wandelaar

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Everything posted by wandelaar

  1. It's rhetorical. Some Zen masters were less considerate. I hope people considering matter to be just an irrelevant illusion will then realize how far they have drifted from reality as it actually is.
  2. How could a blow to the head cause one to lose consciousness when consciousness is the basic stuff of the universe and matter (including human bodies) are just illusory appearances? (Don't try this at home!)
  3. The problem with the article is that it starts out well by looking at the reasons people have to search for something beyond life as it seems to be, but then suddenly switches to promoting its own dogmatic solution.
  4. Cosmologies - Split

    @ voidisyinyang Physics is already difficult enough, why do you make it completely incomprehensible by using unreadable sentences?
  5. Derek Lin's Tao Te Ching

    Compared to other translations he comes up with explanations that add to my understanding of the TTC. I can not personally verify whether his translation is also close to the original (for I can't read Chinese), but I guess if Lin made large mistakes there it would have been noticed by people who can read Chinese. I haven't found criticisms attacking Lin on that point. That is exactly the question I am asking...
  6. Well - I also consider Taoist philosophy without any form of practice as a sterile approach. But the practice doesn't have to be Martial Arts, Chi Gong, or those kind of things. I do however consider meditation of some form essential, and there are references in Lao tse and Chuang tse to meditative practices. But the most important Taoist art connected to Taoist philosophy would naturally be "the art of living well".
  7. I think the mystical experience is essentially beyond words in all religions. The difference lies in what we are supposed to do before and after. Further there is a Tao that cannot be told, and there is also a Tao that can be told. The Tao that cannot be told can only be "known" in mystical experience. But the Tao that can be told consist in the Laws of Nature (from physics), in patterns visible in the living world and human society, and in the exemplary lives of Taoist sages. At least that is my current understanding.
  8. Derek Lin's Tao Te Ching

    I have bought Lin's translation and commentary, and already read some chapters. I think it's very good. So my question is no longer whether it's a good book - because it is. Nevertheless the book might still contain a few controversial interpretations of chapters from the TTC. So my new question is: Are there any controversial interpretations of chapters from the TTC in Lin's book? And if so, what chapters?
  9. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    The topic has been started. So let's see what happens...
  10. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    How about: "What's the use of schools and lineages within Taoism in the Modern World?" Is this OK, and is it correct English?
  11. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    Yes - but shouldn't we add a question or point of discussion to it?
  12. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    Is there some other thread where this off topic discussion is continued?
  13. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    @ Lost in Translation What exactly should be the topic for the possible thread you hinted at?
  14. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    "Man is condemned to be free", Sartre.
  15. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    There is no guaranty that Taoist masters from schools with a long lineage will have it right. The long lineage can just as well mean that they have wandered far from the source (so to speak). And even Lao tse and Chuang tse may be wrong or outdated on some points. But I agree that it can be useful to listen to what others have to say, especially when they know what they are talking about. Even discussing your own position can be helpful. But then again: it all takes time and energy, and I believe it's a bad thing to get caught up in discussions or studies that apparently don't lead anywhere.
  16. Taoist rules of thumb

    And there we have the straw man. One fallacy after another. I never said it was a "rule book". But it's time to stop.
  17. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    Yes! I often do that when a problem seems to have no rational solution. And it works! Not always, but often enough it does.
  18. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    How could one ever be absolutely sure? Don't think even Chuang tse thought that possible...
  19. Can you learnt how to ride a bike without first trying to ride it and trying to keep your balance? How about people telling you to just relax, act naturally and adapt to the natural movements of the bike? It will all come naturally, they say, as soon as you don't force yourself or the bike. Asking for tips on how to ride it or for examples of people actually riding a bike will only distract from the main point: just let it come naturally. And so on and so forth.... Sounds familiar? I am currently trying to life in the spirit of Lao tse and Chuang tse. That is to say I am self consciously trying to live in a Taoist manner. But I am continually getting the advise that I shouldn't try to follow rules or examples but should just let go of all striving and of unnatural behavior. When you reach the stage of nonduallity it will all come of it's own accord. But I don't believe in magical short cuts and I haven't seen them in actual practice either. What I do believe (or rather know from experience) to be true is that all arts are first learned by self consciously trying to imitate what you see others do. Only then after you have become thoroughly familiar with the new techniques can they be applied in an intuitive, natural and/or creative manner. And it's exactly the things learned that distinguishes the Taoist way (or any other way for that matter) from all other ways. So that's the reason I think the focus on letting go and nondualism is misplaced for someone like me who is only now starting to put Taoist theory into practice after half a lifetime of looking around in all possible other directions.
  20. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    I think it's a two track process: 1) You try to become independent of life's circumstances as far as possible, but naturally will not completely succeed. After all we are human beings, and not immortals. 2) You try to arrange your life's circumstances in such a way that it will be possible for you as a non-perfect Taoist to life a Taoist life (as far as it goes). When a sports man follows a training regime that's too heavy given his constitution, available time and energy he will no longer progress but actually get worse at what he is trying to achieve. In the same way an aspiring Taoist should not overdo his training in the misguided quest of becoming something of an immortal superman. So placing yourself in circumstances that you are not yet ready to bear, will probably result in you becoming even less able to do so in the future.
  21. Taoist rules of thumb

    Thanks for your opinion on this matter. Your point has already been dealt with before: it's the fallacy that something has to be either black (worthless) or white (infallible). A trick that suffices to kill off any position one happens to dislike. So I'm not going to discuss that once again.
  22. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    That's OK with me. And I would like to know how it is for people who appreciate poetry and mythology in their body. Is it like appreciating music?
  23. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    @ Daemon Poetry and mythology don't mean much to me, so things might work differently for other people. But let me explain what I do. I repeatedly try to rationally understand the texts of the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang Tse as best as I can. That is the learning/ training phase. And then I go about the usual business of life (or go to sleep if it's time to) and don't think or reason about it any more. It then often happens that the meaning of the text I studied before but was unable to understand suddenly becomes clear when I'm doing something completely unrelated (like taking a walk, drinking thee, might be anything). That's the letting go phase. It's no different from the way creative scientists work. Not saying I'm one of them. I gave that a try, but dropped out and failed.
  24. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    I think it is not enough to read the Tao Te Ching (or Chuang tse) once or twice, one has to read the chapters over and over again until they become thoroughly familiar. Eventually you will kind of automatically think of the relevant texts when they are needed. (I'm not there yet, but it's getting better. I still needed a good night's rest to come up with the village-chapter.) So here again we have the two components of learning/training and letting go.
  25. Is being a Daoist for the well off

    Discussing Lao tse and Chuang tse I find there is much more common sense in those guys than I expected.