenzo» 道元の正法眼蔵, he explains 法華　転　法華 [hokke ten hokke]:

the flowers of manifestation turn the flowers of manifestation.

It is a beautiful way to describe "holograms provoke holograms".

This makes a circle or a cycle, which is the wheel of manifestation 法輪 [horin].

Keeping the cycle is precisely turning the wheel of manifestation 転法輪 [tenborin].


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-There are many ways to turn the wheel of manifestation / Horin. You don't have to look for Satori. You can learn how to rely on Tariki / the power of non-self. Eventually you will find out self and non-self are the same thing. A contemporary Japanese novelist Hiroyuki Itsuki talks about his experience of evacuation from Korea during WW2 and tells us how to "embrace despair".

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-13 Thick & Thin

Today's Tao

Therefore, a great man remains in its thickness and stays away from its thinness. (Ch.38)


Thickness means Tao.

In Chapter 15 Man who knew Tao Lao Tzu says:

"Thick, as if he were an uncarved block."


Thickness = an uncarved block = Tao

(☞See also Chapter  28 Uncarved block)


Thinness means a hologram.

A hologram is superficial.

Besides, Lao Tzu asks you to stay away from the thin hologram, which we call the world.

You should detach yourself from your world. Don't get stuck in there.

Nevertheless, we must not despise it.

Because it is the flower of Tao's manifestation (=法華 [hokke])

It stimulates you to emit more Love / Tao energy to turn the wheel of manifestation, 法輪 [horin].

The act is called 転法輪 [tenborin].


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-Beautiful flowers bloom in all the spheres of existence. Some stories shine. Some are worth telling to another generation.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-12 Foreknowledge

Today's Tao

What you call foreknowledge is the flower of Tao and the beginning of stupidity. (Ch.38)


Foreknowledge, telling something before it happens, has been fascinating men for a long time.

But, right here Lao Tzu says it is the beginning of stupidity.

It is logic because there is no time in Tao.

Foretelling doesn't exist. Don't let stupidity reign over your mind.

"Flower" suggests superficiality and holography.

In Buddhism, they use the expression of 法華 [hokke], the flowers of manifestation.

It is you who are creating your hologram.

Why do you need someone else to tell you about it?


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-Sometimes we think that God is silent facing injustice. Why doesn't He help us? Shusaku Endo asks the question. In Japanese traditional plays, the question is asked a little different way. Silence itself is the place we go back to.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-11 Disorder

Today's Tao

What you call politeness is the thinness of loyalty and trust, and the neck of disorder. (Ch.38)


Right here, Lao Tzu says that politeness is the worst form of loyalty and trust.

He even says that politeness is the earliest sign of disorder.

But why?

Because politeness is fake.

The moment you think about communication skills, your act is not spontaneous.

It is not natural.

The present state, right here, right now, is always perfect.

It is perfectly in order.

If you try to add something to it, it will be the beginning of disorder.

Of course, you can be polite, righteous, or merciful without trying.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-In «Zen and Japanese Culture» Daisetz Suzuki talks about Ikkyu's effort to explain to laymen how Zen functions. Ikkyu was supposed to write a Noh play called «Yama Uba» to tell them how it works.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-10 Lost righteousness

Today's Tao

Having lost righteousness, there is politeness. (Ch.38)


A: "I will do anything to protect my family."

B: "Fine. But what happened to your righteousness? I suppose you were fighting to save the planet or something."

A": "Now I am fighting for my family. I don't care about someone else's righteousness. By the way, you forgot to say hello to my son."

B: "Oh! Excuse me. I was not polite."

A: "Certainly you are not polite. Listen. My family is my colony. It is my territory. If you are not polite to any of my family members, I will consider it an attack to my kingdom."


Do we really have to accept a man like this one?

My answer is "Yes."

By accepting him, we turn our prayer wheel, which is called the world.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-Dogen will teach you what Zen is. The movie «Zen» will tell you about Dogen's life. Daisetz Suzuki will teach you what Zen is in a way modern people can understand.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-9 Lost mercy

Today's Tao

Having lost mercy, there is righteousness. (Ch.38)


Merciful and discreet people have become rarer and rarer.

Some people are not happy when they see others who are not so "merciful" as they are.

"For mercy's sake, you've gotta do something."

Now, we have got righteous people.

They want to show off their righteousness.

They even impose their God's given righteousness on you.

What can you do then?

We accept them as part of our hologram.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-Japanese are fundamentally Japanese as other people are foremost who they are. Nevertheless, modern Japanese have tried very hard to be someone who are not traditionally Japanese. Do we share this enthusiasm for self-denial with other people?

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-8 Lost attainment

Today's Tao

Having lost attainment, there is mercy. (Ch.38)


The Kanji / Chinese character 仁 [jin] is translated as mercy.

Please look at the left half. 人 [hito].

Then, the right. 二 [ni].

The left part of the character signifies people or a person. You can see two legs.

The right one signifies the number two. One. Two. (Pointing at two horizontal lines)

The entire character symbolizes the merciful relationship of the two persons.

So, the character can be translated as humanity.

The character two certainly denies the oneness of Tao.


Mercy is the artificial act to control the others for so-called "their well-being".

Having lost the attainment of Tao, a "merciful" person thinks the world is not perfect.

He is refusing to accept the world as it is.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


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-Haruki Murakami writes the introduction of Natsume Soseki's «Sanshiro». It seems that both writers somehow try to stay away from the lust and desire of «Tale of Genji» and Saikaku's amorous men and women.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-7 Lost Tao

Today's Tao

Therefore, having lost Tao, there is attainment. (Ch.38)


If you hadn't lost Tao, you wouldn't need the attainment of Tao.

If you are seeking for Satori, certainly you have forgotten that you are in the state of Satori.

After we had lost the trust in Tao, we came up with the concept of attaining it or reaching Satori.

I just want you to trust yourself.

You have never lost the state of innocence.

You are always as innocent as an uncarved block or a baby.

Please do not doubt that you are perfect no matter how much it seems otherwise.

Doubting your perfection and consequently seeking for a refuge like "Satori" is the first step towards the spiral descent into the spiritual labyrinth.


«Related Articles»
-The highest attainment 38-1
-The lowest attainment 38-2
-No trace of act 38-3
-Mercy 38-4
-The highest righteousness 38-5
-Politeness 38-6
-Lost Tao 38-7
-Lost attainment 38-8
-Lost mercy 38-9
-Lost righteousness 38-10
-Disorder 38-11
-Foreknowledge 38-12
-Thick and Thin 38-13
-Tao's Flower 38-14
-Leave it 38-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


Tao answers your question!



Previous video / Ch.38 text / Next video


-Not artistically important, but it might be interesting if you want to know about the change of the concept on ambition in Japan. Young Japanese, living in the country's never ending sluggish economy, may share the same idea about love and money unconsciously as those 100 years ago. Who knows! You can observe them using the novel as a reference.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38-6 Politeness

Today's Tao

The highest politeness is doing it and, if the other does not respond to it, rolling up your sleeves and pulling him. (Ch.38)


A: "Thank you very much, sir"

B: "..."

A: "I said, 'Thank you, sir'."

B: "..."

A: "I politely said, 'Thank you, sir'. You've gotta say something."

B: "Uh, uh."

A: "Sir, I am being polite and you say just 'Uh, uh'. You have to learn to be polite, too, sir."


When one is polite against his will, his acts are not spontaneous at all.

The forced politeness is very far from Tao's natural way.

A baby doesn't know politeness.


«Related Articles»
-The highest attainment 38-1
-The lowest attainment 38-2
-No trace of act 38-3
-Mercy 38-4
-The highest righteousness 38-5
-Politeness 38-6
-Lost Tao 38-7
-Lost attainment 38-8
-Lost mercy 38-9
-Lost righteousness 38-10
-Disorder 38-11
-Foreknowledge 38-12
-Thick and Thin 38-13
-Tao's Flower 38-14
-Leave it 38-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 38


Tao answers your question!



Previous video / Ch.38 text / Next video


-«Sansho Dayuu / Sansho the Bailiff» is a folk tale. It is about the practice of slave trade of infants in Japan. Mori Ogai wrote a novel out of it. Kenji Mizoguchi a film. Both of them are considered to be masterpieces.