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.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 77-2 Suppress doubt?

Today's Tao

It suppresses a high one. (Ch.77)


Why do we doubt?

Why does doubt come into your hologram?

Because Tao suppresses "a high one".

As we discussed at Hoben gate / Soft and Weak 76-10, a soft, weak, and high thing means a hologram.

Tao suppresses the hologram.

It is part of Tao's cycle.

Something high has to come down.

Something low has to go up. (☞See Strong steroid 30-11)

This is what "bending a bow" suggests. (☞See Bend a bow 77-1)

A hologram reflects the characteristics of the cycle.

First, Tao gives us doubt.

Like the other elements in a hologram, doubt is Love in disguise.

Second, we clear the doubt and discover Love.

Third, we give thanks to the hologram while sending Love.

The sequence of your holograms, or your life, is what Zen Buddhists call "Koan 公案".


«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 (12) / -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. / "So, the Wise can act, by just being, and teach without speaking." On the left, «Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Chinese Popular Classics)» translated by Timothy Freke. / "Thus, the sage manages affairs by 'nonaction' and teaches by 'saying nothing.'" On the right, «A Taoist Classic: The Book of Lao Zi» translated by Ren Jiyu.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 69-4 Advance without advancing

Today's Tao

This is called advancing without advancing, rolling up the sleeves of no arm, taking up no arms, and pulling in no enemy. (Ch.69)


Can we advance without advancing?

Yes.

Act no act. 為無為

This is one of the best-known sentences in Tao Te Ching. (☞See Act without acting 3-7)

Can we really act without acting?

Yes.

Lao Tzu asks you to "roll up the sleeves of no arm".

This is a Taoist counterpart to Zen Buddhist Hakuin's famous Koan:

"What is the sound of one hand?". (☞See The sound without a sound 14-4)

All of them are talking about the same thing: how to use your hologram.

All the acts, including advancing, are part of your hologram.

All the objects, including one of your hands, are part of the hologram.

So are arms and enemies.

How can you use them?

It is simple.

"Do nothing."

In other words, by accepting all, maintain the circulation of Love, or the fundamental energy Tao.


«Related Articles»
-Use of arms 69-1
-Be passive 69-2
-Retreat 69-3
-Advance without advancing 69-4
-Underestimating the enemy 69-5
-Lost treasures 69-6
-Love wins 69-7
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 69


Tao answers your question!



☞According to an English dictionary, the definition of "matsuri" is: a solemn festival celebrated periodically at Shinto shrines in Japan. It is something more than that. Etymologically speaking, "ma" means an empty space or time. "Tsuri" signifies being suspended in the air. To the Japanese, "matsuri" is "a suspended time". Enjoy the sample music of the Japanese traditional drum Taiko on the left. Happi is a traditional costume for a matsuri. You can see the nice Kanji / Chinese character matsuri 祭 written in red in the middle of the back.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 64-9 A thousand league travel

Today's Tao

A travel of a thousand leagues starts from beneath the feet. (Ch.64)


Don't be fooled by size or distance.

Space doesn't exist in Tao.

There is a famous story used as a Zen koan concerning space.


When Seppo Gison 雪峰義存 [Hsueh-feng I-tsun] asked Gensha Shibi 玄沙師備 [Hsuan-sha Shih-pei] why he would not go on a pilgrimage, the latter answered:

"Daruma / Bodhidharma 達磨 did not come to East Land (=China).

The Second Ancestor did not go to West Heaven (=India)."

達磨不来東土。

二祖不往西天。

（Keitoku dento roku / Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, No. 18 景徳伝燈録第十八）


Dogen explains:

"Gensha's answer 'Daruma / Bodhidharma 達磨 did not come to East Land' was not a ridiculous remark of whether he came or not.

It is the principle that lands have no earth at all".

玄沙道の達磨不来東土は来而不来の乱道にあらず。

大地無寸土の道理なり。

(Hensan 遍参, «Shobogenzo»)


Lands are a hologram.

So are East and West.

Therefore, there is "no earth", that is to say, no space.

All of them exist as catalysts.

Just remember.

The earth beneath your feet and the land thousands of miles away are asking you the same thing:

"Send Love (=Tao)."


«Related Articles»
-Something stable 64-1
-Before materialization 64-2
-While fragile 64-3
-While minute 64-4
-Before existence 64-5
-In order 64-6
-Tree from a hair 64-7
-Nine-story tower 64-8
-A thousand league travel 64-9
-Do and Defeat 64-10
-Stick and Lose 64-11
-Defeat nothing 64-12
-Don't stick 64-13
-Before completed 64-14
-Careful end 64-15
-Desire no desire 64-16
-Rare coins 64-17
-Learn no learn 64-18
-Excess 64-19
-Transformation 64-20
-Don't dare 64-21
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 64
-Bodhidharma from the West 54-21


Tao answers your question!



☞«No Longer Human» is not a bad English title, but the title of Osamu Dazai's masterpiece is called «Ningen Shikkaku» in Japanese. A Japanese-English dictionary will tell you that the word "shikkaku" signifies failure or disqualification. Its antonym in Japanese is "gokaku". It is undoubtedly the happiest Japanese word in February and March, when most entrance examinations are held. "Ningen" means a human being. Dazai is declaring: "I flunked the examination as a human being!". What will happen if you fail it? Shusaku Endo, the author of «The Sea and Poison», «Silence», and «The Samurai», may answer: "Whether we succeed or fail, all of us go to «Deep River» eventually".

Tao Te Ching Chapter 59-8 Live eternally

Today's Tao

This is called Tao of "deep roots and firm roots, and living and seeing the eternity". (Ch.59)


All the objects in your hologram are deeply rooted in Tao.

All the phenomena in the world are firmly rooted in Tao.

All of them are the manifestation of Tao.


Life has nothing to do with death, says Master Dogen 道元禅師, whose name means "the root 元 of Tao 道".

「生の死になるといはざる」

(Genjokoan 現成公案, «Shobogenzo»)


Life is part of the hologram, which is an illusion.

Therefore, Zen Buddhists say:

"No life." 不生 [fusho]

The end of life is part of the hologram, which is an illusion.

Therefore, they say:

"No end of life." 不滅 [fumetsu]


Holograms come and go, but true You are Tao.

In Tao, there is no time.

Time is just a parameter in your mind.

Inside the sphere where time doesn't exist, how can a thing be ephemeral!

It has to be eternal.


«Related Articles»
-Don't waste 59-1
-Return early 59-2
-Return and Repeat 59-3
-Repeat Attainment 59-4
-Cycle's end 59-5
-Never-ending cycle 59-6
-Forever 59-7
-Live eternally 59-8
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 59


Tao answers your question!



☞Sometimes, it is ridiculous. Rarely, it is offensive. Often, it is cute. Mostly, the translator's painstaking is admirable. The translation of a title makes its native-speakers wonder or sometimes laugh. Probably not so much between two Indo-European languages, but it is often the case with an English title for a Japanese classic. One should respect the effort to translate it correctly in terms of signification, but for the people who keep a primitive affection towards the sound of a word the title seems too highly conceptual. It makes them imagine a Sumo wrestler in a tuxedo. Yagyu, Munenori's «The Life-giving Sword» is part of «Heiho Kadensho 兵法家伝書» and called «Katsu jin ken 活人剣» in Japanese. This English translation includes the entire book of the former. Zen Master Takuan's «The Unfettered Mind» is called «Fudochi Shinmyoroku 不動智神妙録». Both English titles are very good. Three cheers for the translators!

Tao Te Ching Chapter 54-12 Bodhidharma from the West / See the country

Today's Tao

See the country through the country. (Ch.54)


See Tao through your own country.


"But I want to learn more about Tao and Zen. I cannot do it in my country. They don't even sell a proper kimono to wear for meditation. I've got to go to Japan or China!"


Is the grass always greener on the other side?

No, it isn't.

The grass is always the same green wherever you go.


Here, we have a famous koan:

"What is the meaning of Daruma / Bodhidharma coming over from the West?

如何是祖師西来意"


Dharma 法 signifies manifestation.

Tao or Zen manifests itself through your hologram.

In other words, Daruma came over to tell us:

"Everything you see is part of one hologram whether you are in the West or in the East".


«Related Articles»
-Well built 54-1
-Embrace 54-2
-Descendants 54-3
-Body 54-4
-Family 54-5
-Village 54-6
-Country 54-7
-World 54-8
-See the body 54-9
-See the family 54-10
-See the village 54-11
-Bodhidharma from the West / See the country 54-12
-Jin juppo kai / See the world 54-13
-Why telepathy? 54-14
-Because of Satori 54-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 54
-A thousand league travel 64-9


Tao answers your question!



☞We have three famous Kitaro. One is Kitaro Nishida. Another is Kitaro the musician. The other is Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro. If you are an intellectual living outside Japan, you may learn these names in this order. If you are a kid in Japan, the other way round. 西田幾多郎、喜多郎、ゲゲゲの鬼太郎。In Kanji / Chinese characters, it is easy to distinguish one from another.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 46-2 Arms / Joshu

Today's Tao

If the world under the sky has no Tao, arms and horses appear just outside the capital. (Ch.46)


"If your hologram has no Tao"?

This is a strange conditional clause because you are always one with Tao.


It seems that Lao Tzu are saying:

"If you forget that you are Tao, you may foolishly project such an image as armed horses and soldiers running around in your town".


Wars and disasters on TV test you.


They are a modern day equivalent to Joushu's 趙州 Koan:

"What is the intention of Bodhidharma's coming from the West?".

如何是祖師西来意


The answer is:

"Accept and love your hologram".


«Related Articles»
-Sowing 46-1
-Arms / Joshu 46-2
-Greed / Shoaku makusa 46-3
-Not content? 46-4
-Want no gain 46-5
-Content x 3 46-6
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 46


Tao answers your question!



☞Kendo, Tao of the sword. In fact, the usage of the word does not have so long a history as we think it may. The Japanese started using the word Kendo about 1919, according to Wikipedia in Japanese. On the other hand, that of a shinai has a long one. What is a shinai? A shinai is a fake sword made of bamboo for practice. We have been using it for about four hundred years. Thanks to the invention, we don't have to worry about ending your friend's life while practicing. Its quality varies enormously, according to who manufactures it. We need the soul of the sword maker in our shinai though it is not a real katana.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 23-7 Satori = Attainment

Today's Tao

Those who act according to the attainment of Tao are one with the attainment of Tao. (Ch.23)


Living is Satori.

The moment you try to attain Tao or reach Satori, you lose it.

In other words, you forget that you are in the state of Satori, being one with Tao.

That's why Lao Tzu says:

"Do nothing".

Life is a koan.

We answer it by living it.

Don't try to look for Satori or Tao somewhere else.

You are already there.


«Related Articles»
-Say no words 23-1
-High wind II 23-2
-Downpour 23-3
-Heaven's responsibility 23-4
-Man's responsibility 23-5
-According to Tao 23-6
-Satori = Attainment 23-7
-Attainment loss 23-8
-Bonno soku bodai 23-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 23


Tao answers your question!



Previous video / Ch.23 text / Next video


-Rashomon and Rashomon. They are not the same story, but are admired and adored as a masterpiece respectively. The written one is a short story most school children will read in Japan. The shot one is a text book of a film-making that most film school students will watch. The original of the latter is not called "Rashomon", but "In a Bamboo grove". No worries. You will find it in a copy of Penguin Classics' "Rashomon and Seventeen other stories".

Tao Te Ching Chapter 14-4 The sound without a sound

Today's Tao

It's called the sound without a sound. (Ch.14)


Let's decode this.

Tao can manifest itself as a sound, but the sound exists only in your hologram.

Tao can manifest itself through the hologram, which means the world.


Naoto Matsumoto adds:

We have the famous koan of Hakuin 白隠 (a Japanese Zen Buddhist 1685 - 1768).

隻手声あり、その声を聞け [Sekishu koe ari, sono koe wo kike].

translation:

One hand has voices. Listen to the voices.


("Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?"---Wikipedia)


Hakuin used this koan to propagate his teachings. There is a conversation between Hakuin and Osan, an Japanese old woman and his disciple. (Ref: http://hk-kishi.web.infoseek.co.jp/kokoro-127.htm)


Hakuin: There are sounds and voices when both hands hit each other. What sounds and voices are there in one hand?

Osan: Instead of listening to the voice of Hakuin's one hand, I want to hit both hands and do business.

Hakuin: If you can do business by hitting both hands, you don't need to listen to the sound of the one hand.


«Related Articles»
-You can't see Tao 14-1
-The form without a form 14-2
-You can't hear Tao 14-3
-The sound without a sound 14-4
-You can't grasp Tao 14-5
-The minute being 14-6
-You can't find out Tao 14-7
-Mixed and one 14-8
-Not brilliant 14-9
-Yama Uba under it 14-10
-Tao has no name 14-11
-Back to nothingness 14-12
-The shape without a shape 14-13
-Evasive being 14-14
-Tao's face 14-15
-Tao's rear 14-16
-Distant past 14-17
-Big Bang 14-18
-Tao's quintessence 14-19
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 14
-Tao by Matsumoto / Manifestation

-Hakuin@wiki


Everyday a new entry!



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