Mango

1 hour ago, Cobie said:

 

Thanks for the reminder. I will definitely post a lot less in the open forum.

@CobieJust say enough to bring the point across but don't overdo it. Thank you!  

30 minutes ago, liminal_luke said:

My first inclination when it comes to messing with hormones, or any medical intervention really, is to do nothing.  Doing nothing is not always the right move, but, outside of emergency situations, it's always worthy of consideration (in my nonexpert opinion).  

Doing nothing is the right move in this situation but medical intervention is ok if it helps. Letting nature follow its course is the way of Tao.

BTW Non ejaculatory orgasms are not a health issue here.

On 10/19/2022 at 4:54 PM, Tom Beckett said:

What is the way a Taoist should live. I know we are supposed to follow and go with the flow of the universe and read texts but I don’t know much else. How should I pray and meditate etc. 

Hi Tom,
The question is not how to be a good Taoist but how to become a Taoist. To become a Taoist is to be a good person. One needs to follow some guidelines but not necessarily any special rules. It is self-cultivation and self-discipline by treating oneself and others with respect. 

One doesn't require to pray unless one is deep into the religious level. It is a good idea to obtain as much knowledge as one can to deal with the universe. That said, one needs to start at the human level to deal with what is in the environment. It is to have peace of mind to avoid conflicts of any nature. One wants to keep a calm mental state and look into things with an open mind within reasons. 

Physically, it is to have a healthy body to deal with the daily chores.  There are many practices to enhance the physical being of the body. One can practice the Qigong exercise such as meditation or Taiji. Both will give one good mental health but Taiji or other exercises involving movement and breathing will give both mental and physical benefits.

To be a Taoist is to be a good person, to begin with. However, one should not restrict oneself by following some rules that might be detrimental to one's mental and physical health.

Good luck to you in pursuing this wonderful journey.

On 10/27/2022 at 2:21 PM, Shadow_self said:

Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of matters related to things like tai chi, qigong, neigong, neidan, the DDJ and so forth have spent endless hours correcting his very false assertions

 Like the female Taiji master says: All the misinformation is out there to mislead the real information at the final end. So, unfortunately, the true masters become the fake ones. Thus the misinformed people are too busy denying the facts without giving them any thought or stuck what was learned in their minds at first. 

On 10/23/2022 at 3:34 PM, eric fagundes said:

 知 "使夫¹知者不敢為也"
 智 "使夫智者不敢為也"

Eric, welcome to TDB

I see your problem here. They are not really different versions. They are many codexes of the DDJ other than the original. Some of the characters were written incorrectly by the authors. In your case here, it might happen to be the author used the character 知 for 智.

Usually, the character 知 means "to know" and 智 means wisdom'. However, it also happens to be that the two characters are interchangeable. In ancient times, I believe 知 (knowledgeable) was used as 智(wisdom) also. 

 "使夫智者不敢為也"
Literally, most people would be translated it as: Then, let's make the Wiseman dare not do it. 
However, the real interpretation is "then, let's make the wise guys dare not to do it" which makes more sense.

Notes: The wise guys were meant in a negative sense in the statement.

I will change the title to read "Chi Gong Lovers".
 

7 hours ago, Wilhelm said:

he's associated with the Shaolin Temple then maybe that alone makes him more 'authentic' than I will ever be. 

In Eastern society, people have practiced martial arts following the described principle here. I am using the same breathing method in my Taiji and meditation practices. I have discovered it is very effective to improve the health of my body.

Those who are interested in QiGong should watch this video. You may skip to 1:26:00 to get a general idea from the horse's mouth.
The video talks about QiGong(氣功), and the breathing was emphasized for more than an hour. Let's have the reader determine what Chi Gong is all about.

Those who love Taiji, and would like to share their thoughts with a Taoist attitude are welcome to make contributions.

Here is something I thought is interesting to look at.

58 minutes ago, Geof Nanto said:

 

ReturnDragon (aka ChiDragon) was included in the mass banning purge which Trunk implemented on becoming administrator in April 2020. I never had much interaction with him, but to my understanding he was not banned because of any obnoxious manner. Rather, he was banned because a number of members considered he was posting excessive amounts of misinformation. 

 

While I react negatively to anyone posting what I consider to be false information, and appreciate to effort members put in to counter it, the moderators made it clear in relation to Covid 19 discussions that their job is to ensure discussion is respectful and abides by the forum rules, not to decide what is false information and what is not.  

 

If that’s the case, looked at objectively, did ChiDragon violate any forum rules?  In retrospect, was he wrongly banned?
 

Thank you! After all, this is a Taoist forum, I am glad that someone has taken this into consideration. Tao will take its Wu Wei course.

Why do we have so many non-Taoist practitioners here?

On 10/27/2022 at 2:31 PM, Cobie said:

That’s wisdom.
 

Following someone else’s path will never get you were you need to be.

It has always been my motto. Sometimes, too much depending on following others could make one blind and off track. 
I will put it in my famous quote bin. 

Don't worry he will be banned again soon or later.

Hello DB,
ZZ is a very interesting subject.
Let's discuss ZZ here instead of flooding the other thread with two kinds of discussion going on there. Thanks!

Never mind. This thread is not about grounding as in ZZ.
 

1 hour ago, blue eyed snake said:

this is a strong aid for  bloodflow in all of the body.

Normally, at the wuji position in ZZ, the legs muscles are contracted which restricted the vein to return blood to the heart. As in Taiji, the movement of the muscles is contracted and released which aids the blood in the vein to flow upward returning to the heart.

1 hour ago, Shadow_self said:

Foundation

 

I think you will gain more from this explaination though  

 

32.00 - 37.00

Well, he did say Wuji is just a posture, and the rest of the explanation is overkilled. 

3 minutes ago, blue eyed snake said:

I haven't practiced for years but when I still did there was no tension in the lower legs. 

If you haven't practiced for years, then, if you do it for 5 to 10 minutes from now, do you feel soreness in the lower and upper legs? Normally, beginners do.

I just ask my wife to do it she did feel the tension in her lower legs.

7 minutes ago, blue eyed snake said:

from a perspective from the musculature the ZZ posture activates other muscles

I believe that most muscles are activated in the lower leg. It is because that is where the support is for the whole body weight. As I stand right now, with my knees bent, I am feeling the tension in my lower legs.

1 minute ago, Shadow_self said:

 

Well I actually was talking about Wuji.

 

Wuji and ZZ are not the same thing, they have different functions

 

I've spent quite a bit of time in Wuji, it is certainly not to build strong legs...it did build something else though  

And what was that?

17 minutes ago, Shadow_self said:

 

I think theres a bit of a misunderstanding here...who told you this?

In ZZ, wuji is the standing position. No? It doesn't need to be told. Do you have any experience in ZZ?

26 minutes ago, -_sometimes said:

Isn't the whole point of zhan zhuang and similar standing practices to prepare the body for more subtle training? The posture is used to transform the body, to make it appropriate and ready for the training of the particular system, no? Depending on the system, slightly different versions of wuji are used, to sculpt a body most appropriate to that particular system. Are you saying the purpose of wuji is to build strong legs?

Yes, it is true to practice ZZ to prepare the body for more subtle training. What I am saying it wouldn't be a prerequisite for Taiji but it would help. Yes, I am saying that the purpose of wuji is to build strong legs more than anything else. If one has practiced ZZ for some time, one should have felt the strength of the legs change drastically.

9 hours ago, Master Logray said:

I recall ChiDragon now.  Used to admire his house.  His ZZ on a wooden structure is not from Taichi.  Mostly from external martial arts.

I just practice the Yang-style Taiji all my life. I did not practice other martial arts. My legs are strong from the diligent practice of Yang-style Taiji. If one has noticed, the Yang style was known to have the legs bent at all times. Thus every time one lifts up one leg slowly, the weight of the body is supported by the other. To me, that was understood it is equivalent to ZZ in some way. ZZ stands on the floor or ground with both legs. IMO To make the legs stronger, standing on one leg is much more effective than two legs. However, both conditions give the same result.

What do you all think?

7 hours ago, steve said:

ChiDragon is a self-taught taiji and qigong practitioner.

He considers himself an authority on both subjects based on his translations of Chinese source material.

His ideas and interpretations are literal and practical but his lack of any guidance or instruction results in limited and often mis- understanding.

It was not self-taught. He did learn it from a Yang Taiji master (Mary Chu). This is a portion of the original 108 forms which you don't see around anymore for some reason.
 

12 minutes ago, blue eyed snake said:

now that reminds me of plumflower piles

 

Thanks! This showed his ability to perform. He cannot be discredited for not doing ZZ because he was not in the ZZ position.

3 minutes ago, freeform said:

 

ZZ is a standing practice that develops various qualities for Taiji and Neigong - it’s ‘standing like a pole’ because you stand up straight like a pole… not because you stand on poles or on planks  

I see that was your argument. Standing like a straight pole on a slanting plank was the ability acquired from Taiji. The ZZ part has been accomplished already. ZZ is to make the legs strong. To balance on something needs strong legs. I believe the demo was to show his ability to perform with a high degree of difficulty. 

15 minutes ago, freeform said:

He was very unsteady - rocking back and forth on it  

 

Im sure the video is still somewhere here

Okay!
So, by your definition, he was not balanced even though he was trying to maintain standing on the plank by his rocking motion. Do you expect him to fall off without trying to stay on the plank?

9 minutes ago, freeform said:

Everyone here was a bit confused coz the video was showing how he could almost (but not quite) balance by standing on a plank placed on a couple of bricks.

What do you mean by almost (but not quite) balance? Did he fall off the plank? If he didn't fall, doesn't that mean he had maintained his balance?