yuuichi

I don’t mean are required to but more it’s inevitable. Like its inevitable that one magnet attracts another like it’s inevitable that a woman attracts a man. I don’t know if I can explain it well.

I was reading this forum and I saw people talking about yin qi, yang qi, yin qi, yang qi, etc. I’ve never seen these words before in ancient Daoist sources. Did someone just make them up in recent times, or do these types of jing and qi have some history behind them?

All things have color, even if we can’t see that color.

How do these harmonics even translate to the three gunas? I thought they would be simple intervals. But I think most ancient music is actually pentatonic so perhaps i’m wrong

It’s just an example, but when I think about Confucianism, I just think about corrupt Chinese officials and strict parents who expect obedience and respect from others just because of the situation, not because they’re objectively deserving of obedience or respect. I also see from Confucian cultures that just because someone is old means that they deserve respect. Why did Confucius teach this? Why does an immoral old person deserve more respect than a virtuous young person? Surely one should respect someone based upon their virtues, not their age. In a Confucian society, it is very patriarchal (dependant upon the eldest male of the family). So if the entire family is virtuous, but the eldest male (usually the father) is drunk and immoral, then that means that all family members live a poor quality of life, just due to the actions of the eldest male of the household, and all the virtues of the other family members mean nought. Why do the Confucians think this is ok? I’m sure they can say that it is the responsibility of the other family members to help or change the father, but everyone knows most old people are very averse to change, especially changing themselves, and in patriarchal societies, the eldest male would not like being offered help from those not on his level (which is just human nature).

This seems like typical Indian nationalistic pseudo-history, where Indians had internet and television 5,000 years ago and everyone else just copied them. Newton and other European scientists didn’t know about what a few Indians said thousands of years ago. They both came up with the ideas and proved it.

I disagree.

Why

I don’t think this is an East-West thing at all. I don’t think East and West exists in this modern world. For example, in China and Japan they love American sports, American festivals (like thanksgiving, Christmas and halloween) listen to American music and watch American television, etc. They love Western brands and Western fashion. Chinese people (at least the young people) think very similar to American people and act very similar to American people, in my experience (i’m not American, but it is my observation). Also, historically, Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek society were very similar to this Confucian ideal of a strict hierarchy. Personally, I think strict parents just do this (especially in Asian societies) so they can have someone to live off during their old age, and so they can brag to other parents how their son/daughter is a doctor/lawyer/engineer/etc, or attended a prestigious school somewhere. This showing off is just a selfish ego-boost (I raised my son/daughter better than you). Or to put it in another way, which parent would be happier? The parent who raised a son who went to become a doctor, but who hates his job, or the parent who raised a son to leave school early and take a low-paying job which he likes and likes his low-paying but comfortable lifestyle? In my experience, the first parent will always be happier, so he or she can show off to other parents that his/her son is a doctor (and therefore better than you). See above Life experience, yes. But their life experience in their generation does not apply to this generation at all. And life experience in this generation will not apply to the next generation.

I’m just curious. I thought Confucianism was just an obsolete load of nonsense, but then you said you were a Confucian. And you seem like an intelligent person, so maybe there’s something to it that I misunderstand.

Because I want to understand Confucianism, but when I read the general ideas of Confucianism, it appears to be about blind obedience .

I haven’t heard of any person who probably had a high level of Xing (like the Buddha, famous Buddhist monks throughout history, etc) who had the ability to become invisible/a ghost. There are a number of famous magical powers associated with meditation, but becoming a ghost or invisible isn’t one of them, at least not from what i’ve heard.

This is a good answer, thank you for your help. Just to be clear, by melting xing and ming together, one acquires the ability to become an invisible ghost, and then also return as a physical body? How come talented meditators who have a lot of Xing, do not have the ability to become a ghost then, even if they cannot return? Thank you.

I’ve been wondering what you mean by this? and the thread you posted was what I was talking about. The immortal ghost is the yin spirit, but Lu Dongbin doesn’t really explain what happens as a result of melting Xing and Ming together. What is the final form? As the story says, it is not a ghost form, but a physical form.

I’ve always been quite skeptical of confucianism. I mean, look at modern China. People in a position of authority, whether it be a parent or party member, will always use that authority for their own greed or individual purpose, whether that would be using state funds to buy a nice watch or house, or try to get one’s son or daughter to marry into wealth or have a strict education, even if they aren’t keen about it, just so one can have a comfortable retirement. Do you have any sources to learn about real confucianism that may address these probable midunderstandings about what Confucius wanted? So the Sotapanna, Sakadagami or Anagami are immortal ghosts, the arhat is a better kind of immortal ghost, what is the Daoist, who was greater than even them, because (as was stated in the story) he had form?

So you’re a Buddhist? I didn’t realize, sorry. Are you saying that people who are Sotapanna, Sakadagami or Anagami become immortal ghosts, while people who are arhats (attained permanent nibbana) become something greater in the afterlife?

Is this immortal ghost what one attains when one reaches nibbana? How is that different to a hungry ghost? Does every common person become a hungry ghost? Thanks

But how is this different to ghost form, or how the Daoists say, being a hungry ghost? I remember a Daoist story where a Daoist (who had form) criticised the Buddhist (who was the form of a ghost) because he practiced incorrectly and so became a ghost in the afterlife. So the Buddhist became reborn as an ugly princess, who practiced Daoism.

Yes, but does having a lot of Ming compared to Xing have any negative health effects?

For the neidan practitioners out there. It is clear in Daoist scripture that having Xing without Ming leads a person to become ill and become a ghostly form afterwards in the afterlife, but what does having Ming without Xing cause? Can Xing deplete, like Ming, and if so, what causes it?

I was surprised that there isn’t a topic about this. I know that Jade is considered very important in China. It is the equivalent of gold to them. Is there differences between Jade, particularly between white and green? Someone called @Taomeow says that green jade has more wood element? But I thought Jade = gold (which is a metal, so the metal element)? And someone called @Taoist Texts quoted a source which talks about clear jade. I’ve never heard of clear jade before. I don’t think it exists. If anyone can include quotes from actual daoist texts then that would be amazing

Does anyone remember a U.S. TV show called psychic detectives (or something with a similar name)? The premise of the show is that a ‘psychic’ (I don’t really believe in them, but regardless) is told about a family member that is missing. The psychic detective doesn’t know anything about this person, sometimes not even what they look like. Yet sometimes there is a surprising conclusion to the episode. Perhaps it’s just for show, but is this particular superpower talked about in Buddhist, Vedic or Daoist scripture? I always thought psychics and similar people required at least a photo.

What is this reading? As in you can literally see them and their surroundings, or something else?

@Michael Sternbach interesting! I’m not requesting anything, but are you able to remote view people in this forum, even though you don’t have their first name, age nor location? I’m not asking you to do that, but is that your ability?

I know there is the Daozang, but not including the Daozang, is there a catalogue of all Daoist writings that were written after the Han dynasty? Thank you