wandelaar

How does the second book differ from this book that I already bought?

Do you have a source for that?

@ Zhongyongdaoist What I am after in this topic is a scientific understanding of wu wei. That is a way of approaching things and a form of acting that is somewhat similar to flow but with a Taoist twist to it. It could be that - as you say - ancient texts like the Tao Te Ching presuppose that absolutely everything will turn out fine if the ruler would just avoid interfering with the Tao. But I don't believe in such fairy tales as an actual possibility, there will always be conflicts of interest and difficult choices to be made both for a ruler and for the common people. You may call that reductionism if you like. But to me being called a (New Age) holist would be much more upsetting.

https://books.google.nl/books?id=gedEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&dq=Shu+Shan+the+Toeless&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBxd76nP3eAhVBKuwKHa2xAj0Q6wEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=Shu Shan the Toeless&f=false Don't know where I got the large following from...

Simple: you would have to depend on your intuitive or instinctual understandings. Why? Because in that case there is no sense in forcing yourself to go against what you strongly feel as being the correct approach. Kind of like how animals act. And the explanation of why it generally works is the same: evolution.

It's difficult to say what is correct or incorrect, but it seems to me that the above interpretation makes Tao superfluous.

I don't see how you can avoid choosing something to hang your hat on, if that is what you wish to do... And that choice again presupposes an expectation that the chosen "thing" to hang your hat on is more than just an observation that goes up in smoke when you look away.

You may of course declare that you don't have a view, but as soon as you act (or even if you don't act) then the way in which you act will betray your implicit view of life. For instance: you posted the above message, so it's likely that you thought that there are actually people (other Bums) reading your message on their computer screen.

@ Aetherous Interesting links!

There must be a story somewhere in the Chuang tzu of a guy whose toes were chopped off for some crime but nevertheless became a master with a large following.

From where I live (the Netherlands) there is no preview to be seen on Google Books.

See the preview on: https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Jing-Qigong-Interpretation-Tzu/dp/1594396191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

As we can read in the above link one of our Bums has published a new Tao Te Ching translation. See: https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Jing-Clear-English-Translation/dp/173206380X Any comments on this new book?

Don't know where that picture is from, but it perfectly illustrates my point: it's the perceived intention behind the smile that's relevant. When the perceived intention is malignant (as in the above case) than the smile will not lead to joy.

Did the earth only started to exist at the moment that the first conscious creatures on it first observed it?

Do you remember how many pages of concordance there was in the book?

Deliberately starting to smile admittedly is somewhat forced, but hopefully others will appreciate your good intention behind it. When they show their appreciation of your good intention by smiling back at you, than that will give you reason for a real smile. And so no matter how contrived it started, some real joy may very well result.

Maybe some Bum could try to answer my topic questions?

@ Zhongyongdaoist There is a problem with this interpretation of wu wei in that it presupposes a situation where all creatures can realise their potential without apparent conflicts of interest.

I have bought the book and at this moment I have read half of it. Yang gives two interpretations for each chapter of the Tao Te Ching: first a 'General Interpretation' and second a 'Qigong Interpretation'. He reckons both interpretations to be correct, because he sees the human body as a microcosm that is structurally similar to the world of Heaven, Earth and Man. An interesting feature of the book is that it contains a lot of citations from old commentaries. I don't know how close Yang's qigong interpretation stays to the traditional texts and practices. Any ideas about that?

Thank you. What things are in itself is and will stay beyond the reach of our understanding. That is - with one exception! Our own consciousness is what we experience it to be. Is that what you mean?

Is there an explanation of the symbolic meaning of the rituals? Why are there trigrams on their robes, and what are the strips they are carrying around?

I guess that's the most probable development all over the western world.

Back to basics!