ValleyStream

My profile picture is the one i am talking about. Classical chinese painting with 2 characters. Just wondering if it reads as, "Valley Stream". If not, what i should so to fix it. Is the image i described not the one that you see?

This is so true. I tell people that my goal of my major is not to invent something (like most people in this school), rather it is to apply principles to obtain an ease of living. Certain people look at me like a fool but i guess that this is similar to the Peng bird and the observation of the cicada and the dove...i guess. but what do i know, for i am just a student.

Simplicity explains things in the best way possible. This is the premise of it all.

Outstanding. I must say that you are a wealth of insight. The concept of "pull" is very intruiging. I should take time out of my day to study some astrology to gain a basic understanding of the subject but i am rather busy with my personal Xuanxue and my Computer Engineering studies. Yet, as you said, "...there is no need to study astrology and understand it...". Rather, i will continue my practice of Neidan to acomplish detatchment because it seems to be a effective way to understand more about the "pull" (basically, The Dao, right?). Thank you, Daeluin. Great stuff.

This is very good insight. I can see The Mystery and Manifest correlation but are you sure of the translations of "wu" and "yo"? Not that I know anything about translating languages but I cannot find the translations.

Totally. I like to say, "Perspective is everything. Everything is defined by the observer. He observes relative to his perspective."

As the famous British author once said, "Not all those who wander are lost".

Once i got to really started to understand Monkey Mind i stopped thinking.....and trancended time itself.

I practice this approach as well. Trying to change someone else's mind is similar to someone trying to change your own. If the conversation is not welcome then there is no need to proceed.

This is good perspective. I enjoy when a subject so vast and complicated can be explained in simple terms. That is how you know that this is righteous.

So do you think that said technology is completely unnecessary? I definitely agree that these technological advancements could be considered to be distracting certain people from personally growing on a natural level but does that mean that everyone is subject to this distraction? If someone is aware of themselves on a universal & personal level could this person still utilize modern technology in a constructive manner? If so, is there still hope that society as a whole could do the same? I appreciate your input and I would like to hear more about your opinion.

Ah, I see. In hindsight, I understand how the Dao is "outside" of creation. This was a concept that I was not recognizing when contemplating this subject. What you said reawakened an aspect of my awareness. Bankei will be moving up my reading list. After reading a quick bio of him I am really excited to research a man of such extraordinary environment. I will be doing my best to refrain from analyzing concepts more intensively than is warranted; like you said, "You can take it so far but in the end it doesn't really get you very far". Thank you.

Hello, I am a US Navy Veteran who is a current student at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. I am majoring in Computer Engineering. My focus in life used to be happiness. I would chase the joy and block out all the negativity only to have the negativity become more profound along with the joy. I was completely ignorant of Taoism and i was one of those people who always asked myself, "Why does life suck?" or "Why does this have to happen to me?" or "Why cant things just work out?". Any negativity in my life was so profound in contrast to the great joy i was also experiencing. After years of this mentality i heard about the word Dao and looked into the subject. Everything i read reflected my intuition and answered all my questions. Since then i have remained at peace. I have been meditating, practicing taichi, neidan and other various concepts of Daoism. I am here to learn and interact with people who share my passion for The Way. Happy to be here!