Daniel

Hello @helpfuldemon, You asked: "Tell me about your heart. Is it filled with lust? Or pride? Do you have dreams to chase, or are you simply living to be alive, or are you waiting to die? Why do you persist? What do you want to see happen?" Answers: "It's open and closed, full, and empty, all the time forever. Yes, lust, yes pride, yes to all of it." "Do I chase dreams, of course I do. Am living simply to be alive? Yes, in a manner of speaking. I'm doing the best I can on very limited information. " "Why do I persist? Because it's what I was made to do. And I do it well. And I enjoy it." "What do I want to see happen? Each individual sentient being receiving what it wants and what it needs in perpetuity. From everlasting, even to everlasting. But what I want doesn't matter. I didn't choose to be born, I am a limited created being." You shared: "My heart is filled with benevolence. I want nothing but happiness and prosperity for people. I also pray that all people find the mind to do what is just.' My response: If I maybe so bold, I noticed that here ^^ the focus shifted from 'heart' to 'mind'. Was that intentional? You continued to share: { paraphrasing } Thematically you're sharing your inner conflict on the cosmology of existence? If so, maybe I can help, maybe not? My response: The root cause of the conflict is in the paradox, am I right? The paradox is the obvious dual/polar nature of reality vs. the equally obvious non-dual ( neti-neti ) nature of reality. Right? It's not that different than the conflict between "heart" and "mind" that I referenced above. In your post you mentioned wanting to love, and be loved, and to be just and do virtuous deeds { paraphrasing } but you feel like "why bother" if everything is unified and non-dual. If...non-dual, why bother? Right? It's a common problem. I've seen it many times in myself and in others who are inclined towards a non-dual Point Of View. If the person with the non-dual POV wants to experience the full range of human emotions. love, wonder, excitement, anticipation, release, etc... they need to chose to be grounded, they need to choose to live in their heart. If on the other hand, that specific individual wants to detach from the material world ( perhaps they are seeking Buddhist enlightenment ) , then my advice to that person is to close off their heart and live in their mind. But most people don't want to choose one or the other, and that creates a paradox... but... it's *only* a paradox. If the paradox remains unresolved, most people become slightly inclined towards nihilism ( aka 'why bother?'-ism ) Does that make sense. If I'm right about all that... maybe I can help. When you want to love and be loved, anchor yourself to the material world and feel it, experience it. Go ahead and go for it. Ignore the non-dual reality in those moments. On the other hand, if you have been hurt, or for whatever reason you choose to retreat, go ahead. Leave behind the human emotions, detaching from the heart, and live exclusively in the non-dual existence for as long as you choose. Maybe helpful? IDK. Did I answer your questions? TLDR? What is my heart about? Everything is for the best. That is what my heart is about. Sincerely, Daniel

Hello Yoyo, It's a pleasure to meet you. I would choose, hummus and flat bread, blueberries, access to fresh snow melted water, tea leaves, a clean vessel, and a cooking fire for my dinner. Thank you for asking. What is your favorite dinner meal?

Right. Please pardon the interruption, But the very fact that non-duality can be compared to duality is, in-and-of-itself by definition 'duality'. There is no way around it, from my perspective. There is a duality in The Eternal Dao. It's all over the DDJ, isn't it?

May I respectfully disagree? The polarity/duality is in Chapter 38? Isn't it? It's between good vs folly. If I understood @helpfuldemon's words ( see below ) the argument being made is "there is no duality" but chapter 38 does not say that at all. It begins and ends describing the opposing inner motivational conflict between goodness and ignorance ( aka folly ). chapter 38 encourages goodness. That is not what is reflected in the words below. Do you disagree?

"Begin to count on each breath..." Respectfully, would you please elaborate on this? Does the count reset on each breath? Or does the count continue to iterate as the meditation proceeds? Or maybe I've completely misunderstood? Sorry if it's a silly question.

It's pleasure to meet you Rara. I relate to this ^^ very much. Similar family/community issues ( do what's expected of you ) , similar reaction ( lashing out / anxiety ). I'm new here, not a Daoist practitioner, but, learning about Daoism and conversing with other Daoists brings me tremendous relief from the turmoil inside my self. I look fwd to conversing with you here and learning about The Eternal Dao. Sincerely, Daniel

Save for the wobble two feet / two boats / can be fun in calm smooth water

Don't, 'Answer-question'. Trains are leaving their stations, On track, off balance.

I'm reading it simply as a supporting the argument in favor of a living peaceful mortal life.

Tell that to my wife....

Why?

@freeform , A comment: May I politely add: In addition to the Milgram Experiment, further support for the point you are making can be found in the BrownEyes, BlueEyes social experiment done in America immediately following the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It is another well documented case study in how easy it is to manipulate human moral values and ethics based on subjective superficial criteria. Here is a youtube link to the PBS Documentary on the subject. It's long but well done: ( link ). edit to add: if there are problems viewing this documentary due to international licensing problems on youtube, please let me know via private message and I will locate a link that works for your locality.

For me, it's visible as a flash, not as a constant. Look for it like looking for the moment when a pendulum is in equilibrium. The non-animal Humanity flashes past... then is gone, then is back, then is gone.... At least that's how it is for me. I often behave like an animal, but it's not something I'm proud of. I'm not trying to preach at you, my friend. Just sharing. Just sharing...

respectfully, Human is not *only* animal. However, I cannot fault your logic or any other's who disagree. When I see a human, I see more than animal.

May I most respectfully draw this distinction? In the above examples: you are equating human behavior with animal behavior and with larvae behavior. A Human has choice, larvae and animal do not. Choice is what drives karma and arguably the entire tension between light and dark depend on it. That is why good and evil are useful concepts in this context. The Eternal Dao includes Karma, and Karma requires choice. Therefore animal and larvae behavior are irrelevant, with all due respect. The subject is human behavior, not animal nor larvae.

Hi Ashbell, I'm new here too. The quote above ^^ describes my experience as well. Thank you very much for posting this thread and phrasing it in this way. I look fwd to reading the replies and the advice given. Sincerely, Daniel

Hello Renetx, Nice to meet you.

That's a very impressive CV. Welcome aboard. I appreciate the opportunity to be in a community with someone with your knowledge and expertise. Sincerely, Daniel

Hey Bogge, Welcome back... to the basics...

Hello!

Hello Natural, It's nice to meet you. I'm new here too.

there is no chance, not if creation is ever-expanding. An evil person ( someone whose desire to destroy and/or steal brings them pleasure ) will always be in a pit of their own making. The best a person can do ( if they choose to destroy or steal ) is to operate in the Grey, and then it's theoretically possible to take benefit and pleasure away from another individual without creating a pit for themselves. But it seems to me this is a very narrow bridge/tight-rope to walk on. I have never seen a contrary example. Perhaps there are examples out there, but I simply cannot see them nor am I influenced by them. Because of this they are easy to ignore and hard to call "Masters". Immortals are another topic all together. imho.

My Friends new and old, Desire is not a problem if it is unwound. It's actually rather useful when understood. Please see below: No avarice. None at all. I have nothing against Desire, I hope I did not offend anyone if this was not clear earlier.

'So what?' is the Dao. An infinite cloud of choice. Don't answer... question.

in the grand scheme of things, nearly impossible becomes very impossible...