Daniel

with four syllables: a house is made; seeds planted. hand to open hand

Sit silent. Listen. Click, click, click goes the coaster. Moment settles in.

Hello @freeform, If you don't mind the question, would you please elaborate on this ^^? Searching youtube for "Taiji for flexibility and balance" returns 100s of thousands of results. Because of this any recommendations/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely,

Hi @abester, It's nice to meet you. I recently read Cleary's rendering of the Golden Flower as well. Although other than that you've covered much more ground with Daoism than I have. Welcome to The Bums

naturally distinct silence and a ringing note bounces like tiger

the dog that can be switch-bladed... is not The Eternal Dawg

Rule#1: Never trust a cat that can operate a switchblade. The owner clearly knows this; hence the little pink bell.

Welcome back.

Hello P. nice to meet you. If you don't mind the question, what are your goals?

Hello Sariel, welcome to TDB.

Hello @Wayist, *waves from the PacNW*

Hi Morrako, welcome to TDB

Hello @Frax, It's nice to meet you, I hope you find what you're looking for. Best wishes, Daniel

Hi @Mei mei,

You would, too... *giggles*

Hello @mYogi Nice to meet you.

There aren't laws for humans from an animal perspective? There is at least one law from an animal perspective: Humans are the product of their ( our ) circumstances and genetic potential. It's simple cause and effect phenomena that can be recognized by animals, plants, humans, and others.

... kinda like Muadib, the desert mouse, and His Fremen?

Well, you may not be... but many are. Allow me to try to explain? All the world religions can be ( in general ) separated into two main categories: Those who seek inward, and those who seek outward. The western approach is generally outward, where the locus of control is external to themselves. The eastern approach is generally inward, where the locus of control is internal inside themselves. Western devotes itself to a God or Gods, Eastern devotes itself to Realization of the Self. In general Devotion to a deity requires service. I cannot think of a single example to the contrary. Each deity has its own preferences and desires for its devotees. And if a person chooses this deity and consents to the service/ritual/rules that govern conduct as prescribed by the deity then it doesn't appear as slavery. It appears as servitude. The only difference is consent. If the individual has never been exposed to the underlying concepts of Self realization, or worse, they are taught to fear it, then that person is essentially in servitude without consent. If the individual comes from a family where generation after generation is ignorant of the inward seeking religions and practices, then the result is essentially a culture of people who are being born into a family that is devoted to deity without the individual's consent. This family/culture therefore propagates and advocates for slavery: Service without consent. Thus, without real consent, a child born into a family of "Believers" can be accurately described as a slave. That's the logical chain that describes why a label of "slave" can be accurately applied to many modern spiritual people. It's because their service is not offered freely. Even if the individual thinks they are consenting to the religious practice, it's a false choice. The choice is made without having full knowledge of all the choices and their ramifications ( if there are any at all ). The result becomes very much like slavery when viewed from the outside. {{ ... That said, there's an equally compelling argument that can be made that describes an ignorant fearful person as free and clear and happy. It involves redirecting fear into awe and into excitement, and combining it with elements of love and surrender... etc.. }} Does that help clarify this idea that many humans are slaves until they accomplish/achieve Self-realization? Without knowledge and understanding of Self, an individual cannot make a true choice, a free choice, whether or not to be devoted to a deity. Thus the many people who are not enlightened to themselves are not truly consenting to the preferences of their deity, and that makes them a slave out of ignorance and fear of retribution.

Well. Whatever it is... This too shall pass ... ( plumbing pun intended )

live a life that's real, tangible also sentient. Mother's roots run deep.

with a little help student becomes a teacher learning never ends

It's nice to meet you, Kyle. The above quote is facinating to me, if you ever choose to elaborate on this, i would be very interested in reading the details. Sincerely, Daniel

Any statement attributed to John Chang should be taken with heavy doses of skepticism. It's kind of like plumbing... a plumber might make it look easy, and might tell you "anyone can do it"; but it's messy and foolish to tamper with the plumbing in your house without understanding how it's supposed to flow from beginning to the end.

I think it's important not to underestimate what evil people can do. An evil person can overcome their shortcomings by collecting evil disciples. That is where their power comes from. An evil person takes, not cultivates. Taking disciples is perceived by the evil person as cultivation, but it's not. BTW, this model works well beyond the religious and spiritual world. It also describes the political world. Organized people in large groups can do a lot of harm... regardless of whether or not they have siddhis. The taking is what sets up the karmic pit, and that is why these evil people cannot be called masters, imho. It's because they are ultimately trapped in a pit of their own making. The pit has a name; it's called "freedom". Because of this, evil people cannot see the pit for what it is. The label "freedom" obscures its true nature as a pit. The disciples make it seem less like a pit and more like a secret society. That's how it works, when it works, from my point of view.