Tao Te Ching Chapter 77-11 After life / Task successfully accomplished

Today's Tao

Although his great tasks are (successfully) accomplished, he doesn't stay there. (Ch.77)


Lao Tzu has said the same sentence in Tao Te Ching / Chapter 2 / Do not judge.

In the world, which is your hologram and a catalyst, you don't have to be successful.

Or rather, I should say: "No matter what is your evaluation of your life, you are successful".

It is quite logical because your only task in life is to emit Love (=Tao).

Whatever you do, you are sending Love, remember? (☞See Plenty of life? 75-3 and Value life 75-4)

Be careful, though.

Some might say: "All right. Our achievement doesn't matter because we are gonna leave this world anyway."

Wrong!

We do not go back to Tao after our life finishes. (☞See Man's self 77-7)

We are Tao itself.

In other words, we are "inside" Tao all the time while we do not "keep staying" in the hologram.


«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
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 2 There is an identical line in Chapter 2.
-Don't stay 2-12 It is the video for the identical line in Chapter 2.
-Tao by Matsumoto / Satori The sentence is also discussed here.


Lao Tzu answers your question!



☞«Tao Te Ching» Key word comparison (20) / -A famous proverb "Soften the light. Be like dust. 和光同塵" - Let's see how they translate 挫其鋭 解其紛 和其光 同其塵 in Chapter 4. The identical sentences are repeated in Chapter 56. In Tao by Matsumoto these are discussed in Chapter 56 / How to be One with Tao / "It dulls its own sharpness, unravels its own fetters, softens its own brightness, identifies itself with its own dust." On the left, «Tao Te Ching» translated by Dwight Goddard. / "Blunting sharp edges, Untangling knots, Softening the glare, Settling dust, (It evolves us all and makes the whole world one)." On the right, «The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu» translated by Brian Browne Walker.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 70-6 Shabby clothes

Today's Tao

That's why the sage wears shabby clothes and hides a jewel beneath them. (Ch.70)


Do you know a Kesa 袈裟, or a Kasaya?

Some call it a Zen robe as well.

Then, do you know it is also called excrement dust cloth, or Funzo-e 糞掃衣?

Can excrement dust cloth be silk?

Or, does it have to be "shabby clothes" authentically made by a certified monk as Master Bonbon insists in the No form 40-17 video?


Zen Master Dogen quotes the stories of the third patriarch Shonawashu 商那和修 (=Sanavasa) and Senbyaku bikuni 鮮白比丘尼 (=Rengeshiki bikuni, Uppalavannā 蓮華色比丘尼).

Their everyday clothes became their Kesa.

(Kesakudoku 袈裟功徳 , «Shobogenzo»)


It doesn't matter what material your "shabby clothes" or excrement dust cloth is.


Dogen also says:

"Once your superficial clothes are torn apart, Buddha's clothes appear".

なんぢが布見やぶれてのち、仏衣見成すべきなり。

(Den'e 伝衣 , «Shobogenzo»)


It means that "shabby clothes" are your hologram and you find Tao "beneath them".


«Related Articles»
-Easy Tao 70-1
-Comprehension and Practice 70-2
-Center and Actor 70-3
-They know nothing 70-4
-Precious one 70-5
-Shabby clothes 70-6
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 70


Tao answers your question!



☞Kesa, O-kesa, or Kasaya. Whatever you call it, it has to be excrement dust cloth. But watch out. If you intentionally choose shabby materials, you are still stuck in the "material" world. One just has to accept any cloth as his hologram.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 65-4 Not by intelligence

Today's Tao

Not governing a country by intelligence does it good. (Ch.65)


"Be stupid!"

"Don't be intelligent!"

That's what Lao Tzu is saying.

If you prefer less vulgar expressions, you can say:

"Be like dust." (☞See Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7)

and

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

Without intelligence, or without material wealth, it is easier to regard the world as a catalyst.

While someone is praising you by saying "you are intelligent" or if your own self is convinced that you are smarter than others, it is difficult to accept that the Self does not belong to you personally.

That's why intelligence is a hindrance.

Intelligence doesn't exist.

It is an interpretation of some information.

Neither does your own self.

It is a name for a "small" part of your hologram.


«Related Articles»
-Ignorant 65-1
-Too intelligent 65-2
-Harmful intelligence 65-3
-Not by intelligence 65-4
-Rules of Tao 65-5
-Miracle rule 65-6
-Miracle attainment 65-7
-Return to Tao 65-8
-Perfect integration 65-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 65


Tao answers your question!



☞I don't know if it is the same with you. But when a Japanese person hear the expressions like "Kita e iku 北へ行く/ going for the north" and "Kita no kuni 北の国 / a northern country", they provoke a particular emotion in him. Surely the northern parts of Japan have never been like Tokyo or Kyoto, but exactly because of this the act of going or living there has a special signification to the person. It is like a surfer going to the Southern Pacific on the hunt for big waves. If you are a novelist from the north, you are an heir of a rich oral tradition.You deserve some respect as a surfer from Hawaii or Tahiti does. Saigyo was a 12th-century poet / Buddhist monk, probably born in the Kyoto area, and traveled the north of Japan twice. Osamu Dazai, the author of this modern classic «No Longer Human / Ningen Shikkaku», was born in the northern tip of Japan's main island, Honshu, and became a successful novelist and ladies' man in Tokyo.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 64-8 Nine-story tower

Today's Tao

A nine-storeyed tower's construction begins with a small heap of earth. (Ch.64)


In Zen Buddhism, they say exactly the same thing.

For example, Dogen describes it as:

"to pick up one minute piece of dust and build a stupa of Old Buddha".

一微塵を拈じて古仏の塔廟を建立する

(Hotsumujoshin 発無上心, «Shobogenzo»)


The important point is what follows this.


He says:

"this is the act of sending Love".

これが発菩提心なり

[Note]
Literally, "this is the emission of  «Bodai Shin 菩提心 / the mechanism (=heart) of Bodhi (=the spiritual awakening, =the wisdom of Satori)»".
発 [hotsu]: emission.
菩提 [bodai]: the spiritual awakening or the wisdom of Satori.
心 [shin]: mechanism, mind, or heart.

(Ditto)


This is the hologram.

You can find the world inside one tiny mote of dust.

In other words, the mote of dust sends you Love.

You receive Love and project a tower or a stupa, which implies the rest of the world.


«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


Tao answers your question!



☞«Animated Classics of Japanese Literature» includes Yasunari Kawabata's «The Dancing Girl of Izu». The story is harmless and lots of Japanese boys and girls still read the Nobel prize winner's masterpiece. Nevertheless, if you think about the fact that the novelist later wrote «The Lake» and «House of the Sleeping Beauties», the seemingly innocent story between a student and a dancing girl will start shedding a different sort of light. On the other hand, Kafu Nagai's «A Strange Tale from East of the River» is a beautiful homage to the innocence and nonchalance of a woman illegally practicing world's oldest profession.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 58-13 Amida(Amitābha) shines

Today's Tao

He has light, but doesn't shine. (Ch.58)


You have light, so you don't have to shine.

You've got the light of Tao (=Love) inside you.

Have you ever heard of Amida, or Amitābha?

He is also called 無量光仏 [mu ryo ko butsu] "the Buddha of Infinite Light".

He is the light that lights up all the aspects of life.

Don't shine.

Do nothing.

Amida will take care of the rest.

In Buddhism, the concept is called 他力 [tariki], Other-power.

Be like dust. (☞See Ch.56)

Your inner light will take care of the rest.


«Related Articles»
-Dark Government 58-1
-Brilliant government 58-2
-Fortune = Misfortune 58-3
-Misfortune = Fortune 58-4
-Eternal cycle 58-5
-Criterion? 58-6
-Odd criterion 58-7
-Spooky 58-8
-Confused about time? 58-9
-Don't tear it! 58-10
-Kyoka (crazy song) hurts 58-11
-Straight = Bent 58-12
-Amida (Amitābha) shines 58-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 58


Tao answers your question!



☞Amida is everywhere, or at least everywhere in Japan. Ask any Japanese kid if he knows Amida. He will say "yes, he does". But don't ask the kid to draw the image of Amida because you will get confused. He will certainly draw a combination of a few vertical lines and horizontal ones instead of a holy image of Infinite Light's divine visage. Please don't think that Amida's face is too sacred to draw. No. The kid will have just prepared a draw. Instead of using pieces of paper in a hat, the Japanese sometimes draw an amida-kuji, or Amida's lot.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 58-2 Brilliant government

Today's Tao

When the government is brilliant, the people are imperfect. (Ch.58)


"When the government is obscure, the people are perfect."

This political irony seems applicable as it is to life, but let's not hurry up.

If you truly accept that "the government" and "the people" are part of your hologram, you can see it differently.

Lao Tzu wants to tell us that, when your hologram is "brilliant", it is "imperfect".

Don't shine.

Be like dust.

If your world is unnecessarily dazzling, it is high time you asked yourself what its function is.

The world, which is your hologram, is a catalyst.

It stimulates you to emit more Love (=the fundamental energy Tao).


«Related Articles»
-Dark Government 58-1
-Brilliant government 58-2
-Fortune = Misfortune 58-3
-Misfortune = Fortune 58-4
-Eternal cycle 58-5
-Criterion? 58-6
-Odd criterion 58-7
-Spooky 58-8
-Confused about time? 58-9
-Don't tear it! 58-10
-Kyoka (crazy song) hurts 58-11
-Straight = Bent 58-12
-Amida (Amitābha) shines 58-13
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 58


Tao answers your question!



☞Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata were close friends. It is said that Mishima even thought of marrying Kawabata's daughter. Kawabata's «House of Sleeping Beauties» is about old men who pay money to buy the right to lay oneself beside a sleeping young girl. Mishima's «Thirst for Love» tells us about a wealthy woman who falls in love with the beautiful body of her male servant.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 56-15 Noblest

Today's Tao

Therefore, it is the noblest in the world. (Ch.56)


Tao, which is true You, is the beginning and the end.

It is the unique existence.

Logically, it is the noblest.

Let's review this chapter 56, in which we discuss 10 points to be one with Tao. 玄同 [gen do] (=to be one with Dark Depth, =to be one with Tao)


1. Do not see (especially TV news).

2. Do not listen (to especially someone who speaks up).

3. Do not speak. (Especially do not try to convince others.)

4. Be dull. Don't be special.

5. Accept everything as it is.

6. Accept it with gratitude.

7. Remember that you are Tao. (Don't try to reach Tao or get Satori. Useless.)

8. Don't try to influence Tao. It is a waste of energy.

9. Don't worship Tao. (=Don't worship yourself.)

10. Don't make light of Tao. (=Don't make light of yourself.)


«Related Articles»
-Don't say 56-1
-One who says 56-2
-Block the openings 56-3
-Be dull 56-4
-Untangled 56-5
-Soft light 56-6
-Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7
-One with Dark Depth 56-8
-Closer to Tao 56-9
-Staying away? 56-10
-Benefit 56-11
-Harm? 56-12
-Ennoble it? 56-13
-Debase it? 56-14
-Noblest 56-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 56


Tao answers your question!



☞«Kappa» is an imaginary animal who is supposed to live in the water. Akutagawa prize was named after Ryunosuke Akutagawa, who is the author of «Rashomon» and «Kappa» among others. Ryu Murakami won the prize with his «Almost Transparent Blue».

Tao Te Ching Chapter 56-8 One with Dark Depth

Today's Tao

This is called being one with Dark Depth. (Ch.56)


Dark Depth is 玄 [gen] in Japanese ([hsüan] in Chinese).

Originally it meant the color of reddish black which you got after having put together a few layers of colors.

The color symbolizes something deep and inexplicable.

"Dark Depth" is a synonym for Tao.

Therefore, 玄同 [gen dō], being one with Dark Depth, is the same as being one with Tao.

No matter what you are, whether you are dust or an [excrement] scraper, you are Tao.

In this chapter 56, Lao Tzu gives us some tips to remember the fact.

Don't worry and do nothing.


«Related Articles»
-Don't say 56-1
-One who says 56-2
-Block the openings 56-3
-Be dull 56-4
-Untangled 56-5
-Soft light 56-6
-Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7
-One with Dark Depth 56-8
-Closer to Tao 56-9
-Staying away? 56-10
-Benefit 56-11
-Harm? 56-12
-Ennoble it? 56-13
-Debase it? 56-14
-Noblest 56-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 56


Tao answers your question!



☞Now the sport is internationally know as Judo. It was not the case at the beginning of its modern development. Contrary to what most of us imagine, the word "Judo" has a relatively brief history. The magical art of man-to-man combat was first called "Yawara", which means being soft. "Yawara no michi". This is the expression that provokes an unequivocal affection towards the sport among the Japanese. A Japanese Judy Garland, Hibari Misora, sang "Yawara" and an industrious Japanese cartoonist, Naoki Urasawa drew "Yawara", which led a real-life girl to start practicing this "Soft Tao / Judo". Having won a few Olympic medals, the girl is now a stateswoman who occupies a seat in Japan's House of Councilors.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 56-7 Kanshiketsu / Like dust

Today's Tao

Be like dust. (Ch.56)


Try to be the least important being.

That's the best way to accept the world (=your hologram) as it is.

Don't feed your ego.

Be like dust.

Or, be an [excrement] scraper.


Zen Buddhists say:

"Buddha is a dry [excrement] stick"

(糞かきべら [kuso kaki bera] / 乾屎橛 [kanshiketsu] in Japanese).


It is a piece of wood to clean one's bottom after he has relieved nature.

Buddha is the fundamental energy.

So is Tao.

So is Love.

Therefore, please remember that, in every being, even in the scraper that has cleaned many Asian bottoms, you can find Buddha, Tao, Love, or whatever you call the energy.


«Related Articles»
-Don't say 56-1
-One who says 56-2
-Block the openings 56-3
-Be dull 56-4
-Untangled 56-5
-Soft light 56-6
-Kanshiketsu / Like dust 56-7
-One with Dark Depth 56-8
-Closer to Tao 56-9
-Staying away? 56-10
-Benefit 56-11
-Harm? 56-12
-Ennoble it? 56-13
-Debase it? 56-14
-Noblest 56-15
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 56
-In Chapter 4 / Tao's function, you can find the identical sentences: "Dull the sharpness. Untangle the entanglements. Soften the light. Be like dust".


Tao answers your question!



☞After a day's work, you are tired and don't want anything complicated. All you need is a bit of laughter. If so, a Japanese noodle Western movie «Tampopo» is highly recommended. Unlike their Italian counterpart, Macaroni Western, this Japanese noodle Western is not about guns and gangsters, but it is seriously about noodles. Japan enjoys "Three Musketeers" of the Japanese noodles: Soba (buckwheat noodles), Udon (Fat wheat noodles), and Ramen (yellowish Chinese noodles). In the film, some outlaws of the noodle business get together and help a woman create a high-quality noodle dish at her near-out-of-business Ramen joint. It is sort of a modern-day version of «Seven Samurai» a la Juzo Itami, a director who finds humor at unusual places. Good laughter guaranteed. Well, if you are too tired and even a comedy cannot cheer you up, you always have a true Kurosawa film. How about «Red Beard» the great doctor tonight? It will inject you plenty of energy.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 39-21 Like stone

Today's Tao

They are like stone. (Ch.39)


"Be like dust", says Lao Tzu.

In the chapter of Mountain Water Sutra 山水経 [san sui kyo] in his «Shobogenzo» 正法眼蔵, Dogen 道元 quotes Fuyo Dokai (Fu-jung Tao-k'ai) 芙蓉道楷:

"Blue mountains walk constantly. A stone woman gives birth to a child at night." 青山常運歩、 石女夜生児。

Dogen tells us not to doubt if mountains walk.

"While you are doubting mountains' walk, you don't know anything about your own walk", he says.

"Mountains" and "stone" as well as your own self are part of your hologram.

A stone woman gives birth to her child, and the child gives birth to the stone woman.

This is the Yin Yang cycle.

Nature and people are our prayer wheel.


«Related Articles»
-Attain One 39-1
-Heaven 39-2
-Earth 39-3
-Gods 39-4
-Filled valley 39-5
-Hologram's birth 39-6
-Hologram's master 39-7
-One = Tao 39-8
-Heaven torn apart 39-9
-Earth unstable 39-10
-Gods rest 39-11
-Inexhaustible valley 39-12
-Ruined 39-13
-Lords and Kings = Masters 39-14
-Noble = Mean 39-15
-High = Low 39-16
-Lords and Kings = Less virtue 39-17
-Mean = Root 39-18
-No honor 39-19
-No jade 39-20
-Like stone 39-21
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 39


Tao answers your question!



Previous video / Ch.39 text / Next video


-Monaco is well-known for its Casino de Monte Carlo and Formula 1 Grand Prix. Some may associate the principality with off-shore banking. But, believe it or not, it enjoys a beautiful Japanese garden in its territory. The garden was conceived and built by a Japanese master from Kyushu. He didn't like to bring in all the rocks and mosses from Far East. He believed that the materials must be related to the land there. Surely, the garden is authentic both in style and in spirit. Princess Grace must be quite content.

Tao Te Ching Chapter 24-1 Tiptoeing

Today's Tao

A tiptoeing man doesn't stand. (Ch.24)


When you are tiptoeing, you get tired easily and cannot keep the position for a long time.

Well, Lao Tzu wants to tell you:

"Don't show off".

He also likes the expression:

"Be like dust".

Would you like to be a king in your hologram?

Or, would you like to be reconciled with your hologram, which is the world?


«Related Articles»
-Tiptoeing 24-1
-Striding 24-2
-Express nothing 24-3
-True righteousness 24-4
-Bragging man 24-5
-Boasting man 24-6
-Excessive food 24-7
-Frustration 24-8
-After Satori 24-9
-Tao by Matsumoto / Tao Te Ching / Chapter 24


Tao answers your question!



Previous video / Ch.24 text / Next video


-Is the story taking place in Japan? A true fan of Kurosawa's films may wonder about it when he sees Hayao Miyazaki's animation features. A true admirer of Mishima's literature may wonder about it when he reads Haruki Murakami's novels. They are not very Japanese, he may wonder. Probably, he will find in Kenji Miyazawa's works the roots of the strange mixture between Japanese and pseudo-European atmospheres.