Tao Te Ching Chapter 69-2 Be passive

Today's Tao

Our side dare not be active, but be passive. (Ch.69)


Be passive.

Don't be active.

Passiveness defeats activeness. (☞See Female beats male 61-4)

Use Dark Depth Female 玄牝 [gen pi].

In Taoism, the word "female" represents passiveness.

While being passive and accepting all, you create no resistance.

Then, Tao, which is expressed as "Dark Depth 玄 [gen]", can flow without hindrance.

"Don't be active", in other words, "Do nothing" suggests this attitude.

Please don't think that "Do nothing" means "You must not move your body or do something".

Whether you do something or not, true You are "doing nothing", that is to say, accepting all.

It is your hologram that is doing the act.


«Related Articles»
-Use of arms 69-1
-Be passive 69-2
-Retreat 69-3
-Advance without advancing 69-4
-Underestimating the enemy 69-5
-Lost treasures 69-6
-Love wins 69-7
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 69


Tao answers your question!



☞Small is big. This is the idea of Taoism. Small spaces can give you plenty of "space" in your mind. Katsuhiko Mizuno's «Landscapes for Small Spaces» will offer you many ideas for your spiritual gardening. ☞The Rock Garden at Ryoanji temple in Kyoto is one of the most beautiful Zen gardens in Japan. «The Art of the Japanese Garden» will show you a different concept of "What a garden is".

Tao Te Ching Chapter 68-5 No competition

Today's Tao

This is called attainment by no competition. (Ch.68)


Why does Lao Tzu ask you not to compete or fight?

Because competition and fight are forms of resistance.

They are refusal of acceptance.

First, you accept the world, which is your hologram.

Second, you are one with Tao, that is to say, you remember that true You are Tao and your own self is just part of the hologram.

Third, remembering You = Tao is the attainment of Tao. This is also called Dark Depth Attainment 玄徳 [gen toku].

Fourth, while accepting your hologram, you emit the fundamental energy Tao, which is True You or which you can call Love.

Fifth, Tao, or Love, is out there. Now you go back to the first step and accept it through the hologram.

We keep this cycle.


«Related Articles»
-True samurai 68-1
-True warrior 68-2
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-Aikido and Tariki / Other people's power 68-6
-Limit of space and time 68-7
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 68


Tao answers your question!



☞The company's name Lotte was named after Charlotte Sophie Henriette Buff, the heroine of Goethe's «The Sorrows of Young Werther». Now the company owns two baseball clubs in Chiba, Japan and Busan, South Korea, and sells «Koala no march / The march of Koalas», or Lotte Koala Cookie Chocolate, which is believed to be one of the sweets most sought-after by tourists. Is this the result of a never-ending fight and competition? No, it is the happy ending of a love for baseball and sweets. Our beloved Lotte is always "the sweetheart of your mouth" (or our champions at heart).

Tao Te Ching Chapter 67-10 Be vast

Today's Tao

I don't waste any, so I can be vast. (Ch.67)


You are vast because true You are Tao.

No matter what you do, you are not wasting Tao's energy.

You (=Tao) receive the energy through the world, which is your hologram.


In Zen Buddhism, they say:

"尽十方界是自己光明

[jin jippo kai kore jiko no komyo / jin juppo kai kore jiko no komyo]

Ten nooks and crannies of the whole world are your light".

(Komyo 光明, «Shobogenzo»)


You are as vast as the world.

You may not like this world.

You might think that you refuse to accept it.

But it is not possible because you are the world.


«Related Articles»
-Idiot 67-1
-Parents 67-2
-Ordinary? 67-3
-3 treasures 67-4
-Protect the treasures 67-5
-Send Love 67-6
-Don't waste holograms 67-7
-Not the first 67-8
-Be brave 67-9
-Be vast 67-10
-Leader of the vessel 67-11
-Stuck in life 67-12
-Love, win, defense 67-13
-Heaven, Love, Tao 67-14
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 67


Tao answers your question!



☞«Koshihikari コシヒカリ» means the light of Niigata. It is the one of the best rice brands in Japan. «Genmai 玄米» is a Japanese expression for unpolished rice. It literally means black rice. The Kanji / Chinese character 玄 [gen] is also used to express Dark Depth, that is, Tao.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 65-9 Perfect integration

Today's Tao

After that, you will reach Tao's perfect integration. (Ch.65)


Let's review Tao's perfect integration, or Big Natural Flow 大順 [tai jun], step by step.


1. You abandon analysis and intelligence.

2. You accept all, that is, all of your hologram while emitting the fundamental energy Tao (=Love).

3. The hologram finishes its role as a catalyst.

4. The hologram, including your own self and other beings, "return" to Tao and gets "re-integrated".

5. Your own self doesn't exist any more. (You remember that your own self does not exist as an independent entity from the beginning.)


This is "your" perfect integration with Tao.

In other words, you have attained Dark Depth.

It is Dark Depth Attainment 玄徳 [gen toku].

Attention!

The moment a phase finishes, another one begins.

There is no end.

Besides, time doesn't exist in Tao.

The multiple phases take place simultaneously.

Then, what can you do really?

Don't worry.

That's why they say: "Do nothing".

Just remember that you are totally integrated with Tao all the time.


«Related Articles»
-Ignorant 65-1
-Too intelligent 65-2
-Harmful intelligence 65-3
-Not by intelligence 65-4
-Rules of Tao 65-5
-Miracle rule 65-6
-Miracle attainment 65-7
-Return to Tao 65-8
-Perfect integration 65-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 65


Tao answers your question!



☞Water never errs. Neither do you. All you need is a bit more confidence. Ask water for some help.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 65-7 Miracle Attainment

Today's Tao

Dark Depth Attainment is deep and far! (Ch.65)


Dark Depth Attainment is everyday life.

It is nothing magical.

That's exactly why it is deep and far.

Dark Depth, which is Tao, reaches the deepest bottom, the farthest place, and everywhere.

Every moment of life is a miracle.

Your hologram is the miracle.


Zen Master Dogen would say:

"If it is not a painted rice-cake, you cannot eat it."

(☞See Painted rice-cake / Empty granary 53-5 A painted rice-cake: 画餅 [gabyo / gabei])


If it is not a miracle, we cannot eat it.

Eating food is a miracle.

Going to the bathroom is a miracle.

Your body is a hologram and miracle.

It is the closest manifestation of Buddha's love.

That's why Dogen insists on keeping our bodies clean. (Senjo 洗浄 and Senmen 洗面, «Shobogenzo»)


«Related Articles»
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-Rules of Tao 65-5
-Miracle rule 65-6
-Miracle attainment 65-7
-Return to Tao 65-8
-Perfect integration 65-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 65


Tao answers your question!



☞Masaru Emoto is an advocated of water's healing power. Water is a miracle, of course, because everything in our life is a miracle. Everything is projected in our hologram. Certainly, all the miracles are projected in our mind. If you need a particular help from water's memory, don't ignore Emoto's works.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 65-6 Miracle rule

Today's Tao

Knowing these rules is called Dark Depth Attainment. (Ch.65)


A: "Master Bonbon, I wanna know the rules of magic Tao. 'Dark Deep Attachment', you call?"

B: "Dark Depth Attainment, idiot! Gentoku the Dark Depth Attainment! This oriental mystic, magical, enigmatic power rules the world."


Master Bonbon, stop pretending to be an exotic mystic. You are fooling yourself.

Besides, Dark Depth Attainment is not the attainment of a magical power.

Or rather, everyday life is a miracle if you are looking for one.


Zen Master Dogen expresses it as:

"Miracle is the tea and rice of a Buddhist".

神通は仏家の茶飯なり

(Jinzu 神通, «Shobogenzo»)


Everything that takes place in your hologram is a miracle.

Therefore, all the stories about miracle are true because you are the one who projects them.

Forget your intelligence.

Then, you will see that every moment is a miracle.

This is the rule of miracle.


«Related Articles»
-Ignorant 65-1
-Too intelligent 65-2
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-Not by intelligence 65-4
-Rules of Tao 65-5
-Miracle rule 65-6
-Miracle attainment 65-7
-Return to Tao 65-8
-Perfect integration 65-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 65


Tao answers your question!



☞We have two famous artists called "Banana" in Japan. One is the author of «Kitchen»: Banana Yoshimoto. The other is a great Haiku poet who supposedly had a Ninja-like mission for the Shogun government while traveling the northern independent fiefdoms in Japan: Matsuo, Basho. His first name "Basho" means a banana plant in Japanese. He is the author of «The Narrow Road to the Deep North / Oku no Hoso Michi». The book certainly inspired Edward Bond, and he wrote the play "Narrow Road to the Deep North".

Tao Te Ching Chapter 61-3 Female of the world

Today's Tao

It's the female of the world under the sky. (Ch.61)


A big country is the female of the world under the sky.

That is to say, being one with Tao is the female of the world under the sky.

What does this mean?

It means:

"To be one with Tao, you use Dark Depth Female".

Then, how?

By accepting all.

This is the attitude symbolized by the word "female", which is very important in Taoism.

Dark Depth Female is the translation for 玄牝 [gen pi].

(☞See Tao by Matsumoto / Dark Depth and Dark Depth Female. See also Tao by Matsumoto video blog / Dark 20-13, Dark Depth 15-1, and Dark Depth Female 6-2)


«Related Articles»
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-By going down 61-8
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-Work on people 61-10
-Go down 61-11
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 61


Tao answers your question!



☞We can learn a lot about people and their culture while reading their folk tales. «Taketori no Okina», translated as «The Old Bamboo-Hewer's Story», is a story about a girl born inside a bamboo trunk. The old man raises her with his old wife until the baby girl comes of age. The beautiful young woman is in fact a princess of the moon and, having refused all the desirable suitors, goes back to where she belongs. ☞«Momo Taro» could be translated more literally as, for example, "John the peach" or "Taro the peach". Here it has got a fancy English title «Peach Boy». Instead of surfing on the beach like Beach Boys, the Peach Boy travels floating on the river.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 59-4 Repeat Attainment

Today's Tao

Repeat and accumulate the attainment, and you can beat any. (Ch.59)


"Repeat" your Dark Depth Attainment.

That means: "Don't forget that true You are Tao".

Is it difficult?

You forget it once in a while, right?

Is there any method to remember it?

Yes, there is.

Just do nothing.

You may want to ask me what "do nothing" means, right?

You don't have to do anything while accepting and loving the world as it is.

You can be aware that you are turning the Tao/hologram cycle (=the prayer wheel, =Yin Yang circle).

By turning it, you are sustaining Tao itself.

Of course, you can beat any because you are the one who projects it in your holographic world.

You are its master.

So, don't judge.


«Related Articles»
-Don't waste 59-1
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-Never-ending cycle 59-6
-Forever 59-7
-Live eternally 59-8
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 59


Tao answers your question!



☞When you talk about Zen, you don't have to use the word. Nevertheless, when you talk about something else, the word Zen can help you sometimes. In «Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance», Robert M. Pirsig tells us about the father/son relationship and the man/nature tie. On the other hand, in «Big Wednesday», the story tells us about life, which is sometimes synonymous to Zen.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 59-3 Return & Repeat

Today's Tao

Returning early is said to be repeating and accumulating the attainment. (Ch.59)


Let's make it clear.


Attaining Satori
=
Attaining Tao
=
Attaining Dark Depth
=
Doing nothing
=
Accepting all
=
Sending Love
=
Turning the prayer wheel
=
Remembering that true You are Tao


Returning early to Tao
=
Repeating the attainment
=
Accumulating the attainment
=
Remembering that you are sustaining Tao's cycle by receiving and emitting the energy Tao.


Do you remember there is no time in Tao?

If you do it once, it is the same as repeating it.


«Related Articles»
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-Never-ending cycle 59-6
-Forever 59-7
-Live eternally 59-8
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 59


Tao answers your question!



☞Exploring Japanese literature is never easy. The cultural gap used to be insurmountable between where you are and where geisha and samurai lived. Besides, there is a question of translation unless you are fluent in Japanese. How can you translate a Kotodama (=the spirit of a word) based on and developed from onomatopoeia into an abstract concept! In this sense, Yukio Mishima's works are a good and accessible entrance gate to Japanese literature since the author is supposed to have detested the dependence on onomatopoetic expressions.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 56-15 Noblest

Today's Tao

Therefore, it is the noblest in the world. (Ch.56)


Tao, which is true You, is the beginning and the end.

It is the unique existence.

Logically, it is the noblest.

Let's review this chapter 56, in which we discuss 10 points to be one with Tao. 玄同 [gen do] (=to be one with Dark Depth, =to be one with Tao)


1. Do not see (especially TV news).

2. Do not listen (to especially someone who speaks up).

3. Do not speak. (Especially do not try to convince others.)

4. Be dull. Don't be special.

5. Accept everything as it is.

6. Accept it with gratitude.

7. Remember that you are Tao. (Don't try to reach Tao or get Satori. Useless.)

8. Don't try to influence Tao. It is a waste of energy.

9. Don't worship Tao. (=Don't worship yourself.)

10. Don't make light of Tao. (=Don't make light of yourself.)


«Related Articles»
-Don't say 56-1
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-Soft light 56-6
-Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7
-One with Dark Depth 56-8
-Closer to Tao 56-9
-Staying away? 56-10
-Benefit 56-11
-Harm? 56-12
-Ennoble it? 56-13
-Debase it? 56-14
-Noblest 56-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 56


Tao answers your question!



☞«Kappa» is an imaginary animal who is supposed to live in the water. Akutagawa prize was named after Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who is the author of «Rashomon» and «Kappa» among others. Ryu Murakami won the prize with his «Almost Transparent Blue».

Tao Te Ching Chapter 56-8 One with Dark Depth

Today's Tao

This is called being one with Dark Depth. (Ch.56)


Dark Depth is 玄 [gen] in Japanese ([hsüan] in Chinese).

Originally it meant the color of reddish black which you got after having put together a few layers of colors.

The color symbolizes something deep and inexplicable.

"Dark Depth" is a synonym for Tao.

Therefore, 玄同 [gen dō], being one with Dark Depth, is the same as being one with Tao.

No matter what you are, whether you are dust or an [excrement] scraper, you are Tao.

In this chapter 56, Lao Tzu gives us some tips to remember the fact.

Don't worry and do nothing.


«Related Articles»
-Don't say 56-1
-One who says 56-2
-Block the openings 56-3
-Be dull 56-4
-Untangled 56-5
-Soft light 56-6
-Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7
-One with Dark Depth 56-8
-Closer to Tao 56-9
-Staying away? 56-10
-Benefit 56-11
-Harm? 56-12
-Ennoble it? 56-13
-Debase it? 56-14
-Noblest 56-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 56


Tao answers your question!



☞Now the sport is internationally know as Judo. It was not the case at the beginning of its modern development. Contrary to what most of us imagine, the word "Judo" has a relatively brief history. The magical art of man-to-man combat was first called "Yawara", which means being soft. "Yawara no michi". This is the expression that provokes an unequivocal affection towards the sport among the Japanese. A Japanese Judy Garland, Hibari Misora, sang "Yawara" and an industrious Japanese cartoonist, Naoki Urasawa drew "Yawara", which led a real-life girl to start practicing this "Soft Tao / Judo". Having won a few Olympic medals, the girl is now a stateswoman who occupies a seat in Japan's House of Councilors.

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).

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
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-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.

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.

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.


«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!



-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 42-8 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


«Related Articles»
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-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!



-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 28-8 Protect Darkness

Today's Tao

Protect its darkness. (Ch.28)


Stay with Dark Depth 玄 [gen], which is Tao.

How can we do that?

1. Learn the limit of male attitude. No direct action.

2. Keep female attitude. Do nothing, and your hologram will transform itself.

3. Be the valley. Be void. Being void means accepting all.

4. Then, you will remember that you are Tao. This is constancy.

5. Be like a baby.

6. There is neither black nor white. No dichotomy 二見なし [niken nashi].

(The male and female attitudes above have nothing to do with men and women. They are simply expressions used by Lao Tzu to express certain types of behavior.)


«Related Articles»
-Male 28-1
-Female 28-2
-Valley 28-3
-Valley under the sky 28-4
-Attainment of constancy 28-5
-Baby 28-6
-White 28-7
-Protect Darkness 28-8
-Valley, male, female 28-9
-Under the sky 28-10
-Constancy attainment 28-11
-Uncarved block 28-12
-Vessels 28-13
-Chief officials 28-14
-The greatest control 28-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 28


Tao answers your question!



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-Darkness simply fascinates some. Surely it does the Japanese. In darkness, probably, we find some little fairies profoundly rooted in Shintoism. At the same time, we fear darkness. We transformed Shinjuku from the darkness of water purification plants to the pleasure world of flood of lights. Have the Japanese erased the darkness completely there. Not at all. On the contrary, plenty of people are attracted by the darkness of human existence in illuminated Shinjuku.