Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 81-8 Sage's Tao


Today's Tao

The sage's Tao acts and doesn't compete. (Ch.81)


Who is the sage?

Of course, you are the one.

Then, who are you?

"Eh, excuse me, sir, which are you talking about, 'true You' or 'your own self'? Self doesn't exist, right?"

That's right.

Self, life, world. They are names given to some groups of information.

They are not independent entities.

"I see. Eh, excuse me, sir. What is 'true I'?"

True You are Tao.

Tao is always "acting without competing", that is to say, projecting a hologram without directly interfering with it.

Tao, Love, Buddha, and Zen among others are names given to the fundamental energy.

"Eh, sir, it is also called nothingness 無 [mu], right?"

Exactly.

Please picture the circulation of an energy with neither time nor space.

What else can you call it but nothingness.

Time and space are parameters used to reconstruct information in "the mind".

In other words, they are names.

"If you can talk about Tao, that Tao is not Tao itself."

This very first line of Tao Te Ching is not saying that it is impossible to understand Taoism logically. No!

It is possible to comprehend Taoism logically.

It is saying that the comprehension itself is part of your hologram.


«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 18» The most important function of a Japanese is making love. It doesn't matter if he is the poorest dropout living in the forests or the most revered priest of Shintoism living in the castle. He or she has got to make love. This could be a hidden heritage from our Polynesian ancestors or a genetic mission imprinted in the deepest recess of our chromosomes. Whatever it is the reason, the Japanese love to make love not only for the reproduction of the people but for pleasure. In spite of all the moral prohibitions by Confucianism and by jealous parents, Japanese girls have been successfully finding a way to enjoy making love. We used to have an institution called Geisha girls. Though it changes names and appearances, the institution never die out. A nice gift of a Gucci bag is an excuse good enough to make love with an aged stranger. Why? Because making love is sacred. Carnal desire is a manifestation of divinity. We, all the human beings, are divine. That's why we make love for pleasure. The gadgets for pleasure are offerings to the deity of joy. Please read «Kojiki», one of the oldest written records in Japanese, and «Love Songs from the Man'yoshu: Selections from a Japanese Classic», one of the oldest anthologies of Waka poems, which is a precursor of Haiku. You will see why love and desire are officially important.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 81-4 Accumulate not


Today's Tao

The sage doesn't accumulate. (Ch.81)


In Chapter 48, Lao Tzu says:

"When you study, you accumulate your knowledge everyday.

When you do Tao, you reduce everything every day." (☞See Reduce 48-1)

There are two important ways to look at reducing.


First, reduce your resistance. (☞See Tao Te Ching / Chapter 78 / Resistance)

Our raison d'être is to maximize the circulation of Tao's energy.

Accept everything as it is.

Be like water. (☞See Tao Te Ching / Chapter 8 / Be like water)

Use Dark Depth Female, 玄牝 [gen pi].


Second, reducing is increasing.

This is what Yin Yang circle is telling you.

In Chapter 36, Lao Tzu shows us some examples.

Stretch = Shrink

Weak = Strong

Decline = Prosperity

Give = Take

Why don't you use Reverse Thinking?

This is a good way to activate Dark Depth Female.

How?

The easiest example may be:

"Instead of thanking Tao for letting you live, live to thank Tao".


«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
-Reduce and reduce 48-2
-No increased life 55-12


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 14» Laday Murasaki (Murasaki Shikibu)'s «The Tale of Genji» is strongly recommended. No Japanese has ever written a better novel. Many aspiring writers, medieval or modern, tried hard to create a better one, but in vain. The public domain e-book on the left has some selections from «The Tale of Genji». It is about a man who adored his mother, seduced his mother-in-law who looked exactly like his mother, and found a little girl who looked like his mother, raised and made her an ideal woman, and married her. The novel was written about 1000 A.D.. The e-book on the right is a full-length version translated by Royall Tyler. There is another version translated by Edward G. Seidensticker.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 81-2 Good one


Today's Tao

A good one doesn't talk. One who talks is not good. (Ch.81)


The good one is Tao.

Tao doesn't talk because conversations only take place in a hologram.

Tao is not a hologram.

A hologram is a manifestation of Tao.

What is "good", and what is "evil"?

Jodo / Pure Land Buddhists Honen 法然 and Shinran 親鸞 told us «The Doctrine of Evil Persons as the Object of Salvation / Akunin shoki setsu 悪人正機説».

In Buddhism, Shoki 正機 signifies "the people qualified for salvation".

Sho 正, like the Sho of «Shobogenzo 正法眼蔵», means "authentic".

This Ki 機 here is not the same as Ki 気 of energy.

This Ki 機 means "a mechanism".

The two masters were telling us:

"Evil people are part of the authentic mechanism".

This mechanism is Shin 心, the Tao/hologram mechanism that stimulates us to emit more Love (=Tao).

There is neither good nor evil in Tao.

As Japanese philosopher Kitaro Nishida explains in his «A Study of Good», being good is learning that true You are Tao. (☞See No favoritism 79-4)

You don't need to judge any.


«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
-Non-good 49-4
-Goodness 49-5


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 12» Kitaro Nishida and Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki 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. «An Inquiry into the good» 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".

Monday, August 8, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 81-1 Beautiful words


Today's Tao

Trustworthy words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not trustworthy. (Ch.81)


If you don't have time, please just check this chapter.

As Lao Tzu says, reading words is not very important.

The important thing is living.

Living is the most religious act of all.


There are three basic points.

1. The so-called world is a hologram and catalyst to keep Tao's energy circulating.

2. "Self" doesn't exist. "Self" is just a word given to one part of a hologram. (☞See also Tao Te Ching / Chapter 7 / No Self)

3. Words, including knowledge and thoughts, are part of a hologram.


What is living?

Living is turning the prayer wheel.

It is called Tenborin 転法輪 in Zen Buddhism. (☞See Tao's flower 38-14 and Kensho Jobutsu / No away 47-3)

It is receiving Tao's energy through a hologram and emitting Tao's energy while projecting a hologram.

On your face, it takes place.

It is called Menju 面授, Face transmission. (☞See Face Transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8)

Beautiful words, such as logic, analysis, judgment, and justice among others, are obstacles that increase your resistance.


«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
-Words are not good enough 1-1
-Empty words 22-13
-Say no words 23-1
-Without words 43-4
-Adorned words 62-4


Lao Tzu answers your question!



«Recommended Books 11» I am glad you are the one who is reading this recommendation. I am sure that I can count on you. Next time you meet one of your friends who are interested in Japan's literature, please mention the name of Osamu Dazai. "Who's that Dazai guy? I know Mishima and Banana, but I have never heard of him", he might reply. Osamu Dazai is probably the most underrated Japanese novelist outside the country. So, the artist needs your help. When the situation is the most desperate, you just feel like laughing. Why? Because laughter has magic. It transforms a tragedy into a comedy within a second. «No Longer Human» and «The Setting Sun» are tragically funny. Both are considered masterpieces in Japan. Smile guaranteed.

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?

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)

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.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 79-4 No favoritism


Today's Tao

Heaven's Tao has no favoritism. It is always on the side of a good person. (Ch.79)


"Heaven" means your hologram as the word "sky" does.

So, Heaven's Tao signifies Tao's energy inside all the beings in the hologram.

In other words, it is Hossho 法性, the nature of manifestation. (☞See Hossho stays low 76-9)

Tao does not judge.

It seems that the limited capacity of human beings judge.

Tao's energy inside your hologram has no favoritism.

There is neither good nor bad in Tao.

Then, what does "a good person" mean?

"A good person" means you.

True You are Tao.

Therefore, only you can sustain the Tao/hologram mechanism, Shin 心.


Japanese philosopher Kitaro Nishida 西田幾多郎 (1870 - 1945) says:

"Practically speaking, we have only one true Good, which is to find out the true Self. That's all."

(translated by Naoto Matsumoto; Book III, Chapter 13, The Perfect Good Action, «A Study of the Good 善の研究» ☞See A study of the Good 49-3 and Goodness 49-5)


[Note]
What is the true Self?
"It is the true body of the cosmos", Nishida answers. (Ditto)
The true body of the cosmos is the Tao/hologram mechanism, Shin 心.


«Related Articles»
-Remaining grudge 79-1
-Good grudge 79-2
-Contract without payment 79-3
-No favoritism 79-4
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 79


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«An Inquiry into the Good» and «A Study of the Good» are the same book. Kitaro Nishida 西田幾多郎 first wrote this book in order to teach his high school students. The Japanese title is «Zen no Kenkyu 善の研究». Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki 鈴木大拙, the author of many important books on Zen in English, was Nishida's close friend. They met each other at a high school in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. High school education is no longer available exclusively for the elite these days while its level is not so academically "high" as the name declares.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 78-10 Contradiction


Today's Tao

Right words sound contradictory. (Ch.78)


Tao's mechanism of return creates contradiction.

Lao Tzu says here that, if the words do not sound contradictory, they are not right.

They are artificial and superficial.

Let's review Lao Tzu's maxims in this chapter, which sound contradictory.


1. Be as soft and weak as water in order to activate Dark Depth Female. (☞See Water summary 78-1)

2. When you are lost in Mayoi, you are as hard as ice; when you are one with Tao, you are as soft as water. (☞See Water's attack 78-2)

3. A hologram doesn't change. One hologram is the whole world in each moment.
Caution! Each independent being is not one independent hologram. It is part of one hologram along with the other beings, including your own self. It is like a frame in a movie. (☞See No change 78-3)

4. Everyone in the world is you. (☞See Everyone = You 78-6)

5. No matter what we are doing, we are doing nothing, which means "sending Love (=Tao's energy)". (☞See No one acts 78-7)

6. No state. No evil. Don't criticize. Don't judge. (☞See State filth 78-8)

7. No superstitions. No bad omens. They are just catalysts.

8. Lao Tzu thinks it is ridiculous to resist. No resistance.


See? Right words sound contradictory, don't they?


«Related Articles»
-Water summary 78-1
-Water's attack 78-2
-No change 78-3
-Be weak 78-4
-Be soft 78-5
-Everyone = You 78-6
-No one acts 78-7
-State filth 78-8
-Bad omens 78-9
-Contradiction 78-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 78


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (28) / - 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 named the Mysterious Female." On the left, «Tao Te Ching (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)» translated by Arthur Waley. With an introduction by Robert Wilkinson. / "The Tao is called the Great Mother empty yet inexhaustible," On the right, «Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics)» translated by Stephen Mitchell.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 78-9 Bad omens


Today's Tao

"Those who accept the bad omen of the country are called the king of the world under the sky." (Ch.78)


A: "«Don't whistle inside the house! Evil spirits will come in!»

«Oh, my goodness. You must move your TV set. It is blocking the way of the dragon.»

«This is a bad omen. This IS a bad omen. This is the sign. This is the end of the world.»

Master Bonbon, tell us honestly. Do you believe in these?"


B: "Of course, I do. Superstitions and bad omens are the most effective ways to scare people. Customer scare service is the most profitable division in our organization."


Superstitions and bad omens are like so-called miracle.


Zen Master Dogen expresses it this way:

"Miracle is the tea and rice of a Buddhist". (☞See Miracle rule 65-6)


That is to say, our everyday life is miracle.

Every hologram is part of the miracle.

In Zen Buddhism, the miracle is called Shin 心, which is often translated as heart or mind.

Shin 心, the heart, is the Tao/hologram mechanism, where everything belongs, including superstitions and bad omens.

You don't have to be scared of superstitions and bad omens.

They exist to ask you for the same thing as the others do:

"Send Love (=Tao's energy)".


«Related Articles»
-Water summary 78-1
-Water's attack 78-2
-No change 78-3
-Be weak 78-4
-Be soft 78-5
-Everyone = You 78-6
-No one acts 78-7
-State filth 78-8
-Bad omens 78-9
-Contradiction 78-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 78


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (27) / - 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 not dying is called the mysterious female." On the left, «The Essential Tao : An Initiation into the Heart of Taoism Through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-Tzu» translated by Thomas Cleary. / "The valley spirit never dies Call it the mystery the woman." On the right, «Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way» translated by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 77-4 No excess / Why does history repeat itself?


Today's Tao

It reduces excess. (Ch.77)


We used to adore excess, especially excessive consumption.

When you consumed food, energy, or money excessively, you were considered wealthy and sometimes provoked jealousy in others.

Now, the pendulum of our collective awareness seems to have changed its direction.

These days, when you waste our natural resources, you look a bit idiotic.

I don't know how long this tendency of post-consumer society will last.

Probably, one century.

Maybe, 50 years.

Who knows.

But one thing is sure.

One day, our social pendulum will go backwards.

Why does history repeat itself?

History is part of your hologram, which imitates the cycle of Tao.

Tao's circle does not have excess.

So, a hologram doesn't like excess.

Tao's cycle repeats itself.

So does history.


[Note]
Please don't forget that Tao doesn't have time. All the history in your hologram is 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 (14) / -Do nothing (treat things without interference) - 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 relies on actionless activity, Carries on wordless teaching," On the left, «Tao Te Ching (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)» translated by Arthur Waley and introduced by Robert Wilkinson. / "Therefore the sages: -Manage the work of detached actions - Conduct the teaching of no words" On the right, «Tao Te Ching (Skylight Illuminations)» translated by Derek Lin and introduced by Lama Surya Das.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 76-6 Soft and weak men


Today's Tao

Those who are soft and weak are men of life. (Ch.76)


No matter how hard and strong the person is, he is part of your hologram.

Then, who are you if you are soft and weak?

If you are soft and weak, you are man of life, Lao Tzu says.

Life?

What is true life?

Why do we live?

Your true life is the circulation of energy.

You are the infinite light with other names, including Tao, Buddha, Zen, and Love.

You live in order to sustain this circulation of the energy.

You live in order to sustain your true life.

Your so-called "life" is a film that stimulates the circulation.

Be soft and weak, and your light will go through the life of ego more easily.

Soften your personal and egotistic light, and your true light will light up the world.

The softer your personal light of ego is, the stronger your true light will be.

(☞See Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7)


«Related Articles»
-Soft life 76-1
-Hard end 76-2
-Fragile life 76-3
-Dry end 76-4
-Mujoseppo = non-living preach / Hard and Strong 76-5
-Soft and weak men 76-6
-Strong army, no win 76-7
-Karoshi / Snapped branch 76-8
-Hossho stays low 76-9
-Hoben gate / Soft and Weak 76-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 76


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (6) / -Dark Depth 玄 [gen]- Let's see how they translate 玄之又玄衆妙之門 in Chapter 1. / "Or rather the 'Darker than any Mystery', The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences." On the left, «Tao Te Ching (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)» translated by Arthur Waley. / "Profound and remote and again more so: This is the gate to all mysteries." On the right, «Tao Te Ching: An All-New Translation» translated by William Scott Wilson.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Tao Te Ching Chapter 76-3 Fragile life


Today's Tao

The life of everything; grasses or trees, is soft and fragile. (Ch.76)


Why does life exist?

Why do the lives of grasses and trees exist?

First, life, or the life of any being, is part of a hologram.

Second, a hologram exists as a catalyst.

The catalyst stimulates Tao, the circulation of the fundamental energy.

This relation between the stimulating and the stimulated beings is metaphorically expressed as "to explain manifestation / 説法 [seppo]", or "to turn the wheel of manifestation / 転法輪 [tenborin]".

In other words, everything you see in your hologram is a prayer.

The catalytic prayer stimulates you, who is Tao.


That's why Zen Master Dogen says:

"Sometimes it uses the letters of one hundred grasses;

sometimes it uses the letters of ten thousand trees".

あるいは百草の文字をもちゐ、

あるいは万木の文字をもちゐる

(Bukkyo 仏経, «Shobogenzo»)


«Related Articles»
-Soft life 76-1
-Hard end 76-2
-Fragile life 76-3
-Dry end 76-4
-Mujoseppo = non-living preach / Hard and Strong 76-5
-Soft and weak men 76-6
-Strong army, no win 76-7
-Karoshi / Snapped branch 76-8
-Hossho stays low 76-9
-Hoben gate / Soft and Weak 76-10
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 76


Tao answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (3) / -Dark Depth 玄 [gen]- Let's see how they translate 玄之又玄 in Chapter 1. / "Mystery of mysteries" On the left, «Tao Te Ching (SkyLight Illuminations)» translated by Derek Lin. / "Deep and again Deep" On the right, «Tao Te Ching» by Stephen Addis and Stanley Lombardo.