Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-8 Strength


Today's Tao

Defending the soft is called strength. (Ch.52)


A: "Master Bonbon, I want to be strong. What can I do? Is exercise enough? Or, do I have to buy a Mandala sheet from Japan and meditate for thirty years?"

B: "Give our organization money, and we will send you strong steroids."


In this context "defend" means "be with", or "be in the condition of".

Therefore, Lao Tzu wants to say:

"When you are soft, you are strong."

It is like water.

Something soft is very close to Tao.

If you are like Tao, you are strong.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞Have you heard of an expression "Genki juice"? Its precise origin is unknown, but it is sure that few Japanese use this expression. It seems that English-speaking people living in Japan may have invented it. "Genki" is one of the first Japanese words one will learn after he has settled there from abroad. The word "Ki" or "Qi", which means energy, is fairly well know all over the world these days. Nevertheless, in Japanese "Ki" sounds relatively official or too specific, and they prefer a more casual expression such as "Genki". "Genki juice" means energizing drinks; notably, Yakult (Tafu man), Oronamin C, Yunker, Lipovitan D and Vita C among others. Red Bull is not common yet. A Yakult lady is a woman who distribute the product to a household or an office.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-7 See the small


Today's Tao

Seeing the small is called enlightenment. (Ch.52)


The small thing, or the minute being, is Tao.

It is too small to see.

Tao is invisible.

Seeing it means understanding the mechanism of Tao's cycle.

You accept your hologram, which is the world, and receive Tao the energy through it.

By doing it with Love and gratitude, you emit the energy while you are creating another hologram.

A cycle is completed.

It is Satori, or enlightenment. (☞ See also Satori 16-9)


In Zen Buddhism, they say:

"Great Satori is like making Buddha."

(Daigo 大悟, «Shobogenzo»)


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞«The Quiet Duel» is one of Akira Kurosawa's earlier works, which poses us quite a few questions. Above all, it asks us how one is supposed to behave if he has contracted a sexually transmitted disease non-sexually.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-6 Opened holes


Today's Tao

If you open its holes and do its jobs, you will never be saved. (Ch.52)


Let's do as Nikko's three monkeys do.

See nothing.

Hear nothing.

Say nothing.

Not only something evil, but also something "right".

Don't listen to those righteous people.

Don't watch TV.

Don't pay attention to the outside world because it is just your inside world.

If you do so, you will never be saved, says Lao Tzu.

What is the salvation here?

It is to remember that true You are Tao which creates the hologram (=the world).

If you open your holes, it gets more difficult for you to remember it.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞"See no evil. Say no evil. Hear no evil." Sometimes, the names of the three famous monkeys in Nikko, Japan, are translated as this, but it is not precise, or rather it seems that they has been intentionally mistranslated this way to avoid criticism. A better translation of "Mizaru, Iwazaru, Kikazaru" is "See nothing. Say nothing. Hear nothing." Not just something evil, we are supposed to see, say, or hear nothing. No judgement, please.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-5 Closed holes


Today's Tao

If you stuff its holes and close its gate, you will never be tired. (Ch.52)


Close your eyes and cover the ears like the two of Nikko's three monkeys.

Don't pay attention to the outside world, and you will never be tired.

But there is a better way.

You just accept the world as it is and send Love to it.

Then, you will realize that it is transforming itself as you like.

You will see that true You are Tao and it will never be exhausted.

Fatigue is just a catalyst that ironically stimulates you to emit more fundamental energy Tao.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52
-Block the openings 56-3 A part of this sentence -- "If you stuff its holes and close its gate". 塞其穴。閉其門。-- is found there. It is translated as "Block the openings. 塞其穴。 Close the gate. 閉其門。"


Tao answers your question!



☞When you are in Tokyo and have one day free, visit Nikko. At the Toshogu shrine, you will be welcomed by three cute little monkeys; Mi-zaru (Don't see), Kika-zaru (Don't hear), and Iwa-zaru (Don't say). The word "zaru" is an auxiliary verb signifying "not" in old Japanese and puns with "saru (=monkey)". The three monkeys embody "See no evil, hear no evil, and say no evil". Please enlarge the photo to see its details. The colorful woodwork was created by a master craftsman in the Edo period.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-4 Defend the mother


Today's Tao

If you already know the child and return to defend the mother, you will be safe till the end of your life. (Ch.52)


You have to "know the child".

In other words, you have to know that the world in front of you is your hologram and a catalyst.

Accepting and loving your so-called reality, you will return to its beginning, which is the mother, who is Tao, which is true You.

"Defending" it means to remember that you are one with Tao.

Remember that you are always protected and safe because so-called danger exists only in your hologram (=so-called reality, =the world).

Don't be afraid.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞ Rozalia, a half-Jewish and half-Christian girl, escaped from Fascist-occupied Romania. Hiroyuki Itsuki, a Japanese boy growing up outside his motherland, escaped from the Korean peninsula right after the end of World War II. Both lost their mothers then. Is it their fault to be in a wrong place at a wrong time? Do you call it their destiny? Rosita Fanto looks for the truth of life in her «Rozalia Alone». Hiroyuki Itsuki searches for the salvation of «Tariki», or the Other-power of Jodo Buddhism.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-3 Attain the mother


Today's Tao

If you have already attained its mother, you know its child. (Ch.52)


Mother = Tao

Child = Hologram


"If you have already attained" Tao, what's gonna happen to you?

You will learn that true You are Tao and what you see is a hologram and catalyst to have you emit more of the fundamental energy Tao.

True you emits true you.

In other words, Tao emits Tao.

Life, the world, and Self among others are catalysts to stimulate the cycle.

The attainment of the mother, or the attainment of Tao, that is to say, Satori is to be part of it, which you already are.

Therefore, you don't seek Satori.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞A Rashomon meets another Rashomon. The original of Akira Kurosawa's «Rashomon» does not have the same title. The original is «In a Bamboo grove / Yabu no Naka». If you look at them from the point of view of Zen and Tao, it is interesting because they seem to be explaining the non-existence of the one and only objective world.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-2 Mother of the world


Today's Tao

You should call it the mother of the world under the sky. (Ch.52)


The "beginning" is the mother of the hologram.

Tao is the mother of the world.

In Zen Buddhism, it is called Bumo misho izen 父母未生以前, which means "the state before the father and the mother are born".

Tao is the source of the constant creation of holograms.

Time and space are parameters to reconstruct information as a hologram in your "mind" (which is part of the hologram).


That's why Master Dogen says:

"Matsu mo toki nari. Take mo toki nari.

松も時なり。竹も時なり。

Pine trees are time. Bamboo trees are time, too."

(Uji 有時, «Shobogenzo»)


There is no time in Tao. Therefore, the beginning is the end.

Only the mother exists.

She is true You.


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞I just want you to watch the fantastic performance by the dancers of Nederlands Dans Theatre. Their bodies and movements are simply beautiful. Their choreographer Jiri Kylian captures the sensuality of the Japanese story «Kaguya-hime». Yasunari Kawabata and Donald Keene translate it and transmit the devine libido of the moon. Interestingly, the title is translated as «The Moon Princess» in the sensual physical presentation and as «The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter» in the literary challenge in the English language.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 52-1 Constant "beginning"


Today's Tao

In the world under the sky, there is a beginning. (Ch.52)


The world has its constant beginning.

In other words, this world begins and ends simultaneously without interruption.

There is a constant "beginning" in your hologram (="the world under the sky").

It is a constant "Big Bang".

Time is a measure that you use to reconstruct the world in your mind.


Master Dogen advises us:

"Don't think that time only flies away."

(Uji 有時, «Shobogenzo»)

「時は飛去するのみと解会すべからず」


In Tao, time doesn't exist.

Therefore, there is neither the beginning of life nor the end of it.

不生不滅 [fusho fumetsu].


«Related Articles»
-Constant "beginning" 52-1
-Mother of the world 52-2
-Attain the mother 52-3
-Defend the mother 52-4
-Closed holes 52-5
-Opened holes 52-6
-See the small 52-7
-Strength 52-8
-The light 52-9
-Enlightenment 52-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 52


Tao answers your question!



☞Yukio Mishima wrote the play «My Friend Hitler» in 1968. Three years earlier, in 1965, he wrote another play called «Madame de Sade». The former does not have any female principal characters. The latter no male ones. The Japanese novelist who cut his Hara later considered them a diptych.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-12 Dark Depth Attainment


Today's Tao

It is called the attainment of Dark Depth. (Ch.51)


It is called Dark Depth Attainment.

Let's review Dark Depth Attainment.


1. You give birth to the world, which is your hologram. But you do not possess it.

2. Let it work by itself. Don't be attached to its outcome.

3. Remember that you are Tao. Nevertheless, do not dare try to control your hologram.


A useful tip.

To attain Dark Depth, compose your English sentence, always using "one" as its subject, instead of "he", "she", "you", or "I".


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞In Japanese «I Ching» is called "Eki kyo 易経". The book was brought to Japan in the fifth century. Written in the eighth century, «Kojiki» is the oldest history book in Japan. The title means "the book of old matters". It contains fascinating legends such as the creation of the islands by a goddess and her brother (Izanami and Izanagi), the first arousing dance by a Japanese goddess (Ame no Uzume no Mikoto), and the battle against a monster with eight tails (Yamata no Orochi).

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-11 No subject


Today's Tao

Be the chief, but don't control it. (Ch.51)


"Although you project your hologram in the mind, you should not try to control it."

"Although you create your hologram, you are not responsible for it."

"True You are not your own self."


Aren't these expressions confusing?

Yes, they are. It is because of the word "you".

"Self" does not exist, which is part of the basis of Zen.

Therefore, Zen and Tao should be discussed without using "I" or "You".

Let's think in a language that does not require a subject.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞After the sky exploded in Hiroshima in 1945, Black Rain fell. Masuji Ibuse, who was born in a village nearby, wrote the novel «Black Rain». Shohei Imamura, a twice winner of the Cannes Festival Grand Prix, directed the film with the same title. Ridley Scott made a film with an identical title, and this Yakuza film has something to do with the contaminated rain.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-10 Don't rely


Today's Tao

Let it work, but don't rely on it. (Ch.51)


Leave the world alone.

The world is your hologram.

In fact, it is working as you like.

Don't rely on your hologram.

It will not give you any preferential treatment.

Don't be attached to it.

"I hate this world because it doesn't treat me right."

Well, why don't we stop using "I, my, me, mine".

Because Self is an illusion.

It only exists in your hologram.

Let's use the word "one" instead.

This is a nice approach to accept No Self 無我 [mu ga / wu-wo] in Zen.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞Although the islands are sometimes called the country of the rising sun, their inhabitants enjoy «The Setting Sun» as much. Osamu Dazai describes the strange joy of decadence. Yasunari Kawabata adored the game of go and wrote about a master who just wanted to create the beauty of it. Winning means nothing at all if the game is ugly.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-9 Possession


Today's Tao

Give birth, but don't possess it. (Ch.51)


You give birth to the world, which is your hologram.

But you don't possess it.

Therefore, you cannot control it.

Therefore, you are not responsible for it.

No one is responsible for it.

The world is:

"是什麼物恁麼来 [ze inmo butsu inmo rai]"

It's like clouds.

We don't have to know where it comes from.

What a relief!


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞It seems to me that Japan is metamorphosing into a post-consumer society. Although most Japanese go through the transformation for the first time, some of the phenomena in its process are not necessarily new historically in the country. To the people of the archipelago, they are like living in reality what they have read in their literature. In «A Strange Tale from East of the River», Kafu Nagai tells us about a girl who illegally wait for her client by the window. In «The Lake», Yasunari Kawabata portrays a man who follows a woman, which has become illegal these days.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-8 Character


Today's Tao

Tao gives birth to this, raises this, leads this, takes care of this, gives this a shape, gives this a character, feeds this, and covers this. (Ch.51)


In this context, "this" means your own self and the hologram.

So, Today's Tao sentence is paraphrased as:

"Tao gives birth to your own self and the hologram.

Tao raises your own self and the hologram.

(This is your life.)

Tao leads your own self and the hologram.

(So, don't worry.)

Tao takes care of your own self and the hologram(, which is the world).

Tao gives your own self and the world a shape.

(True You are not your own self.)

And Tao gives you a character.

(So, you are not responsible for who you are.)"


Naoto Matsumoto adds:

Tao feeds its energy to the hologram.

Tao covers the hologram.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞«The Woman in the Dunes» was originally written by Kobo Abe as a novel. Since the story has a very theatrical setting, it is not surprising that he adapted it into a screenplay. Hiroshi Teshigawara directed the film. This is one of the most successful avant-garde novels written in Japanese.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-7 By itself


Today's Tao

No one has given them a title or something, but it always so comes about by itself. (Ch.51)


Today we have a Kanreisu (a bar / spring) of Tao and Zen.

You project your hologram, but you are not responsible for it.

We think the society or the world exists outside you, but in fact it exists inside you.

You project your hologram.

But the one who projects it is part of the hologram itself.


In Zen Buddhism, they say:

"是什麼物恁麼来 [ze inmo butsu inmo rai]

Where on earth did this «what on earth» thing come from?"


In your hologram, everything "comes about by itself".

It is 自然 [ji nen].


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51
-Transformation 64-20


Tao answers your question!



☞Sometimes, the language you use is crucial. It enormously affects the way you think. The Japanese language is composed of the mixture of Kanji Chinese characters and Hiragana / Katakana phonetic letters. In the olden days, soft-looking Hiragana letters were not considered official or "masculine", and it was women who started using them with imagination and creativity. «The Tale of Genji» is one of the oldest works written by a female Japanese novelist. «The Housekeeper and the Professor» is one of the latest. It is written by an up-and-coming star in modern Japanese literature, Yoko Ogawa. She tells you about mathematics and love.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-6 Honor Attainment


Today's Tao

The respect to Tao, the honour to the attainment. (Ch.51)


Respecting Tao is one thing.

Honoring your own ability to attain Tao is another.

We have a tendency to doubt it.

"Not yet! I am not ready. I have to meditate more to comprehend Zen. I must study more to understand Tao", say many people.

You don't have to do anything to participate in the process of recycling Tao's energy.

Give yourself more credit!

You appreciate the fact that you are alive, right?

Well, you are emitting the energy now.

It's much better if you can live your life in order to thank someone.

Gratitude is one of the easiest ways of loving.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞Tatsuo Kimura on the left is the author of «Transparent Power 透明な力». He is an Aikido budoka of Daito-ryu and one of the highest disciples of late Yukiyoshi Sagawa. Some believe that Sagawa is the greatest budoka ever lived in Japan. Tatsuo Kimura on the right is a mathematician of the highest degree and work with Reimann's zeta function and Fournier Transforms. Are they the same individual? Yes, they are. If you are scientifically skeptical about Aikido 合気道, ask this gifted man.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-5 Respect Tao


Today's Tao

That's why everything never fails to respect Tao and look up to the attainment. (Ch.51)


Everything in the world, which is your hologram, is a manifestation of Tao.

Why don't we think that everything has got a seed of Tao no matter how it looks on its surface.

Tao's attainment is to accept the seed.

It is Dark Depth Attainment 玄徳 [gen toku].

We accept the fundamental energy Tao through the hologram and emit the same energy "back" to the circulation of the energy Tao.

Respect the world for its role as a catalyst.

Thank the world.

Love the world.

That's how we keep Tao's circulation flowing.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞The Japanese respect Tao. Why? Please count the number of Japanese words that ends with the suffix "do", which often means Tao. To us, Tao is the way of devine power. It comes out naturally. So, everything natural is devine, like lust for example. Shunga, which means "a Spring picture", is the source of natural energy as plants and animals wake up in spring. With a Shunga, your soul wakes up.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-4 Vessel = Hologram


Today's Tao

Vessels complete this. (Ch.51)


"When Tao (=the uncarved block) scatters, it becomes vessels." (☞See Vessels 28-13)

"The world under the sky is a god's vessel. Don't do anything to it." (☞See A god's vessel 29-2)

"A Vessel" suggests your hologram.

The important point is that your hologram "completes" you.

Your own self is not independent of the hologram.

Your own self, mind and body included, is part of your hologram.

You and non-you constitute your hologram. Both you and non-you need each other.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞There is something that never changes, like boy-meets-girl stories. Since the time of «The Tele of Genji» by Lady Murasaki Shikibu through Yasunari Kawabata's «Snow Country», nothing has changed essentially. On the other hand, a society changes. Something that was considered love can be regarded perverted or anti-democratic. You are not allowed to do the same thing any longer. All you can do is to plunge into the world of literature and live what they were allowed to do, in your imagination.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-3 They form you


Today's Tao

Things form this. (Ch.51)


"Things form" your own self.


Zen master Dogen says:

"Your own self is like mountains, rivers, and lands".

(Keiseisanshoku 谿生山色, «Shobogenzo»)


When you look at the world in front of you, you can tell what kind of person you are.

You create holograms, and the holograms define you.

In other words, you project a hologram in your "mind", and the objects in your hologram (=the things in the world) define you.

That's why you are not supposed to judge.

You are perfect.

Remember?


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞Is it possible to "comprehend" Tao and Zen in English? While explaining how Tao and Zen functions in an Indo-European language, we cannot avoid the existence / contradiction of the subject in a sentence. One has to discuss the non-existence of Self by using a language that requires him to use the very symbol of the existence of Self, which is the word "I". On the other hand, there are several languages that do not impose the rule, such as Pacific islands languages, among others. Then, we remember that Japanese language is one of them. We do not necessarily use a subject in a Japanese sentence.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-2 Attainment


Today's Tao

Attainment raises this. (Ch.51)


Dark Depth Attainment raises you.

Dark Depth is another name of Tao.

When you attain Tao, you grow up spiritually.

What do we have to do to grow up spiritually?

Do we have to buy exotic costumes or join an organization?

No.

All you have to do is to remember that you are Tao.

This is the attainment of Tao.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞Valley god. The goddess of the valley. The little female deity takes a bath in an Onsen Rotenburo, open-air natural hot bath, by the river. And a male student is overwhelmed by the serenity of her naked innocence. Momoe Yamaguchi, a legendary singer-actress, incarnated the dancing goddess in «The Izu Dancer» film. Yasunari Kawabata, its author, created Komako, a hot spa geisha, or an Onsen geisha, in his «Snow Country» and immortalized another female deity slightly more matured than the former.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 51-1 Your birth


Today's Tao

Tao gives birth to this. (Ch.51)


Let's check a few things about Self.


1. Your own self is not true You.

2. True You are Tao.

3. Self is part of your hologram.


Now we are ready to discuss Today's Tao sentence.

"Tao gives birth to" you.

In other words, Tao creates your own self.

Then, your life begins.

It begins and ends simultaneously since time doesn't exist in Tao.

That's why they say, "No life. No end of life 不生不滅 [fusho fumetsu]" in Buddhism.


«Related Articles»
-Your birth 51-1
-Attainment 51-2
-They form you 51-3
-Vessel = Hologram 51-4
-Respect Tao 51-5
-Honor Attainment 51-6
-By itself 51-7
-Character 51-8
-Possession 51-9
-Don't rely 51-10
-No subject 51-11
-Dark Depth Attainment 51-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 51


Tao answers your question!



☞Women are goddesses. There is no argument about it. Well, at least, in Japan where people often call their wives "The goddess of the mountain / Yama no kami 山の神". The country's most important deity Ama terasu o o mi kami 天照大神 is female. The name of the goddess is translated as "The great goddess who lights up Heaven". No wonder there are male characters who try to raise a girl to be their perfect wife in Lady Murasaki's «The Tale of Genji» and Junichiro Tanizaki's «Naomi / Odd obsession». It is purely a pious act of female worship.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 50-10 No desperate situation


Today's Tao

Why is it so? Because he doesn't have any desperate situation without any hope of survival. (Ch.50)


Why can't anything hurt you?

Because the situation you are in is a hologram you project.

No matter how desperate and hopeless it seems, you will survive.

Because the situation exists as a catalyst only to stimulate you.

Accept it as it is. Thank the situation for giving you a hard time and making you emit more love.

Then, you will never be stuck in life, which is your hologram.


«Related Articles»
-Life non-life 50-1
-Life 50-2
-Non-life 50-3
-Survival 50-4
-Thick of life 50-5
-Excellent life care 50-6
-No one-horned water buffalo 50-7
-No tiger 50-8
-No blade 50-9
-No desperate situation 50-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 50


Tao answers your question!



☞Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman try to get away from a series of desperate situations. The original is worth reading as well. The photo above is a Japanese translation of «Papillon». Why don't we revisit our childhood when adventure was more exterior than interior of one's self.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Tao Te Ching Chapter 50-9 No blade


Today's Tao

No weapon finds a place to insert its blade into. (Ch.50)


Why can't any weapon hurt you?

To answer this question, let's think about where weapons exist.

They exist in your hologram, which comes and goes as a catalyst to stimulate you.

Disasters and pains, and miracles and joys are similarly part of your hologram.

Weapons, disasters, and pains are miracles as well.

Everything exists inside you.

Therefore, no weapons can hurt you.


«Related Articles»
-Life non-life 50-1
-Life 50-2
-Non-life 50-3
-Survival 50-4
-Thick of life 50-5
-Excellent life care 50-6
-No one-horned water buffalo 50-7
-No tiger 50-8
-No blade 50-9
-No desperate situation 50-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 50


Tao answers your question!



☞Nintendo was just a manufacture of card games. These cards are called "Hanafuda", which literally means flower cards. I wish you could touch and see them now. They are a popular reminder of Japanese visual arts; Ukiyo-e and Zen calligraphy among others. The Japanese inherit our cultural heritage while playing with those cards. One day, a historian will discover an undeniable tie between Nintendo Game Watch and Zen, I guess.