Tao Te Ching Chapter 45-4 No exhaustion

Today's Tao

Its use never exhausts it. (Ch.45)


"Oh, my god. Oh, my god. All the human beings are using Tao's energy. One day it will be completely exhausted!"


Don't worry.

It is not going to happen.

Tao the fundamental energy will never be "exhausted" because you emit it all the time.

Everything exists for this purpose.

The constant recycling of the fundamental energy Tao.

The more you "use" your hologram, in other words, the more you appreciate this world, the more energy "goes back" to Tao.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 45


Tao answers your question!



☞Yasujiro Ozu's «Ukikusa / Floating Weeds» is a film about a traveling Kabuki troupe. Yasunari Kawabata's «The Dancing Girl of Izu» is a short story about a troupe of traveling entertainers. When you don't have your own place, you are floating like Ukikusa the floating weeds. You flow with the current. Although common sense in Japan considers them marginal undesirables, we idolize them. They lead a beautiful life that we wish to live but never have the courage to plunge into, we think. Yasujiro Ozu filmed the same story twice. Yasunari Kawabata lived the same story twice as the student who met the girl and the writer who wrote about it.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 45-3 Full = Empty

Today's Tao

Big's fullness seems empty. (Ch.45)


Even an "empty" space is filled with Tao.

Watch out!

This word "empty" is not the emptiness that suggests Tao.

The world is full of colours, right?

Those colours are holograms, which are manifestations of Tao the emptiness.

Let's review the cycle.


emptiness (Tao) → full of colours (hologram) → emptiness (Tao)

Therefore, emptiness = emptiness


full of colours (hologram) → emptiness (Tao) → full of colours (hologram)

Therefore, colours = colours


To explain this cycle, Master Dogen says:

"色即是空。空即是色。色是色なり。空即空なり。

[shiki soku ze ku. ku soku ze shiki. shiki ze shiki nari. ku soku ku nari.]"

Colours are justly emptiness. Emptiness is justly colours. Colours are colours. Emptiness justly emptiness.

(Makahannyaharamitsu 摩訶般若波羅蜜, «Shobogenzo»)


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 45
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Tao answers your question!



☞I am happy to introduce two great Japanese men. Each of them lived in two different contexts in two different periods of time. Kukai 空海 is the founder of Japanese Shingon 真言 Buddhism and the monastery in Mt Koya 高野山 in the ninth century. Ryotaro Shiba 司馬遼太郎 was a successful commercial novelist and thinker of a profound understanding about the history of Japan. The modern writer described Kukai's monastery as an "exceptionally different city state". Visit it if you have a chance. You can spend a night there and enjoy authentic Shojin 精進 dishes for Buddhist monks.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 45-2 Never tired

Today's Tao

Its use never tires it out. (Ch.45)


Tao never gets tired out.

Then, why do we get tired?

Why don't we think that fatigue is a message your body is sending to you?

What kind of message does it send?

Your body is asking your mind not to work too hard.

It is asking you to do nothing.

In fact, everything in your world is asking you to do nothing.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 45


Tao answers your question!



☞Jiro Osaragi is the author of «Kurama Tengu» series. A tengu is a legendary god and has a red face with a long nose, but this Kurama Tengu is a man who hides his identity in a black mask. He is an excellent swordsman and sometimes uses a gun as well. Nobody knows who he really is although everyone knows him because he always helps good people. Politically he supports the Royalists against the Shogun samurais, but it is not important. He just cannot ignore underdogs.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 45-1 Completion

Today's Tao

Big's completion seems missing something. (Ch.45)


The word "Big" implies Tao.

Tao has completed its work, but it doesn't look perfect.

This is Tao's perfection.

Look at the world in front of you.

This is a good example.

It's perfect, isn't it?

No?

Well, aren't you judging it by someone else's definition of a perfect world?

Not by yours?

Your hologram (=the world) is always perfect although it "seems" missing something.


[Note]
Today's Tao sentence can be understood from the point of view of Attainment = Beginning.
(☞See Lose = Gain 42-7)


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 45
-Tao by Matsumoto / Do not judge


Tao answers your question!



☞In Kitaro's album «Impression of the West Lake» there is a piece called «Zen». What is Zen really? People ask the question. Kitaro tries to answer it with music. This charming piece is a good answer. Nevertheless, if you need something less abstract, Master Ikkyu does help you. It would be nice if you read Yama Uba the Zen play while listening to Kitaro's musical representation of the beautiful «West Lake 西湖» of Hangzhou in China.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-8 Last long

Today's Tao

Thus, you can last long. (Ch.44)


True You are Tao.

Therefore, you are eternal.

In Buddhism, we call this «Fusho fumetsu / 不生不滅».

No life no vanishing. (No life. No end of life.)


Dogen says:

"Future is past and present".

(Juki 授記, «Shobogenzo»)


Life is a form of a hologram.

Vanishing is a form of a hologram, too.

They are part of the wheel of manifestation 法輪 [horin].

Don't be attached to either life nor the end of it.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞Kitaro's album «Onbashira» is the name of a traditional Shintoist ritual. «Onbashira 御柱» means "The sacred pillars". The matsuri festival takes place once every six years. They drop the huge and heavy trunk of a fir tree (about 17 meters long, one meter in diameter, 10 tons) at the edge of a cliff top (about 35 degrees , and 100 meters long). People ride the log down the slope. If you want to get your adrenalin going, you can go to Suwa, Nagano, Japan, instead of Pamplona for the run with the bulls, for change. Well, in six years time. Beautiful Lake Suwa will be always there, waiting for you. Enjoy magnificent Mt Fuji over Suwa Lake as millions of Samurai did. Here is Onbashira official site in English and Japanese.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-7 Stay

Today's Tao

Know staying, and you will never be in danger. (Ch.44)


What does Lao Tzu mean by "staying"?

It does not mean suppressing one's desire and belittling his existence.

Staying means staying in Tao.

But true You are Tao.

You are always "staying in Tao".

When you forget this, you will be in the state of Mayoi, being lost.

You may project seemingly dangerous holograms, but don't worry.

They are there to stimulate you as catalysts.

Nothing is dangerous from the beginning.

You are safe.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞«Kojiki 古事記» means "Records of Ancient Matters". It is a collection of the oldest "matters" recorded in Japanese. One can insist that everything written there truly happened, and another can argue that it was not possible. In any case, you can read literally fantastic stories such as the birth of gods and the battle with a monster snake with eight tails. If you read it with the soothing sounds of «Kojiki» by Kitaro 喜多郎, a nice afternoon relaxation is guaranteed.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-6 Contentment

Today's Tao

Know contentment, and you will never be humiliated. (Ch.44)


In Buddhism, they talk about "Shoyoku chisoku 少欲知足".

It can be translated as "Desire little and know contentment".

Probably, this is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Buddhism.

Why misunderstood?

We can find a key to answer the question in Tao Te Ching:

Diminish self and reduce desire. (Ch.19)

The key is Self.

Desire is nothing wrong.

The attachment to so-called Self that judges your desire and the rest is the source of the problem.

Holograms, including self, desire, and humiliation, are catalysts to stimulate Tao, which is true You.

Just accept them.

Don't fight to suppress any.


[Note]
In the photo above, it is written: 吾唯足知. 吾唯足るを知る。"I just know contentment."

The square part of the four kanji / Chinese characters 口 symbolizes a mouth. The part is shared by all the four characters.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞The album on the right is titled «World Favorite Songs Vol.2 Ave Maris» in English. Ocarina Player Sojiro plays your familiar tunes. If you travel in the country side of Japan, you will be surprised how much the occidental music is integrated into provincial landscapes there. Everyday at five or six, depending on the season, you can hear a Dvořák or a Schubert piece from a tall speaker set for the emergency communication in case of earthquakes.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-5 Store = Lose

Today's Tao

If you store a lot, you will surely lose heavily. (Ch.44)


Storing is losing.

Lao Tzu explains why in several ways.

First, in the sense of Lose = Gain (42-7).

When your storing peaks, the process of losing begins.

Second, storage is blockage.

It blocks the natural flow of Tao and the transformation of your holograms.

Third, when you do Tao, you reduce everything.

You reduce and reduce it until you have nothing to do. (Tao Te Ching / Chapter 48)

Let's lose all.

There is nothing wrong with "losing".


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞Sojiro is a Japanese player and maker of the ocarina. He plays the ceramic pipe with his admiration of nature. He says: "Ocarina Plows the Air". (Sojiro official site / History) He bakes his ceramic pipes, looking for perfect notes. Then, he touches the souls of his audience, playing soothing melodies. His «Japanese Favorite Songs» moves the collective memory of the inhabitants in this archipelago.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-4 "Love" too much?

Today's Tao

That's why, if you love too much, surely you lose a lot. (Ch.44)


"Love" here signifies an obsessive attachment.

Attention!

Kanji / Chinese character 愛 [ai] can be used to express both love and attachment.

In this context it does not mean "love" in the English sense.

Don't be attached to anything.

Attachment creates resistance.

The desire to retain something blocks the natural flow of Tao.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞The name of Shakuhachi comes form its length, 1 shaku 8 sun 一尺八寸 [isshaku hachisun] / about 54.5 cm. It is an end-blown flute. The instrument has no reeds. It is made of a bamboo trunk. Its simplicity gives the player to express the depth of his soul. Its soft and "primitive" sounds will move the listener profoundly. Once you hear it, you will never forget it.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-3 Gain or loss

Today's Tao

Gain or loss, which is more harmful? (Ch.44)


Don't be attached to result.


"When the Attainment peaks, it is the same as the beginning."

(«Chuang Tzu», 12-8)


Chuang Tzu teaches us that gain leads you to loss and loss leads you to gain.

It is exactly like Yin and Yang.

Yin, the shadow, leads you to Yang, the light, and vice versa.

It is exactly like the head and the tail of a coin.

Gain and loss are the two sides of the same thing.

They exist as a catalyst in order to stimulate you.

If you know it, everything is easy.

Whether you gain or lose something, you react the same way.

"Thank you for stimulating me!"



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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44
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Tao answers your question!



☞I will never say they are the same, Japanese drums from Sado Island and Kanak chants from New Caledonia. I just want you to think about the possibilities that thousands of years ago hundreds of generations before them those excellent musicians might have been somehow related. Geographically speaking, they are thousands of miles apart. Genetically, ones are mongoloids, the others melanesians. Nevertheless, the Japanese are much closer to their Pacific cousins in terms of temperament than you may think they are.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-2 Body or money

Today's Tao

Body or money, which is more? (Ch.44)


Can you say "Hello" to your illness?

Can you say "Welcome" to your financial problem?

You want to fight against them, right?

No. If you do so, you are not courageous.

If you are truly courageous, you must have the guts to accept them as they are no matter how difficult it is.

Don't fight against your illness.

Just love your financial problem.

Health and money are part of your hologram.

You project them.

So, all you have to do is to do nothing.

Don't be attached to health or money.

Then, your hologram will transform itself.



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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞Life is the Zazen. Living is the meditation. Do you need any particular music for that? Nevertheless, it does not stop us from listening to the music of the Shakuhachi flute. Much better if we can enjoy it and relax thanks to the simple but profound tunes of the piece of bamboo refined by a master-maker and played by a creative artist no matter what nationality they have. Jazzy or authentic? Is it important?

Tao Te Ching Chapter 44-1 Body or name

Today's Tao

Name or body, which is more familiar? (Ch.44)


A: "Master Bonbon, I wanna be famous. Will you help me?"

B: "Meditate for sixty years, and you will be famous."

A: "Master Bonbon, I wanna have a perfect body."

B: "Donate us your annual salary, and I will send you to the best cosmetic surgeon's clinic."


Name or body.

Fame or silicon.

Which is more familiar to you?

Which is more important to Tao?

The answer is:

"Neither. You should not be attached to either".

What others think about you and what you think about your own self are the same.

What you think and what your body looks like are the same.

All of them are part of your hologram.

No attachment to your reputation or appearance.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 44


Tao answers your question!



☞A river is a metaphor of life. We want to live like a river. Maybe, not. We are afraid of living like a river. Or worse, we are afraid of discovering life is like a river. A river has got rhythm. Ups and downs. Bends and straights. So does the ocean. I wonder why people less often say life is like the ocean. Probably because we are afraid of admitting that all of us will go back there one day.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 43-4 Without words

Today's Tao

Teaching without words and the benefit of no action are almost the best under the sky. (Ch.43)


Teaching without words is the way we transmit our traditional knowledge in art and spirituality in Japan.

You cannot convey your thoughts with words.

In other words, you can convey your thoughts without words.

In fact, everything is shared by all because others are part of your hologram.

So are your thoughts and words.

From the beginning, thoughts do not belong to you exclusively.

Neither do your actions.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 43


Tao answers your question!



☞Without words. Today, I just want you to listen to Mr John Kaizan Neptune's «Words Can't Go There». Taste the sound of the Shakuhachi flute.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 43-3 Valuable no-action

Today's Tao

Thus, I learn how valuable no action is. (Ch.43)


Does "no action" mean "You don't do anything"?

Not exactly.

Lao Tzu and Zen masters taught us that so-called reality is a hologram, which is the manifestation of Tao.

Then, why don't we act directly on Tao instead of its manifestation?

How can we act on it?

You do "no action".

"No action" means accepting and sending the fundamental energy Tao efficiently with no resistance.

Accept incoming energy (=Tao, =Love) with gratitude and love all the information in front of us by sending back the energy.


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Tao answers your question!



-Bali, the island of a magical summer for some, the island of perfect waves for others. If you are a Japanese surfer, you may either have already been there or be dreaming of going there. When I listen to the second and the third pieces of Mr John Kaizan Neptune's «Steps in Time» ("Making Waves" and "Bamboogie", respectively), they reminded me of the smell of the incense in Bali which you inhale every morning when the local people give offerings to all the big and little deities on the street.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 43-2 No space

Today's Tao

No existence enters no space. (Ch.43)


As water enters gaps, Tao goes into any space.

There is no space without Tao.

"No existence" means the existence without any form.

It is Tao.

"No space" means the space without any form.

Space is a concept.

The forms you find there are holograms.

Tao is everywhere.

Or rather, "everywhere" is part of Tao.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 43


Tao answers your question!



-Can you see the upper Kanji / Chinese character in the photo of Mr John Kaizan Neptune's «Dance for Neptune»? 法 [ho]. This is the same character as the [bo] of Dogen's «Shobogenzo 正法眼蔵». The Character below is 楽 [gaku]. 法 [ho] basically means rules. In Buddhism, it is used to express Buddha's manifestation, therefore, sometimes translated as teachings. 楽 [gaku] can also be pronounced as [raku], like Raku of Raku-yaki　楽焼き clay works, which means easy or happy. Happy manifestation!

Tao Te Ching Chapter 43-1 The softest

Today's Tao

The softest one under the sky makes the hardest one run. (Ch.43)


Don't be tough.

Be soft.

This is how you can activate Dark Depth Female.


Lao Tzu says:

"The soft and weak beat the tough and strong."

(Ch. 36)


He also says:

"Nothing in the world under the sky is softer and weaker than water.

The weak beats the strong.

The soft beats the hard."

(Ch.78)


After all,

"(Water) never contends, so it never errs."

(Ch.8)


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 43


Tao answers your question!



-Mr John Kaizan Neptune-san lives in Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan. He is an artist of the Shakuhachi bamboo flute music and artisan of the very musical instrument. Besides, he is a surfer who plays the music on the wave. (There is a link to the photo in Yesterday's entree.) His cutback on a big Typhoon wave must be as stylish as his «Tokyosphere» music, I imagine. The choice of the place of one's domicile can tell a lot about his personality. Kaizan-san chose a place where he can contemplate Tokyo night life while listening to the sound of Typhoon waves beating the beach by Kamogawa Sea World. If the swell gets too big to handle, you can always hop on the train for Tokyo and see a Kabuki performance or two. It takes just a little more than two and a half hours.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 42-10 Father of Teachings 2

Today's Tao

I definitely make this the father of teachings. (Ch.42)


What is the father of all the teachings?

It is the explanation of how Nothing / Form cycle works.

We discussed the process 1 to 4 yesterday.

Now, let's continue the explanation.


5. When its nature (=task) is completed, the process goes back to the beginning of Nothing = Everything.

6. People's thoughts exist because of the One. They are the same as heaven and earth (=material things, =holograms). They go back as well.

7. Going back to Nothing is called Dark Depth Attainment. It is the same as Big Natural Flow or Tao's integration. (☞See Tao by Matsumoto / Chapter 65 / Integration)

8. The cycle is so perfect that you are not aware at all. Once you are aware, you find it stupid and idiotic.


Once a cycle ends, another begins.

Remember?

Since Tao has no time, every step takes place simultaneously.

Therefore, imposing your way (judgment or act of influence) on others creates a hindrance against the free flow of the energy cycle.

That's why it is not recommended.


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-Chuang Tzu's teachings 42-8
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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 42


Tao answers your question!



-I wonder if we have already met on the beach, Mr John Kaizan Neptune and I. But I have known for a long time that in Chiba prefecture, Japan, where I was born and still go surfing once in a while, lives an Occidental gentleman who plays and makes the Shakuhachi bamboo flute. I was wondering why this gentleman chose Chiba peninsula to live in. It was quite stupid of me not to associate his name Kaizan 海山, which means sea / mountain in Japanese, with surfing up until now. I have just seen a photo of this excellent musician playing the flute on a short board on the wave.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 42-9 Father of Teachings 1

Today's Tao

"A man who pushes down others and advance will not come to a natural end." (Ch.42)


"If you violently impose your way on others, you will not come to a natural end."

Why?

Because you create resistance when you impose on others your way: judgment or act of influence.

Chuang Tzu's explanation will help you understand it better.

Let's review the process of Nothing / Form cycle (=Yin Yang cycle, =Tao/hologram cycle).


1. Nothing (=Tao). No existence. No names.

2. One rises up (=Tao's energy circulates) without a form.

3. The flow of the One (=the circulation of Tao's energy) creates (=projects) forms. They are not separated. This state is called Life (=a hologram).

4. 1, 2, 3, are the process of Attainment. All the formed bodies (=holograms) have the same spirit (or the god, literally, =Tao) although they act independently.

We will continue the rest of the process in the episode the Father of Teachings 2 tomorrow.


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 42


Tao answers your question!



-Ondekoza is a group of Japanese Taiko drummers from Sado Island. Their music is simple and powerful. The simplicity represents some peculiar Japanese-ness, which reminds us that Japan is part of the Pacific, not just a fringe civilization in Asia. It is technically elaborate, I am sure, but, as their naked bodies represent, the drummers try to be as simple as possible. They seem to think as if simplicity is the only way to go down to the deepest recess of their soul. Their attitude and dedication towards the drum sounds touch listeners' soul as well.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 42-8 Chuang Tzu's teachings

Today's Tao

There is something people teach. I teach it, too. (Ch.42)


I read the entire part of Chuang Tzu's writing concerning the birth of a hologram and Dark Depth Attainment.


At the very beginning, there is Nothing.

No existence. No names.

Where One rises up, there is One but it doesn't have a form yet.

Everything is born by getting this One.

This is called Attainment.

There are divisions in the One not yet formed.

Without intermission, without in-between space.

This is called Life.

The One flows and gives birth to things.

Things are completed and have discerning lines.

This is called Form.

Formed bodies keep the spirit.

Each of them has its rules.

This is called Nature.

When Nature is mastered, it goes back to the Attainment.

When the Attainment peaks, it is the same as the beginning.

Being the same means being void.

Being void means being big.

It unifies people's noisy speeches.

When they are unified, it is unified with heaven and earth.

This union is so perfect that they even know they are together.

It seems stupid.

It seems idiotic.

This is called Dark Depth Attainment.

It is the same as Big Natural Flow (=Tao's integration 大順).


Chuang Tzu@wiki


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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 42


Tao answers your question!



-I know it is quite voluminous. I know most of them were written by later hands. Nevertheless, I recommend that you read the complete works of «Chuang Tzu», or at least the Inner Chapters and the Outer Chapters. You will find Chuang Tzu's writing I quote here in the Outer Chapters. Besides, the story of «the frog in the well» is told in 17 - 4 of the Outer Chapters («Soji 荘子» by Osamu Kanaya 金谷治, 1995, Iwanami Bunko 岩波文庫, Iwanami Shoten 岩波書店).

Tao Te Ching Chapter 42-7 Lose = Gain

Today's Tao

Therefore, things sometimes gain by losing them. They sometimes lose by gaining them. (Ch.42)


"When the Attainment peaks, it is the same as the beginning.

Being the same means being void.

Being void means being big."

(«Chuang Tzu» 12-8)


Please read Tao by Matsumoto / Chapter 42 / One, two, three for more details.


Let's clarify what Chuang Tzu says here.


Step 1:

Tao projects a hologram. The process is called Attainment.


Step 2:

The hologram goes back to Void = Big = Tao = the beginning.

The process is called Dark Depth Attainment.


When a process completes, the step of undoing it begins.

That's why gaining is the beginning of losing and losing is the beginning of gaining.


«Related Articles»
-One's birth 42-1
-Two's birth 42-2
-Three's birth 42-3
-Birth of everything 42-4
-Yin =Yang 42-5
-No good 42-6
-Lose = Gain 42-7
-Chuang Tzu's teachings 42-8
-Father of Teachings 1 42-9
-Father of Teachings 2 42-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 42


Tao answers your question!



-Basho means a banana plant in Japanese. I wonder why Matsuo Basho chose his pen name "Basho the banana". I don't know if a banana was something cool in his time, but at least I can tell that it was exotic. Sometimes, exoticism pushes one to go beyond his limit of imagination and achieve something unprecedented. The name of this great poet reminds me that Haiku also once was a cutting edge avant-garde artistic movement. He may have needed this unusual name to say "no" to the conventional ways to compose poems.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 42-6 No good

Today's Tao

What people don't like are surely "orphan", "less virtue", and "no good". And kings and lords use them to call themselves. (Ch.42)


"What? Lao Tzu says everything is in harmony? Look! Open your eyes and see what is happening in this world! It's horrible! Is it in harmony? Lao Tzu must be kidding."

Who has to open his eyes?

Look around you.

Not what is going on on TV.

Then, stop judging.

"Kings and lords" here mean you, the master who projects your hologram, which is the world.

Be humble.

You don't have to impose a short-sighted and one-sided virtue on "your" perfectly harmonious world.


«Related Articles»
-One's birth 42-1
-Two's birth 42-2
-Three's birth 42-3
-Birth of everything 42-4
-Yin =Yang 42-5
-No good 42-6
-Lose = Gain 42-7
-Chuang Tzu's teachings 42-8
-Father of Teachings 1 42-9
-Father of Teachings 2 42-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 42


Tao answers your question!



-Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you honestly: "Tokyo is not Japan". Not to mention Akihabara, a Mecca of Manga comics and Otaku culture. Some ethnologists imply that Japan has had a parallel civilization hidden in the deep forests. Whether the theory is true or not, if you have lived in the countryside of Japan for a while, you may have to admit the presence of forests in the archipelago is not ignorable. You share local superstitions of ghosts and spirits living in the forest, with inhabitants of the land of robots. If you don't have a chance to live there, I recommend you these two books. Excellent artistic works with plenty of mythical tales. I am glad that they have been translated in English.