Today's Tao
Heaven's Tao gives benefits and does not damage any. (Ch.81)
"Heaven" signifies "this world right here right now", which is your hologram.
Therefore, "Heaven's Tao" means Tao in a hologram, that is to say, Tao manifested as a hologram.
This manifestation is called Hossho 法性 in Buddhism.
Your life is Hossho.
Don't worry about how you live and how others live.
All the lives are more or less the same.
Your life that manifests itself right here right now is the most important.
Don't worry about someone else's criteria to judge a man's life.
When you see them in a book or on TV, just say "thanks" and ignore them.
Gratitude is an act of sending Love (=Tao).
All the acts take place in a hologram.
So, an act of sending Love takes place in a hologram, which is the life right here right now.
That's why you must not despise this world.
You receive "Tao's Love" and all the hologram it projects.
Zen Master Dogen says:
"You must not look at anywhere but this world in order to meet Buddha".
いわゆる世界は十方みな仏世界なり
(Kobutsushin 古仏心, «Shobogenzo»)
Meeting Buddha is receiving Love.
It takes place on your face. (☞See Face Transmission / Menju / Beauty 80-8)
That's why Dogen asks you to wash your face and body well. (Senjo 洗浄, «Shobogenzo»; Senmen 洗面, «Shobogenzo»)
The world is an extension of your body.
Keep your face clean.
It is one easy and practical way to accept this world.
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-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 81
Lao Tzu answers your question!
☞«Recommended Books 17» Zen Master Ikkyu was a good friend of Konparu Zenchiku, a dancer/actor of Noh theatre. This eccentric duo wrote and performed «Yama Uba» in a village in medieval Japan. You can study Zen Buddhism, but studying something is not necessarily living it. Rather, you can learn Zen without analyzing Sutras and Mantras. Meditation will certainly help you find out what Zen is, but if you think squatting a la Japonaise will teach it better than theatre does, you will never learn what it is. You can even learn Zen while frying French fries at a diner. Peter Brook's «Empty Space
» inevitably makes a Japanese think about "Ma 間", spacial or sonic emptiness. The Japanese have been considering it as the rich source of creativity. If you find the concept of Everything = Nothing a bit too hard to grasp, why don't you look to this theatrical genius for advice? You don't have to go straight to the gate of Tao or Zen. Anne Bogart will show you some backstage door to get in there. Read her «Viewpoint
», and you will see why theatre is a good friend of Zen Buddhism.
» 黒澤明「七人の侍」. But if you are a connoisseur of films or interested in Japanese traditional arts, you must not miss Kenji Mizoguchi's «
» 溝口健二「雨月物語」. The letter "u 雨", which is also pronounced as "amé" means rain. The letter "getsu 月", also "tsuki", means the moon. The book on the left «
» is the original of «Ugetsu». The book was written by Ueda Akinari 上田秋成 in the Samurai period. The title in Japanese is «Ugetsu Monogatari 雨月物語». In terms of the art of short-story-writing in Japanese, Akinari's tales are close to perfection. In one of the tales, «Aozukin 青頭巾 / A Blue Hood», a Buddhist monk falls in love with a young boy. Because of love, he eats his body.
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. «
» 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".
» 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, «
» 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.
». 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 «
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.
. / "Therefore the Sage acts by doing nothing and teaches without speaking." On the right, «Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching» translated by 
.
. / "This being so is profound, mysterious, and dark: The threshold to all secrets. (This translation seems to correspond to the Kanji / Chinese characters 同謂之玄玄之又玄衆妙之門.)" On the right, «Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching» translated by 
. / "dark-enigma deep within dark-enigma, gateway of all mystery." On the right, «Tao Te Ching» translated by 
.
. / "Deep and again Deep" On the right, «Tao Te Ching» by 
.
: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart» written by Willie Nelson and Turk Pipkin. / "Increase your effectiveness as a leader by helping others to develop and grow." On the right, «
: Boost Your Effectiveness at Work by Inspiring and Developing Those Around You» written by Max Landsberg. / Unusual combinations are always welcome.
: Using Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life» written by William Martin. / "Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao." On the right, «
» translated by John C. H. Wu.
» on the left. / Ditto. On the right, «
» by Stephen Mitchell. They are the same translation, but one has the original text and the other has Chinese paintings.
» directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1954. On the right, «
/ Tasogare Seibei たそがれ清兵衛» shot in 2002. It is directed by Yoji Yamada of the well-known «
» series.
