Today's Tao
Heaven's Tao gives benefits and does not damage any. (Ch.81)
"Heaven" signifies "this world right here right now", which is your hologram.
Therefore, "Heaven's Tao" means Tao in a hologram, that is to say, Tao manifested as a hologram.
This manifestation is called Hossho 法性 in Buddhism.
Your life is Hossho.
Don't worry about how you live and how others live.
All the lives are more or less the same.
Your life that manifests itself right here right now is the most important.
Don't worry about someone else's criteria to judge a man's life.
When you see them in a book or on TV, just say "thanks" and ignore them.
Gratitude is an act of sending Love (=Tao).
All the acts take place in a hologram.
So, an act of sending Love takes place in a hologram, which is the life right here right now.
That's why you must not despise this world.
You receive "Tao's Love" and all the hologram it projects.
Zen Master Dogen says:
"You must not look at anywhere but this world in order to meet Buddha".
いわゆる世界は十方みな仏世界なり
(Kobutsushin 古仏心, «Shobogenzo»)
Meeting Buddha is receiving Love.
It takes place on your face. (☞See Face Transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8)
That's why Dogen asks you to wash your face and body well. (Senjo 洗浄, «Shobogenzo»; Senmen 洗面, «Shobogenzo»)
The world is an extension of your body.
Keep your face clean.
It is one easy and practical way to accept this world.
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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 81
Lao Tzu answers your question!
☞«Recommended Books 17» Zen Master Ikkyu was a good friend of Konparu Zenchiku, a dancer/actor of Noh theatre. This eccentric duo wrote and performed «Yama Uba» in a village in medieval Japan. You can study Zen Buddhism, but studying something is not necessarily living it. Rather, you can learn Zen without analyzing Sutras and Mantras. Meditation will certainly help you find out what Zen is, but if you think squatting a la Japonaise will teach it better than theatre does, you will never learn what it is. You can even learn Zen while frying French fries at a diner. Peter Brook's «Empty Space
» inevitably makes a Japanese think about "Ma 間", spacial or sonic emptiness. The Japanese have been considering it as the rich source of creativity. If you find the concept of Everything = Nothing a bit too hard to grasp, why don't you look to this theatrical genius for advice? You don't have to go straight to the gate of Tao or Zen. Anne Bogart will show you some backstage door to get in there. Read her «Viewpoint
», and you will see why theatre is a good friend of Zen Buddhism.
were good friends. They were friends from high school. They met each other at Ishikawa-ken Senmon Gakko. The school later changed its name to Dai 4 Koto Gakko, which literally means "the forth high school". It was one of the most prestige high schools in Japan before WW2. The school was closed in 1950. Its tradition was spiritually inherited by Kanazawa University. Nishida was part of the founding members of Koa Kogyo University, now called Chiba Institute of Technology. «
» on the left is the same book as «A Study of Good». The book shines as the beacon of modern Japanese philosophy. Kitaro Nishida was an excellent thinker and black sheep where many people say "A good one doesn't 'think'. One who 'thinks' is not good".
», which is the first book of the tetralogy «The Sea of Fertility». Then, at the very end of «
», which is the fourth of the tetralogy and the last of all the works of Yukio Mishima, he had an old Buddhist nun answer the question with another question: "Does life really exist?" If life doesn't exist, what is reincarnation? The answer is simple: the constant emission of a hologram is reincarnation. "Don't worry, my old friend Jim. There is no end", the Zen master would say to the rock poet.
». Ikkyu, who would be a cynic poet dressed in a John Galliano dress if he lived now, wrote the play in order to tell how Zen functions. (☞Read its modern adaptation «
. / "and both are called mysterious, and the mystery itself is the gateway to perception. 同謂之玄玄之又玄衆妙之門" On the right, «Tao Te Ching: A New Translation» translated by 
.
. / "This being so is profound, mysterious, and dark: The threshold to all secrets. (This translation seems to correspond to the Kanji / Chinese characters 同謂之玄玄之又玄衆妙之門.)" On the right, «Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching» translated by 
.
. / "dark-enigma deep within dark-enigma, gateway of all mystery." On the right, «Tao Te Ching» translated by 
.
. / "Deep and again Deep" On the right, «Tao Te Ching» by 
.
: Meditation for Modern Living» written by Bruce Frantzis. / "If you want to be rich, stop chasing after the things of the world. Go inside. What you will find will stop you dead and you will want no more." On the right, «
: Re-Sourcing the Inner Life» written by Jasmin Lee Cori. / Life is the best meditation of all. If we are always living this life desperately like Tozan Ryokai, do we really need a cushion for meditation? Nevertheless, of course, Tao does not exclude meditation if you wish.
» written by Johanna Siegmann. / "'What have you got?' The old man asked me around his cigar. 'A banjo' I replied." On the right, «
» written by Patrick Costello. / "C'mon. Tao has nothing to do with Tango or Banjo!", you might say. But, wait a minute. Remember? Tao is everywhere, even around the banjo or the legs of your Tango partner.
: Exploring the Ecology of Transformation (Ecology and Justice)» written by Mark Hathaway and Leonardo Boff. The book is introduced by Fritjof Capra, who is the author of good ol' «
: An exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism» on the right. / Forget about the academics' criticism against this odd old soldier in physics. The book is worth reading again. It was available even in Japanese.
: A Path to Understanding (With No Math)» written by Dr Dana K. Keller. / "Doesn't it take just one side to start a conflict?" On the right, «
: How You Can Prevent, Resolve, and Transcend Conflict in Work and Everyday Life» written by Joel Edelman and Mary Beth Crane. / The ways of statistics and negotiation are intertwined like Kudzu and wisteria vines.
» he is reincarnated as a modern Samurai swordsman. In the 3rd, «
», as a Thai princess. In the 4th, «
: Daily Wisdom from Mystics, Sages, Poets, and Saints» written by Josh Baran. / "We are in the midst of what some called 'a major turning point in history.'" On the right, «
» written by Diane Dreher and Lao Tzu. / More than ever we need Tao now. But "What is «now»?
: Using Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life» written by William Martin. / "Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao." On the right, «
» translated by John C. H. Wu.
