Tao by Matsumoto

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57. Intelligence

[Chapter 57 / English Translation] - click the line to watch the related video.
You govern a state with justice.

You use soldiers in a surprising way.

You get the world under the sky by doing no work.

How do I know this?


The more annoying prohibitions there are in the world under the sky, the poorer the people get.

The more useful tools the people have, the more disordered the state gets.

The more intelligent the people are, the more evil acts take place.

The more laws and decrees are known, the more robbers there are.


Therefore, the sage says:

"I do nothing and the people change themselves.

I like being still and the people correct themselves.

I do no work and the people get rich by themselves.

I have no desire and the people become an uncarved block by themselves".


Rapid Decoded
Man-made justice is useless. It is a form of intelligence. Intelligence does you more harm than good.

When you wage war, you use your intelligence for a surprise attack. Intelligence is useless.

"The world under the sky" is your hologram that you project in the mind. Don't work on it. By doing nothing, you can change it.

You don't have to learn anything. You already know all you have to know because true You are Tao.


Prohibitions never make people richer. Don't control any. It creates resistance and blocks the free flow of Tao and the transformation of your hologram.

"Useful tools" like intelligence simply provoke disorder in your hologram because you try to act on it with them.

To be shrewd and do "evil acts", you need plenty of intelligence.

Laws cannot control the world (=your hologram). It works the other way round. The more you try to control it, the less you can do it.


Therefore, you should know the true wisdom of Dark Depth Female.

Do nothing, and your hologram (=the world) will change by itself.

"Don't move until you are forced to", Chuang Tzu says. Don't react, and your hologram(=the world) will find the best way.

Don't work. The more you work, the poorer you get. The less you work, the richer you get because wealth is part of your hologram.

Your desire is part of your hologram. It doesn't belong to you. You are not responsible for it. Treat it like clouds in the sky. "The people" and the world in your hologram are a manifestation of Tao (="an uncarved block"). Accept them as they are.


Videos / YouTube playlist

- 57-1 Justice
- 57-2 Surprise attack
- 57-3 Don't work
- 57-4 How do I know?
- 57-5 No prohibitions
- 57-6 More useful tools
- 57-7 More intelligent, more evil
- 57-8 Ho 法 and Laws
- 57-9 Sage's "Do nothing"
- 57-10 Don't move
- 57-11 Don't work & Get rich
- 57-12 Desire


[Related Articles]
-Do nothing. Do nothing = Accept all.

-Integration. In the old days, those who knew Tao made people ignorant, instead of intelligent.





Read Yama Uba the Zen play

☞In Masuji Ibuse's "Kanzan Jittoku" 井伏鱒二「寒山拾得」 two old friends try to laugh better than Kanzan 寒山 and Jittoku 拾得. Kanzan the "Cold Mountain" stands on the right. Ando Hiroshige's Kambara 安藤広重「蒲原」 is our backdrop. Why don't we place ourselves and Kanzan in this snowy hamlet and laugh 笑, laugh 笑, laugh 笑.
  1. Tao

 2. Hologram

 3. The floating world Ukiyo

 4. Play

 5. Gate

 6. Dark Depth

 7. Dark Depth Female

 8. Do nothing

 9. Body soul and Spirit soul

10. You and non-you

11. Yin Yang circle

12. No judgement

13. Resistance

14. Satori

15. Act without acting

16. Colour

(Last modified: 14 November 2011)