Tao Te Ching Chapter 75-4 Value life?

Today's Tao

Surely, those who do nothing by living are better than those who value life. (Ch.75)


You respect your life as a painted rice-cake, that is to say, a hologram and catalyst.

Perfect!


You value your life a little.

All right.


You value your life a lot and try to achieve the maximum in there.

Lao Tzu might say: "Oh, my god! Surely, you have got a problem".


If you try to control your life, you will certainly be stuck in there.

No act in Life is better than doing nothing.

That's what Lao Tzu is saying.

Besides, we have to learn that, no matter what we do, we are doing nothing in our hologram, which we call Life.

Remember?

No matter what we do, we are sending Love.

Likewise, no matter what they do, they are sending Love to you.

All right?


«Related Articles»
-Tax and Starve 75-1
-King and Zen Master Dogen 75-2
-Plenty of life? 75-3
-Value life? 75-4
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 75


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao of ****» The first line comparison (18) / "Part 1 Taoism and Zen: The Historical Connections". On the left, «The Tao of Zen» written by Ray Grigg. / On the right, «Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic» written by Tao Tzu and Takuan Soho. The Zen master in the Samurai period, Takuan, is one of the best known historical personalities in modern Japan. Nevertheless, don't say "Give me Takuan, please." if you want to buy a book written by the master. You might end up with buying a yellow pickled radish. The master's name is better known in Japan for his gastronomic invention than for his Zen philosophy.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 75-3 Plenty of life?

Today's Tao

People think lightly of ending life because they demand plenty of life. That's why they think lightly of ending life. (Ch.75)


Life is just a hologram. It is just a painted rice-cake.

It exists as a catalyst to stimulate you to emit more Love (=Tao).

To satisfy your hunger for life, all you can do is to send more Love.

Or rather, we have to learn that, whatever we do, we are always sending Love.


That's why Tozan Ryokai 洞山良价 [Tung-shan Liang-chieh / Dongshan Liangjie] said:

"I am always doing this desperately."

(聯燈會要 [rento eyo] Book 20 / Dogen quoted this in his «Shobogenzo» as shown yesterday)


If everyone is sending Love, "No one can ever do anything evil. Everyone is doing the right thing", right?

"A painted rice-cake / Gabyo 画餅", a hologram, or life is a catalyst.

It is you who satisfy your hunger by sending Love.

Whether you still want a life of plenty or plenty of life, your life is asking you to do the same thing.

Send Love.

Respect your life, or your sweet piece of painted rice-cake.


«Related Articles»
-Tax and Starve 75-1
-King and Zen Master Dogen 75-2
-Plenty of life? 75-3
-Value life? 75-4
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 75


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao of ****» The first line comparison (17) / "Taoism is the original meditation, religion and philosophy of the Chinese." On the left, «TAO of Letting Go: 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, «The Tao of Contemplation: 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.


See you next Monday. Have a nice weekend.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 75-2 King & Zen Master Dogen

Today's Tao

It's difficult to govern people because their king does something. That's why it's difficult to govern them. (Ch.75)


Zen Master Kyogen Chikan 香厳智閑 [Hsing-yen Chih-hsien / Xiangyan Zhixian] said:

"a painted rice-cake cannot satisfy hunger."


Of course, not. We cannot eat the picture of a rice-cake... Wait a minute!


Master Dogen said:

"If it is not a painted rice-cake, it must not be a remedy to satisfy hunger."

(Gabyo 画餅, «Shobogenzo»)

Didn't he? (☞See Painted rice-cake / Empty granary 53-5)


Can a painted rice-cake satisfy hunger?

Or, can it not?


Dogen answers the question with some key phrases in Zen.

"A painted rice-cake cannot satisfy hunger" is like saying:

"No one can ever do anything evil. Everyone is doing the right thing. (Don't do anything evil. Practice all the good things.) 諸悪莫作、衆善奉行 [shoaku makusa, shuzen bugyo]",

"Where on earth did this «what on earth» thing come from? 是什麼物恁麼来 [ze inmo butsu inmo rai]",

and

"I am always doing this desperately. 吾れ常に是に於いて切なり [ware tsuneni koreni oite setsu nari]".

(Gabyo 画餅, «Shobogenzo»)


Did you get Master Dogen's teachings?

You are the king in your hologram.

If you do something, everything is difficult.

If you do nothing, everything is easy.


[Note]
"I am always doing this desperately." 吾れ常に是に於いて切なり / 吾常於此切 [ware tsuneni koreni oite setsu nari], originally mentioned by Tozan Ryokai (807-869) 洞山良价 [Tung-shan Liang-chieh / Dongshan Liangjie].


«Related Articles»
-Tax and Starve 75-1
-King and Zen Master Dogen 75-2
-Plenty of life? 75-3
-Value life? 75-4
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 75


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao of ****» The first line comparison (16) / "I have often been described as outgoing, aggressive, impulsive, intimidating, gregarious, courageous, and daring." On the left, «The Tao of Tango» written by Johanna Siegmann. / "'What have you got?' The old man asked me around his cigar. 'A banjo' I replied." On the right, «The How and the Tao of Old Time Banjo» 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.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 75-1 Tax & Starve

Today's Tao

People starve because their king taxes them too much. That's why they starve. (Ch.75)


A: "Right on, Lao Tzu! People are starving because the king taxes us too much! You, too, Master Bonbon. You are asking us too much money. We've got no money left! We've got no bread to eat!"

B: "Don't ask a religious organization to feed you. You, people, are the ones who feed us. Besides, if you don't have bread, eat pancakes or French brioche."


Neither pancakes nor brioche will satisfy their hunger.


Zen Master Dogen would give them the pictures of «a painted rice-cake / Gabyo 画餅».

"If it is not a painted rice-cake, it must not be a remedy to satisfy hunger."

(Gabyo 画餅, «Shobogenzo»)


That is to say, if it is not a hologram, it cannot be a catalyst to stimulate you.

It is just asking you to send more Love.

So are taxes and starvation.


«Related Articles»
-Tax and Starve 75-1
-King and Zen Master Dogen 75-2
-Plenty of life? 75-3
-Value life? 75-4
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 75


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao of ****» The first line comparison (15) / "Today, we may be standing the most important crossroads of the history of humanity, and indeed of the Earth itself." On the left, «The Tao of Liberation: 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' «The Tao of Physics: 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.