Today's Tao
The reason why big rivers and the sea can be the king of hundreds of valleys is that the former is well down the latter. Therefore, they can be the king of hundreds of valleys. (Ch.66)
Let's decode these sentences word by word.
"Big rivers and the sea" imply Tao.
So, the king is Tao.
The king of what, then?
"A valley" means void.
Do you remember? (☞See Valley 28-3)
The void is Tao.
The expression "Hundreds of valleys" here is a beautiful metaphor of the holograms filled with Tao's energy.
And down below you have the far greater mass of Tao's energy as the ocean lies below the valleys.
Zen Buddhists use the metaphor of "dewdrops reflecting the moon".
Holograms look independent like dewdrops.
But they cannot help reflecting the moon.
The moon is true You, which is Tao.
Tao's light is called Mugeko 無碍光: the light that lights up everything.
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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 66
-Valleys and the Sea 32-9 Please note that in Chapter 32 "big rivers and the sea" expresses holograms, which are the manifestations of Tao. One can see Tao's energy through a hologram. If you put together the two sentences, you can make a full cycle of "big rivers and the sea" → "valleys" → "big rivers and the sea", that is, hologram → Tao → hologram. It is the Yin Yang circle. Please do not think that a hologram and Tao are two separate entities.
Tao answers your question!
☞"You have to work hard to get what you want." I wonder where we got this strange idea. In Buddhism, Amida Butsu (Amitābha Buddha) is the one who is in charge of "what you want". Basically, he gives you all, even your desire of wanting something. Therefore, you have already got what you want. If you haven't got one thing that you seem to want, in fact you don't want it. This Buddha of Infinite Light is also called Mugeko Butsu in Japanese.
