Tao Te Ching 1 Gateway to Tao-Tao by Matsumoto-Taoism video text

Tao by Matsumoto

Chapter 1

Gateway to Tao

Watch the whole chapter 1 without hustle!
Video Playlist @YouTube

1-1 Words are not good enough 1-2 A name can't 1-3 The beginning 1-4 Mother 1-5 Without mind 1-6 With mind 1-7 Tao and hologram 1-8 Dark Depth = Tao 1-9 Reverse Thinking

[Tao Te Ching Chapter 1] Gateway to Tao / English translation

Click the line to watch the related video.

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

If you can name something, the word does not stand for what it really is.

What you cannot name is the beginning of heaven and earth.

What you can name is the mother of all the material beings.

Therefore, without mind, you can see the surprising Tao.

With mind, you can see its manifestation.

Both of them are the same thing, coming out with two different names.

This same being is called Dark Depth.

At the dark depth of this Dark Depth, lies the gateway to the various surprises of Tao.

[Paraphrased]

Forget about names.

Tao is the source of your hologram.

So-called "reality" is the manifestation of Tao.

If you accept all as they are, you can join Tao.

If you analyze it, you will be fooled by its appearance.

Tao and your hologram are the same thing.

They are also called Dark Depth.

Accepting everything is the gateway to Tao.

[Related Articles]

KEYWORDS

↑ When you try to understand Eastern philosophies, it is not recommendable to start reading Tao Te Ching or Zen Master Dogen's «Shobogenzo» right away. You will possibly be lost in their incoherence and frustrated by the repetition of contradictory expressions.

↓ Before your departure for a spiritual quest, why don't you read «LOL2A-Principle, or the perfectness of the world» and Hermann Hesse's «Siddhartha: An Indian Tale» as warm-ups? Highly recommended.

Quick guide > Tao Te Ching translation > Chapter 1 Gateway to Tao

-Taoism videos / Chapter 1 1-4 Words

-Taoism videos / Chapter 1 5-9 Mind

-1a What is Tao?. It is a kind of field, but it is not a good idea to think it occupies some space. According to Zen, which will help us a lot to decode Tao Te Ching, there is neither time nor space.

-1b Life is a movie. The Japanese used to think we were living in a floating world. It is called Ukiyo in Japanese. The Zen monks used a beautiful metaphor of the dewdrops reflecting the moon light. "Life is like a movie." once in a while we think so. Why don't we think about what it really means?

[Video pages for this chapter]

-Practical uses / Reverse Thinking. Let's think everything the other way round. Swap the cause and the result. Then, you can see the true relationship between them. You will find a simplified solution in life.

-Chapter 56c Dark Depth is explained in detail there. This enigmatic Chinese character 玄 have been translated in many ways. In this Tao by Matsumoto the word's original meaning is respected. That is the most important article except Chapter1. Even if you don't have much time, read the article and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

-Chapter 10b Mirror of Dark Depth is a nice metaphor of holography.

-Chapter 10e Dark Depth Female will tell you the easiest and most effective attitude to change the world in front of you. Being female is very important in Taoism.

-In Chapter 10f Dark Depth Attainment, the character «Te / 徳» of Tao Te Ching / Tao Te King (道徳経 in Kanji / Chinese characters) is explained.