Showing posts with label chapter 80. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chapter 80. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-13 Life without intervention


Today's Tao

But they get old and end their life without coming and going between their countries. (Ch.80)


"Without coming and going" is a key (=Kanreisu) to understand how holograms work.

It suggests "no intervention", "no interference".

Why is Lao Tzu against the interference to a hologram?

A dewdrop reflecting the moonlight. (☞See Dogs and Roosters 80-12)

This is a beautiful metaphor of the Tao/hologram mechanism, Shin 心.

The moonlight is Tao, which is true You.

The whole world is a dewdrop reflecting the moonlight, which is a hologram.

Without the modern concept of a hologram, Zen Buddhists needed to invent the expression "Eye storage / 眼蔵 [genzo]".

In terms of our interpretation of space, there is only one hologram, which includes all the beings, objects and intangible information such as thoughts alike.

In terms of our interpretation of time, there are a myriad of holograms, which are being created simultaneously.

"Life" is a name given to one group of them. (☞See Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9)

"Life without coming and going" implies that there is no causation between holograms or dewdrops.

No causation, therefore no intervention. It is no use.

The unique causation is 複 [fuku] / return, which is to keep Tao's energy cycling and recycling.

A hologram stimulates Tao.

Tao gives birth to a hologram.

In conclusion, there is only the receiving and giving of Love, which is also called Tao.

This receiving and giving of Tao's energy takes place on your face. (☞See Face Transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8)

That's why we don't have our face in the hologram.

Have you ever seen your face directly?


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 10» Which is more dangerous, nature or human beings? To many Japanese, the question doesn't make sense because they think human beings are part of nature. The word "artificial" is not an antonym of "natural". The outside world is filled with plenty of Kami, gods, which may help and protect us, but sometimes in a whimsical way destroy us, destroy us completely. Please read Masuji Ibuse's short story «Salamander» first. The work is considered a masterpiece in Japan, and many students read it at school. Into a cave under the stream, a frog was swept. The salamander blocked the entrance of the cave with his body. The salamander had been captured there because his body was too big to get away. Now he had a "friend". If you have some time, before you go straight to «Black Rain», please read his «Castaways». It is about a young fisherman cast away by a typhoon and rescued by an American boat when it was illegal to leave Japan. Their docile acceptance of what it is and what it is happening will certainly give you another flavor when you read «Black Rain». Although Shohei Imamura's film is excellent, the end of the story is not precisely the same. It is worth reading the novel. Which after-taste do you prefer?

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-12 Moonlight & Dewdrops / Dogs & Roosters


Today's Tao

People in one country can hear the voices of dogs and roosters in another country. (Ch.80)


What is the relation between your hologram and those of other people?

How do yours and theirs interact?

Today's Tao sentence is the answer to the question.

"People in one country" signifies your hologram.

"The voices of dogs and cocks in another country" suggests another hologram.

Firstly, you think that others exist independently, but they are part of your hologram.

They are 他己 [tako], your own self beyond your control, that is to say, the extended part of yourself (=non-you).

Secondly, you think that your own self exists, but it is also part of your hologram.

The self doesn't exist. It is a name given to some collective information. (☞See Tao Te Ching / Chapter 33 / Self and Tao Te Ching / Chapter 7 / No Self)

Then, a question arises.

Who in the world is projecting the hologram?

Tao is.

It is true You.

Zen Buddhists cherish the beautiful metaphor of the dewdrops reflecting the moonlight.

The moonlight is Tao.

The image of the moon on the dewdrops is your hologram.

The light is called 無碍光 [mugeko], the light without obstacles.

How many dewdrops or holograms are there in the world?

The answer is one.

You and non-you are the same manifestation of Tao.

Let's overcome the trap of individuality.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 9» "Which country do you like the most?" USA? Mexico? Spain? China? France? Argentin? Or Japan? The answer is: "Snow country". «Snow Country» is unarguably the best novel written by Yasunari Kawabata. Probably, the most popular Japanese novel in the last one hundred years. "Be like Komako" is the novelist's answer to Lao Tzu's "Be like water". When you face a difficult situation and don't know what to do, check «Snow Country» and make decisions as if you were Komako the Geisha. Water is a little too abstract. Komako is a woman and artist of life. If you are interested in Kawabata's literature but do not have enough time to read all his works, «Palm-of-the-Hand Stories» are strongly recommended. They are shorter than most ordinary short stories. There are plenty of them in the book. Therefore, it is ideal to read the book in the bed before you fall asleep.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-11 Neighbors


Today's Tao

Neighbouring countries can see each other. (Ch.80)


What are "neighboring countries"?

They are you and the others, not just the other people, but all the other beings, both living and non-living.

You and the others "can see each other".

It means that you project the others and the others define you.

In a way, the others are a reflection of who you are.

You hear an echo of what you think.

What is "you"?

It is your holographic "self" under your control, 自己 [jiko].

What is "the others"?

It is your holographic "self" beyond your control, 他己 [tako].

But, remember true You are Tao.

The so-called "self" is just a part of information you project.

In other words, the "self" doesn't exist.

That's why they say "無我 [mu ga] / No Self" in Zen Buddhism.

無 [mu] - nothing.

我 [ga] - self.

Nothingness is your true Self.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 8» In modern Occidental literature, you have Hermann Hesse and Fyodor Dostoyevsky among others to rely on when you are lost in the wilderness of Oriental spirituality. How about local guides who can show you the way in a language and an approach that you can comprehend? The first Japanese guide is Hiroyuki Itsuki. His «Tariki» is an ideal guidebook of Jodo Pure Land Buddhism to those who prefer teachings based on historical references. The word «Ta 他» of «Tariki 他力 / Other-power» is the same «Ta 他» of «Tako 他己 / Other-self» above. Hiroyuki Itsuki asks himself why Buddha (=Other-power) made him, as a child, go through the atrocities during World War 2. The second guide is Shusaku Endo. His «Deep River» stands at the crossroads between Christianity and Oriental religions. This Japanese Catholic novelist kept on asking one question: "why God doesn't help me when I need his help?". The author doesn't mention either the word Zen nor Tao, but his concept of Deep River that goes through everything is fit nicely into Taoism and Buddhism.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-10 Enjoy your customs


Today's Tao

Make them enjoy their customs. (Ch.80)


The grass is always greener on the other side.

The fancy costumes are fancier in someone else's religion.

The mantras seem more precious if you don't understand what you are saying.

Are you sure you would read «Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching» if the title were «an old man's prayer of morals»?

There is nothing wrong with being a bit exotic.

These days Japanese princesses get married in a white wedding dress at a Christian church in Tokyo even though they have no idea who the heck St. Mary Magdalene is.

Their eyes can be greener when they wear colored contact lenses, but there is no guarantee that they can see things more clearly.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 7» しばふ, shibafu, gazon, grass, hierva, 芝生, 草. / みどり, midori, vert, green, verde, 緑. / となり, tonari, voisin, neighbor, vecino, 隣. The grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. A Tao and Zen discussion can be very profound and rewarding in a Christian and Occidental context. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's «The Brothers Karamazov», the conversations between the elder Zossima and Alexey Karamazov teach us a lot about the Tao / hologram mechanism. It is worth rereading the book while decoding Christian and Occidental terms into Taoist and Zen Buddhist ones. Besides, although his appearance is brief, the elder Varsonofy leaves an unforgettable impression on Taoists and Zen Buddhists. In W. Somerset Maugham's «The Razor's Edge», the life of an American, who went as far as India to find out what life is, is portrayed along with other Americans who also found out the same thing without going to the East. Let's go East (or West), and we will discover that the grass has different names but does have the same color.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-9 Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled


Today's Tao

Make them settle in their dwellings. (Ch.80)


No life. No end of life.

不生 不滅 [fusho fumetsu].

In Zen Buddhism, they say so.

Then, what happens after you die?

Nothing happens since there is no life in the first place.

There is no after-life.

Since Tao doesn't have time, there is neither before nor after.

"Life" is a name given to a sequence of holograms, which are being created simultaneously.


In his «Shobogenzo», Zen Master Dogen repeatedly denies the concept of Out-Tao, or non-Buddhist, Gedo Senni 外道先尼.

Some call him Heresy Seniya.

Out-Tao Seniya thinks that, after one dies, his soul goes back to "the sea of nature".

(Sokushinzebutsu 即心是仏, «Shobogenzo»)


Please let me make sure that we do not go anywhere after our life.

It's impossible since there is no "self" in the first place.

"Self" is a name given to an interpretation of some parts of a hologram.

Watch out!

Please do NOT think that you go back to Tao after your life.

You are permanently settled in Tao.


[Note]
You are Tao itself. Therefore, you don't have to go beck to Tao. Or rather, you cannot go back because you are already one with Tao. The word "return / go back 復 [fuku]" in Tao Te Ching suggests recycling Tao's energy. Remembering that true You are Tao is one way to do it.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 6» "This is the end / Beautiful friend / This is the end / My only friend, the end", sang James Douglas "Jim" Morrison of Doors. Zen Master Dogen repeatedly denied the concept of "the end". Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima tackled it. Where do we go after we say "good-bye" to life? How do we reincarnate ourselves in another body? Does reincarnation really exist? Mishima asked us the question in the beginning of «Spring Snow», which is the first book of the tetralogy «The Sea of Fertility». Then, at the very end of «The Decay of the Angel», 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.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-8 Face transmission / Menju / Beauty

Today's Tao

Make them appreciate the beauty of their clothes. (Ch.80)


The face is the place where the contact between Tao and a hologram takes place.


Zen Master Dogen puts it this way:

"Face-giving [Menju 面授/ Face (to face) transmission] is receiving and giving at the face."

面授は面処の受授なり

(Menju 面授, «Shobogenzo 正法眼蔵»)


Your face is the interface between Tao and a hologram.

That's why you cannot see the face.

You can see only an interpretation of it, such as your reflection on the mirror or the reputation.

Since it is the important interface, let's keep it clean.

Therefore, Dogen painstakingly explains how to wash the face and other body parts. (Senjo 洗浄, Senmen 洗面; «Shobogenzo 正法眼蔵»)

Your body is a manifestation of Tao (=Love, =Buddha).

By washing it, you can emit Love (=Tao, =Buddha).

That's one basic way to keep Tao's energy circulating.

Your clothes are an extension of your face.

Forget someone else's criteria.

Please appreciate your beautiful clothes, your beautiful body, and your beautiful face.


[Note]
The titles of the two chapters in Shobogenzo above, that is to say, Japanese words "Senjo 洗浄" and "Senmen 洗面", signify "wash" and "washing the face" respectively.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 5» When you travel in an unknown territory, you might be happy to have a guide. If he is good, your journey will be safe and fun. The best Japanese guide to Zen in English is, without question, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki. It is a pity that this learned scholar did not translate Dogen's «Shobogenzo» into English. He may have had thousands of reasons not to do it, and his decision was wise. Still, many Zen learners in the non-Japanese speaking world cannot help imagining how enormous his contribution to the humanity would be if he had done it. This excellent guide with a hearty sense of humor wrote a summary of Zen Master Ikkyu's play «Yama Uba» in his «Zen and Japanese Culture». 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 «Yama Uba the Zen play» by Naoto Matsumoto)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-7 Hunger & Food


Today's Tao

Make them appreciate the taste of their food. (Ch.80)


When one is hungry, he doesn't think about the Global Warming, not even banking crises.

His primary concern is how he can fill his stomach, we naturally think.

What is hunger?

What is the stomach, really?

Probably, you might not want to hear the answer, not to mention accept it.

Hunger and the stomach are part of the hologram you project.

Please remember the story of Jesus and the multiplied bread.


Zen Master Dogen gives us a clue to understand this biblical anecdote.

He writes:

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

画餅にあらざれば充飢の薬なし

(Gabyo 画餅, «Shobogenzo»)


It means that, since our stomach is part of the hologram, nothing but holographic food can fill up the holographic stomach. (☞See below for the list of the articles related to "Gabyo 画餅/ a painted rice-cake")

All the miracles have every right to take place because anything can be projected in your hologram.

Appreciate today's food because it is the miracle.


«The list of the articles related to "Gabyo / a painted rice-cake"» ⎯ Life = miracle = hologram = catalyst
-Painted rice-cake / Empty granary 53-5
-Miracle Attainment 65-7
-Don't waste holograms 67-7
-Tax and Starve 75-1
-King and Zen Master Dogen 75-2
-Plenty of life? 75-3
-Value life? 75-4


«Other Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 4» You might have read them when you were younger. You might have been impressed. Then, you might have forgotten them. Later, you might have tried not to mention the names of the books because you had read some criticism ridiculing them. Nevertheless, the names of some old books deserve to be mentioned. For there are always new comers to the field: Some young ones who were not even born when the books were published, or some less young ones who were not able to read the books because their English was not good enough at that time and the translations in their mother tongue were not available. Lao Tzu says that, when you talk about Tao, people have to laugh at you. Here, «Tao by Matsumoto» proudly recommends Gary Zukav's «Dancing Wu Li Masters» and Fritjof Capra's «The Tao of Physics». They are worth re-reading, too.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-6 Tie the rope


Today's Tao

Make the people tie their rope again and use it. (Ch.80)


A long, long time ago, even before the days of Lao Tzu, people used to "tie their rope" and make knots to record things.

It was a prehistoric counterpart to our contract.

They didn't need alphabets or characters to write contracts.

The tied ropes were good enough to even govern a state.

They were innocent enough to believe that all the promises would be granted and honest enough to respect them.

Lao Tzu asks us to return to those days.

To the days when they did not segregate the self from the non-self, the self under the control from the self beyond the control.

Remember?

A person who makes a promise is an extended part of your own self.

We don't even need a rope to tie, in fact.

You should trust all without doubt because everything is you.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Tao answers your question!



«Recommended Books 3» Please do not try to understand Tao and Zen scientifically. In science, you are still obliged to believe that there is the one and only objective world. It is no use trying to interpret Tao according to the scientific rules. Nevertheless, as everything is a catalyst or a teacher, science can stimulate and teach us a lot. Particularly, quantum physics and Karl Pribram's holonomic brain model are worth knowing. You can find plenty of information on them in Lynne McTaggart's «The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe». To understand the Tao/Hologram mechanism - Shin 心, Swiss economist Rene Egli's «The LOL2A-Principle, or The Perfectness of the World» can be a good preparatory read although the author does not use the word Shin 心. The mechanism of energy and resistance is clearly explained in terms of economy. At the beginning of each chapter, he quotes a corresponding passage from Hermann Hesse's «Siddhartha».

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-5 Armor & Arms


Today's Tao

Though there are armor and arms, there is nowhere to show them off. (Ch.80)


We still have some gentlemen who happily exhibit their armor and arms in the living room.

Do you want to show off something?

I hope not.

When vanity takes control over you, it is worth asking yourself a question:

"To whom do I show off?".

Remember?

You and non-you are part of the same hologram.

I hope you still remember that in Zen Buddhism they are called Jiko 自己 and Tako 他己, the self under your control and the self beyond your control.

The concept of Self seems to be one of the biggest obstacles in many civilizations, industrialized and non-industrialized alike.

Don't look to a ritual or a pharmaceutical stimulant to get out of "Self".

Why don't we say once and for all:

"Self doesn't exist, Mu ga 無我 (=No Self)."?

You don't have to suppress your vanity if you cannot help showing off.

Like Self, vanity is part of the holographic catalyst.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Recommended Books 2» Here it is. This is the «Tao Te Ching» translation «Tao by Matsumoto» truly recommends. Unfortunately it seems that you have to be fairly lucky to purchase a copy in good condition. Chuang Chung-yuan's «Tao, a new way of thinking: A translation of the Tao te ching, with an introduction and commentaries (Harper colophon books ; CN 356)» was published in 1977. Ironically, the new copies of its Japanese translation are still available at the moment of writing. 老子の思想 (講談社学術文庫)/張 鐘元 (著) 上野 浩道 (翻訳) Roshi no Shiso (Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko) / Chuang Chung-yuan (author), Hiromichi Ueno (translator), published in 1987.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-4 Boats & Cars


Today's Tao

Though there are boats and cars, there is nowhere to ride them. (Ch.80)


"You have boats and cars", that is to say, you have a vehicle to go across to the other bank of the river (=pāramitā / Higan 彼岸, =nirvāṇa / nirvana / Nehan 涅槃).

The vehicle can be either big or small.

It can be anything: conceptual and philosophical ideas or meditational exercises.

Lao Tzu emphasizes:

"There is nowhere to ride (the vehicle)".

Why?

We don't need it because we are already there, on the other bank of the river.

Or, I should say:

"There is neither here nor there, neither this side nor the other side".

Your life right here right now is perfect.

There is "nowhere" to go across.

Please don't fool around to find this "nowhere".


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 1» «Tao by Matsumoto» sincerely recommends these books to those who feel "a bit uncomfortable" with Zen Buddhism and Taoism. If you think they are "a little too exotic", the books will help you fill the gap between the East and the West. Besides, to a person who is well accustomed to the oriental philosophies, they will show that the grass is not necessarily greener in someone else's front yard. You don't need fancy costumes or enigmatic mantras. You have got an excellent poet who can initiate you into the world of the Eastern philosophies in a language you are familiar with. On the left, «Siddhartha» was written in 1922. If the book is still too "oriental", «Demian» by the same poet can be read as preparatory reading. Hermann Hesse wrote it three years before he completed «Siddhartha», his insurmountable contribution to humanity.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-3 Don't travel


Today's Tao

Make the people respect life, and don't let them travel far. (Ch.80)


Don't try to experience a so-called "altered state".

Don't try to reach Satori the enlightenment.

Don't "travel" for it.

Respect your life.

It is a precious hologram, which is the question and the answer at the same time.

It is Koan and Satori simultaneously.

Though the hologram is an illusion, it is the only "tangible" medium through which you can receive Tao's energy.

Your own self is part of the hologram.

So is the world.

The hologram receives the energy through itself.

This is the Tao/hologram mechanism, Shin 心.

Your nirvana / nirvāṇa / Nehan 涅槃 is right here right now.

Don't try to look for it somewhere else.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (34) / - Dark Depth Female [genpi / xuan pin / hsuan pin] 玄牝 - 玄 [gen / xuan / hsuan] means Dark Depth. 牝 [pi (hin) / pin], Female. This is one of the most important words in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Mr Michael P. Garofalo has done an excellent research and comparison of the various translations. (http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/vstccs2.htm) Thanks to him, we can see easily how they translate 谷神不死, 是謂玄牝 in Chapter 6 / Valley God. / "Like a riverbed, the heart is never filled It is an ineffable female (Whose entrance is the source of the World;)" On the left, «The Dude De Ching» written by The Church of the Latter-Day Dude with a translation by Peter Merel and an introduction by Rev. Dwayne Eutsey. / "The spirit of the valley never dies. This is called the mysterious female." On the right, «Tao Te Ching [Penguin Classics]» translated with an introduction by D. C. Lau.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-2 "110 vessels"


Today's Tao

Have them possess one hundred ten vessels, but don't let them use them. (Ch.80)


The Kanji / Chinese character 器 [ki / utsuwa / qì] has various meanings: a vessel, a tool, and the capacity of a person among others.

Attention!

It is a homonym of 気 [ki / qi] energy, but not the same character.

Ki the energy is not a hologram.

Ki the vessel symbolizes a hologram. (☞See Vessels 28-13)

You project your hologram.

You give it a concrete image: a vessel.

Your own self is part of the vessel.

Don't let a part of the vessel "use" another part.

In other words, you should not "use" or try to control your hologram because you cannot.

Just accept the projected image, the holographic vessel, or Life as it is.


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 29 / A god's vessel.
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 11 / 30 spokes 1 hub. There, the character "vessel 器 [ki]" is translated as "cup".
-Cup 11-4.


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (33) / - Dark Depth Female [genpi / xuan pin / hsuan pin] 玄牝 - 玄 [gen / xuan / hsuan] means Dark Depth. 牝 [pi (hin) / pin], Female. This is one of the most important words in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Mr Michael P. Garofalo has done an excellent research and comparison of the various translations. (http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/vstccs2.htm) Thanks to him, we can see easily how they translate 谷神不死, 是謂玄牝 in Chapter 6 / Valley God. / "The valley spirit is not dead: They say it is the mystic female." On the left, «THE WAY OF LIFE Lao Tzu Wisdom of Ancient China Tao Te Ching: A New Translation by R. B. Blakney» with an introduction by William Hung. / "The heart of Tao is immortal the mysterious fertile mother of us all." On the right, «The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu» translated by Brian Browne Walker.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 80-1 Small country


Today's Tao

Be a small country and have few people. (Ch.80)


Look around.

You see just a small space, right?

"Small" is wonderful.

Can you really see a "big" country with your own eyes?

You can "see" it on TV, or something.

Do you have many people around you?

No?

That's excellent.

Don't be fooled by numbers, especially the numbers of people reported in a newspaper or on Internet. (☞See Tao by Matsumoto / No numbers)

Please remember that the words "country" and "people" signify your hologram.

Love your "small country".

Cherish people around you.

The beings closer to you appear in your hologram more often than the rest of the world.

Instead of worrying about the miseries brought to us by the media, why don't we begin with accepting the people and things in front of us as they are?

Be small and have few because "small" is bigger than "big" and "few" is more than "plenty". (☞See Small = Big 63-4)


«Related Articles»
-Small country 80-1
-"110 vessels" 80-2
-Don't travel 80-3
-Boats and Cars 80-4
-Armor and Arms 80-5
-Tie the rope 80-6
-Hunger and Food 80-7
-Face transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8
-Out-Tao (Heresy) Seniya / Gedo Senni / Settled 80-9
-Enjoy your customs 80-10
-Neighbors 80-11
-Moonlight and Dewdrops / Dogs and Roosters 80-12
-Life without intervention 80-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (32) / - Dark Depth Female [genpi / xuan pin / hsuan pin] 玄牝 - 玄 [gen / xuan / hsuan] means Dark Depth. 牝 [pi (hin) / pin], Female. This is one of the most important words in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Mr Michael P. Garofalo has done an excellent research and comparison of the various translations. (http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/vstccs2.htm) Thanks to him, we can see easily how they translate 谷神不死, 是謂玄牝 in Chapter 6 / Valley God. / "The valley spirit never dies. It is the unknown first mother," On the right, «The Tao: The Sacred Way» translated by Tolbert McCarroll. / "The mystery of the valley is immortal; It is known as the Subtle Female." On the left, «The Tao of Power: Lao Tzu's Classic Guide to Leadership, Influence, and Excellence [A new translation of the Tao Te Ching]» translated by R. L. Wing.