Tao Te Ching Chapter 81-6 Richer detachment

Today's Tao

Although he gives everything to others, he is richer. (Ch.81)


What is being rich?

The richest man is the one who can detach himself from all.

Don't be attached to wealth or prestige.

Don't be attached to an object or an idea.

Don't be attached to your life.

Don't be attached to individuality or your own self.

Mu ga 無我. Self doesn't exist. Or, nothingness is your true "self". (☞See Tao Te Ching / Chapter 7 / No Self)

Since the so-called "self" is part of a hologram, there is neither before-life nor after-life. (☞See Man's self 77-7 and After life / Task successfully accomplished 77-11 ☞As for "former life", see End of life 74-1)

An individual and independent soul does not exist. (☞See Out-Tao [Heresy] Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9)

If you believe it does, you are too attached to the concept of individuality.

Don't think that your soul will go back to Tao after your life.

You have never left Tao in the first place.

You are always one with Tao. (☞See Tao by Matsumoto / One with Tao)

No life. No end of life. 不生不滅 [fusho fumetsu]. (☞See Live eternally 59-8)


«Related Articles»
-Beautiful words 81-1
-Good one 81-2
-Not knowledgeable 81-3
-Accumulate not 81-4
-Act of others 81-5
-Richer detachment 81-6
-Tao in Heaven 81-7
-Sage's Tao 81-8
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 81


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Recommended Books 16» "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." The more difficult to pronounce the mantra is, the more sacred. One can laugh at exoticism, but is he able to show you the way? The way how you can overcome the fancy costumes? If the seemingly greener grass fascinates you, the only solution might be going over the fence into the other side and discovering that the grass has the same color. If a Japanese boy believes that Major League Baseball (or Premier League football) is definitely "greener" than the baseball (or football) his countrymen play, he's gotta go there and beat some hitting records (or play better than George Best). Until then, the kid will be trapped in a strange mixture of complacency and self-negation, saying to his fellow citizens: "You don't know what it really is. What we have is false. Look over there. They have got something authentic". Kafu Nagai needed to go to America to make enough money to see France. The money he had earned was barely enough to let the spoiled Japanese twenty-something hang around in France for just ten months. Did he find that the grass was the same green wherever one went? It seems that in his mind the grass still remained greener somewhere but he was not able to be there. To fill the gap between what he had and what he wished to have, he created his "strange" but adorable world in the life of a woman who practiced a libidinous profession illegally on the other side of the River Sumida.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 77-7 Man's self

Today's Tao

Man's Tao is not like that. (Ch.77)


Here, Lao Tzu says:

"Man's Tao is not like Heaven's Tao".

As we discussed in the previous entry, "Heaven's Tao" signifies Tao's nature of manifestation in each hologram.

What is "Man's Tao", then?

"Man" suggests the so-called individual "self", which does not exist. (☞As for non-existence of self 無我 [mu ga], visit Know yourself 72-4. There are a few links to the related articles. See also Chapter 33 / Self and Chapter 7 / No self of Tao Te Ching.)

What happens after the end of one's self, that is to say, the end of one's life?

His soul goes up to somewhere?

Or, it re-integrates itself with Tao?

No. I am sorry.

It is not like that.

You are Tao, so you are never separated from Tao.

Like a frame in a movie, Tao flashes a hologram every moment.

"Life" is a name given to the sequence of innumerable holograms.

The end of another person's life is a backdrop of your hologram asking you to emit more Love (=Tao).

A self does not exist, so how can one's life exist independently!

不生不滅 [fusho fumetsu]

No life. No end of life.


[Note] Time does not exist in Tao, so all the holograms are created simultaneously.


«Related Articles»
-Bend a bow 77-1
-Suppress doubt? 77-2
-Raise Hossho? 77-3
-No excess / Why does history repeat? 77-4
-Lack and Supply 77-5
-Nirvana / Reduced excess and Supplied lack 77-6
-Man's self 77-7
-Rich man's excess 77-8
-Love and Excess 77-9
-Attachment 77-10
-After life / Task successfully accomplished 77-11
-Secret of superiority 77-12
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 77


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (17) / -Do nothing (treat things without interference) 無為 - Let's see how they translate 是以聖人処無為之事 行不言之教 in Chapter 2. / "Therefore the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practices the teaching that uses no words." On the left, «Tao Te Ching (Penguin Great Ideas)» translated by D. C. Lau. / "Therefore the sage resides in nonfabrication, and conducts himself according to wordless teachings." On the right, «Tao Te Ching: An All-New Translation» translated by William Scott Wilson.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 74-2 Don't terrify them

Today's Tao

How can you terrify them by ending their life? (Ch.74)


Reincarnation is the creation and re-creation of a hologram.

It is not the story of a child in an exotic country who speaks about his former life in the language of the exotic country, not in the language he was supposed to be using while living the former life.


Tao is the exchange of the energy.

Every time the exchange takes place, Tao creates a hologram as a catalyst.

The end of life is the end of one cycle of this process.

Another one begins simultaneously.

Life is a catalyst, that is to say, an illusion.


That's why they say in Zen Buddhism:

"不生 不滅

[fusho fumetsu]

No life. No end of life".


Do we have to be afraid of the end of a holographic catalyst?

People in the world are not terrified at all by the end of a hologram/life, Lao Tzu says.

Of course not because they are just holographic characters in your catalytic movie.


«Related Articles»
-End of Life 74-1
-Don't terrify them 74-2
-Fear of End 74-3
-Reincarnation 74-4
-Big's carpenter 74-5
-Carved or uncarved block 74-6
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 74


Tao answers your question!



☞Reincarnation. Rin-ne Ten-sho 輪廻転生. One of the most successful modern novelists in Japan, Yukio Mishima 三島由紀夫 tacked the subject in the series of «Sea of Fertility / Hojo no Umi 豊饒の海». At the very end of the forth and last novel «The Decay of the Angel / Ten nin go sui 天人五衰», the woman who has been the heroine in the first book «Spring Snow / Haru no Yuki 春の雪» answers to the question of reincarnation. It is worth reading how she explains it if you are interested in this intriguing concept.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 67-12 Stuck in life

Today's Tao

Now, if you are brave without sending Love, if you are vast while wasting all, or if you want to be the first without being the last, you will end your life. (Ch.67)


Are you stuck in your life, the world, or the hologram?

There are three points to think about.


1. Are you brave without sending Love?

2. Do you believe that there is an objective world outside you?

3. Do you refuse to accept your life as it is?


不生 不滅

[fusho fumetsu]

No life. No end of life.

Life is your hologram.

You are never stuck in there.

You just think you are.


«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!



☞Here we have two books written by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, one of the best advocates of Zen and other schools of Buddhism internationally. They are «Manual of Zen Buddhism» and «An Introduction to Zen Buddhism».

Tao Te Ching Chapter 59-8 Live eternally

Today's Tao

This is called Tao of "deep roots and firm roots, and living and seeing the eternity". (Ch.59)


All the objects in your hologram are deeply rooted in Tao.

All the phenomena in the world are firmly rooted in Tao.

All of them are the manifestation of Tao.


Life has nothing to do with death, says Master Dogen 道元禅師, whose name means "the root 元 of Tao 道".

「生の死になるといはざる」

(Genjokoan 現成公案, «Shobogenzo»)


Life is part of the hologram, which is an illusion.

Therefore, Zen Buddhists say:

"No life." 不生 [fusho]

The end of life is part of the hologram, which is an illusion.

Therefore, they say:

"No end of life." 不滅 [fumetsu]


Holograms come and go, but true You are Tao.

In Tao, there is no time.

Time is just a parameter in your mind.

Inside the sphere where time doesn't exist, how can a thing be ephemeral!

It has to be eternal.


«Related Articles»
-Don't waste 59-1
-Return early 59-2
-Return and Repeat 59-3
-Repeat Attainment 59-4
-Cycle's end 59-5
-Never-ending cycle 59-6
-Forever 59-7
-Live eternally 59-8
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 59


Tao answers your question!



☞Sometimes, it is ridiculous. Rarely, it is offensive. Often, it is cute. Mostly, the translator's painstaking is admirable. The translation of a title makes its native-speakers wonder or sometimes laugh. Probably not so much between two Indo-European languages, but it is often the case with an English title for a Japanese classic. One should respect the effort to translate it correctly in terms of signification, but for the people who keep a primitive affection towards the sound of a word the title seems too highly conceptual. It makes them imagine a Sumo wrestler in a tuxedo. Yagyu, Munenori's «The Life-giving Sword» is part of «Heiho Kadensho 兵法家伝書» and called «Katsu jin ken 活人剣» in Japanese. This English translation includes the entire book of the former. Zen Master Takuan's «The Unfettered Mind» is called «Fudochi Shinmyoroku 不動智神妙録». Both English titles are very good. Three cheers for the translators!

Tao Te Ching Chapter 58-5 Eternal cycle

Today's Tao

No one knows the end of this cycle. (Ch.58)


Fortune and misfortune, Yin and Yang, Tao and holograms; all of them are the same, the same eternal cycle. (☞See Ch.59)

This cycle is the prayer wheel and the wheel of Buddha's manifestation (=Horin 法輪).

Of course, no one knows its end because there is no end.

No one knows its beginning, either, because there is no beginning.


That's why in Buddhism they say:

"No life, no end of life / 不生不滅 [fusho fumetsu]".


In other words, we are living in the eternal cycle, which is the constant beginning.

Fortune and misfortune are one.

Yin and Yang are one.

Tao and holograms are one.

Then, why do they appear different?

In order to give us an opportunity to remember that they are one.


«Related Articles»
-Dark Government 58-1
-Brilliant government 58-2
-Fortune = Misfortune 58-3
-Misfortune = Fortune 58-4
-Eternal cycle 58-5
-Criterion? 58-6
-Odd criterion 58-7
-Spooky 58-8
-Confused about time? 58-9
-Don't tear it! 58-10
-Kyoka (crazy song) hurts 58-11
-Straight = Bent 58-12
-Amida (Amitābha) shines 58-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 58


Tao answers your question!



☞It is a good idea to read and compare these two books on Samurai. Inazo Nitobe was a Christian and wrote «Bushido: The soul of Japan» in 1900. Bushido signifies "The way of Samurai / Tao of Samurai". Yamamoto, Tsunetomo was a real Samurai and "wrote" «Hagakure: The art of Samurai» about 1716. Hagakure signifies "Hidden by the leaves".

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.

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.

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.


«Related Articles»
-Body or name 44-1
-Body or money 44-2
-Gain or loss 44-3
-"Love" too much 44-4
-Store = Lose 44-5
-Contentment 44-6
-Stay 44-7
-Last long 44-8
-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.