exorcist_1699

Up to this moment, besides Taoism ,no philosophy in this world claims that it can solve both physical and spiritual life-and-death issues of humans ; And, if it does, can we still call it a philosophy , not a religion ? In Chinese medicine , Taoist philosophical terms such as qi and jing are also a medical terms to analyze symptoms ,cure diseases; There is no clear line drawing between medical and philosophical terms. Philosophical terms like shen and qi are also religious terms for they not only relates to our earthly , physical life but eternal , spiritual life .Reading of Dao De Jin and Zhuangzi ,especially Zhuangzi , tells you this .

In meditation , in fact, our mind can focus on somewhere/ something exterior of our body or interior of our body. Focus on something/somewhere , or focus on nothing/nowhere at all . Or, first focus on something/somewhere , then focus on nothing/nowhere ; Focus on nothing /nowhere right from the beginning sounds fantastic, the problem is how to start? Only talented guys know .

I always wonder when we face difficulties /dangers , no matter it is in our cultivation or daily life , whether it is good to ask outside force (他力)to help : FU, singing curses , calling Buddha's name .. etc , I do not totally deny that they may be effective ... in fact, to some people , they are very effective .However, the advocate of FU yet without mentioning our karma , our own force is inappropriate . Also, why not thinking about relying on self- strength(自力) ? Based on logic of Buddhism, we ourselves are Buddha lost in this world / in a pseudo-self ; Asking self-help means asking the omnipotent power of a potential Buddha to help . I myself am a believer that Taoism and Buddhism are talking about nearly the same things in different terms , so you should not be astonished at such an idea ..

Really ? unfortunately most of people here are beginners... it seems the more messages you post , the lonelier you feel .

Although gaining a still mind is so difficult , still people think that it is important .But why? Why spending thousands of hours to attain a dull , stagnant mind? Just because it gives you peace ? Or, A feeling of timelessness ?

I think the history of Taoism maybe complicated , and huge amount of concepts are there for mastering , however, the grasp of three groups of basic concepts are crucial : 1) jing-qi-shen 2) post and pre-heavenly 3) yin and yang Others are trivial . Of course, you have to ask yourself why you study Taoism: For scholastic purpose ? healing your disease ? opening 3rd eye? solving life and death issue? In fact, whatever purposes you have, fully understand the mentioned three groups of fundamental concepts are unavoidable .

Although many people think that Taoist immortals are something imaginable , people who can read original Taoist writings know that Taoism is a very practical system , things like how to classify people as immortals, at which stage what phenomena will arise, all are recorded clearly black and white . For example, capable of not eating or releasing jing for 2-3 months is a boundary drawn between ordinary people and immortals; Looking young or unchanged over decades is another criterion . Feel flying / without touching the ground when walking is another phenomenon ( in fact, as your qi accumulated , expanded and mixed with external qi , you do feel flying when walking and can walk several hundreds kilometer tirelessly per day ...) Others such as red blood turn into white /milk color , appear under sunlight without shadow..etc Whether you believe them or not , all these phenomena are written black and white in Taoist writings; they are observable and open to proving ....only narrow-minded guys ignore them without further thinking and blindly succumb themselves to what they worship /call nature and science ...

The difference between yin and yang qi is not just something theoretical , but actual . After having reached certain stage of your practice, you can definitely sense what sort of qi you initiate is yang, what is yin . The yang one should be sensed as very light, extreme delicate , make you feel wholly losing your physical existence easier....and accordingly the spirit (shen) arises from it is likely to be a yang one ; such qi and shen is therefore nearly an omnipotent dose for most diseases , no matter how severe they are . The yin one is just the opposite , even brightness/light is sensed , you should not be perplexed by it and think it something real/right . This is said to be one of the crucial issues in our cultivation ...

I know little about the taoist sect called Fu and people advocate it , but always sense that they are like walking on a narrow ,dangerous top of a high mountain and need very good skill of balancing .... Just like people who advocate taoist dual cultivation.

Funny, I have placed mine .

All mentioned seems to belong to the arena of Yin . In fact, you can deliberately nourish" a mind of yin "(陰識) , having supernatural power similar to a ghost , in meditation ;Such a mind is mistakenly recognized by many people as an achievement ; however, without the help of qi of yang, such an entity is far away from Tao , and of course, can only appear in night, wet and shadowy area. It is said that such a spiritual entity is condemned to be extinguished by the Heaven ( 天誅). It is also a deviated way that those who are ignorant of the Taoist theory of ying/yang can commit . So, the famous master Zhang (張紫陽)had once warned us that : " If you are ignorant of the theory of ying /yang ,you must not act carelessly " (不識陰陽莫亂為) .

Of course, Tao is beyond words or any forms of thinking we ever know. Even pure intuition is not what it is for pre-heavenly arena is beyond the experience and thinking of people who live in a post-heavenly world . Just like a creature which lives in 2d world can't understand how a 3d world looks like no matter how hard a description of it has been given . So, no human religion and philosophy can really express Tao , these categories are only adopted under a status of lack of choice .

Tao embodies in this world through qi ,and , by meditation , we get in touch with this qi in our body . Both Buddhism and Taoism rely on meditation to attain emancipation , but comparing with Taoism , Buddhism seldom mentions qi . Some Buddhist masters even say that replying on meditation towards some kind of spiritual emancipation is like grinding a piece of brick , and , try to make it into a piece of mirror. How sharply they point out the the trap of unproductive meditation . Mindless thought can be an achievement , but it also can be nothing significant . It even does not lead you to any healthy life . Sitting there for hours without initiating qi or a bigger vivid mind ( ie, you get a static, dull mind ) definitely makes you sick. Taoist meditation seems better . Even if you do not get any significant spiritual achievement , you get a healthier body after years of practice and there is no waste of time . ( There is exception : you follow reverse breathing or deliberately circulate qi around your body ...#$%^&*?~ ways , you put yourself in danger) However, in order to get greater achievement , reading Buddhist , especially Zen's ,book is definitely important .

The fact is , after the completion of the book: Lao Tzu , Taoism further develops and absorbs the Yin/Yang theory and lays the foundation of TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medicine) ; it then becomes the system that cure billions of people for more than 2,000 years . An abstract , philosophical theory being used as practical , analytic tool is a very unique phenomena in human culture : not only symptoms of illness are analyzed in the jing-qi-shen + yin/yang framework , but herbs are being used and classified by it . Taoism, in fact, dissolves into people's daily life and takes effect without being noticed by most people ( achieve without doing anything ?) People ( me too ) may not like the religious apearance of Taoism , but the combination of it with medicine and religion seems inevitable . Based on the Taoist theory of qi and heavenly- qi , immortality is a practical possibility , not just a theoretical assumption , so its link with religion is therefore undeniable . How can a system like Taoism which grasps the fundamental force of our life/universe not give rise to profound medical and religious influence ? Getting rid of its other weird religious substance should not be like people throwing away their baby together with dirty water after bathing it .

The criteria to judge whether a guy is a master/ guru/ immortal is not to hear what he boasts of , but to ask some critical questions , for example: 1) Is it important to get rid of nocturnal release of jing ? how ? 2) Why mindlessness can be a trap , not an achievement ..etc ? and, see how he replies . Whether the guy is familiar with the Taoist classics is another important criterion ; most immortals / masters are well educated/ self-educated and familiar with the theory ; otherwise , how can they be free from the shackles of so many untrue schools/ ideas in this world ? One simple fact is , capable of reading 1~2 pieces of taoist original classics is better than reading hundreds of modern translated Taoist books in the West . Of course, it sounds a little difficult to beginners; this is the reason why they are always misled .

Hi. Gossamer, I do not oppose others viewing Taoism just as a philosophical system as long as it is only his/ her personal choice ; what I oppose is some people's opposition of the religious implication of Taoism . Thing appears to intellectuals as philosophical , may appear to the crowd as religious .Tao exists everywhere; it is not the privilege of a small group of intellectuals to " enjoy" it spiritually ; Tao's "compassion " towards the crowd also is limitless , which inevitably leads it to resolving the crowd's sufferings ( whether they can be rescued is another story ) ;in that case , it appears as religious . " How can heartless Tao shows compassion towards the mass ?" You may argue , blaming me interpret Lao Tzu arbitrarily . As Tao exists everywhere , it places pre-heavenly yang ( ie, jing , in case of living organism) in our body , let us share its eternity and omnipotence. Although in Taoism , the urge to rescue the mass is not as strong as Buddhism ( The saying is : It is the sickness of the crowd that makes the Buddha sick ; the sufferings of the crowd the makes Buddha suffers ; Note: Originally Buddha should be free of any illness and sufferings for how can " emptiness" be sick ? be suffering ? ) , the sharing of pre-heavenly yang in every person's body does provide she/ he a ladder climbing up to a much higher level , whether she/he wants to climb ( or is prepared to climb) is up to her/his decision . However, people should not belittle Tao as just a philosophical system and prevent others from upgrading themselves..

The point is not to interpret our life /world but to change it. If after having read Lao Tzu , your life is still same as before ,without any fundamental change , and if you think you only have read a good philosophical book , then you really belittle the significance of LaoTzu . Only careful reader of the book and those practitioners can understand that at many places in it , Lao Tzu talks about Tao as pre-heavenly qi . And, embodiment of Tao in our life also means absorbing pre-heavenly qi in our life, which , of course , will generate life-and -death change ; such a change is beyond any superficial, philosophical understanding . And, it is the reason why it generates religious meaning. Religion is nothing horrible . It is foolish to be perplexed by those costume and rituals. Keen observers always know how to get rid of those look formal and pseudo , go straight forward and grasp what is the crucial .

That means the pre-heavenly yang , which deeply hidden somewhere in our body , is the seed leading us to immortality ; nourish it and let it attract qi from outside , we are on the way of climbing up to the heaven.. We have mentioned yang, how about the yin ? Here some understanding of the basic concepts of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is needed ; In TCM ,which is a quite complex yin-yang theory which involves many levels say pre-heavenly, post-heavenly ..and , each levels further has its yin and yang split , is , for example , expressed as follows : Our physical body is classified as yin, qi as yang; body's surface as yang, inside as yin; body's top (head) as yang , bottom (abdomen ) as yin ....etc Pre-heavenly yang strangely is located at the position (dantian) opposite to what it should be ; our mind , although located at the top, is "high-jacked " by a pseudo-self , appears as yin ; Reverse the said yin and yang and make them "intercourse", is said to be the way we should follow...

My life is full of sufferings and troubles , only by becoming a near-god , can I rescue myself Why not praying to God, some Christians may ask ... But from Buddhist / Taoist point of view, we already are some kind of god-towards-God lost in a pseudo-world / pseudo-mind , just by finding out the right road , we can rescue ourselves .

The Taoist immortals differ from others because immortal is an outcome after having nourished our spirit with 100% qi of yang . While some people can concentrate their mind in meditation , hold it and nourish a spirit evil with supernatural power/3rd eye ability , theirs are most likely a yin one , and , are unlikely to be everlasting ; Such kind of spirit of yin , similar to a ghost , of course, is not in any sense a Taoist one .

The reason is simple . If there is a possible way of becoming a god, then I will try , no matter how hard it is. Ancient Greeks told us that there are many gods , but they did not mention any concrete way of becoming one . In Taoism , we get the way and it can be proved , so why not trying to become one of the gods/immortals ? Besides , the process of getting rid of eating , sleeping , breathing , thinking.....should be fantastic ; How does a moth feel when leaving its cocoon ? How can a mind that solve all problems but without having any ideas ?

Besides blood looks white/ milk after having experienced a period of pre-heavenly way of breathing , another funny phenomenon Taoist masters claimed is that the immortals look shadow-less under sunlight ( ghost can't appear under sunlight as we all know ) . But a Taoist immortal , who is composed of 100% qi of yang , is different. It is said that ghost is 100% composed of qi of yin . Human is around half and half ( the percentage depending on your age ) . Somewhere hidden in our body is the pre-heavenly yang , if we dig it out and refine it , everlasting life ( both physical and spiritual ) is said to be firmly grasped in our hands . However, before that ,we are requested to : 1) understand the significance of these two levels (post and pre-heavenly); 2) understand the features , location , and relocation ( because of change of said levels) of yin and yang in our body.

We can't understand Immortality because we are entangled by Science and technology , and their concepts and operational relation to Nature . Precisely speaking, we are entangled in a post-heavenly world with its specific material and apparatus ; Fish seldom know it is living in water ; Science does not believe in immortality in any sense,our daily experience also tells us there is no immortals.. We are like people who live in the pseudo-world generated by an omnipotent system of AI in the movie "Matrix" ;All people think that their ways towards death are reasonable and inevitable ;what we are lack of is another dimension in our thinking : pre-heavenly , which unfortunately can only come from another culture.. So, the proof can only come from our taoist cultivation ; yet, only after having reached the level of pre-heavenly , can we find the time structure of our life being changed : Every moment of our life seems prolonged or forever prolonged , year as a criterion to measure our life starts to become meaningless ... and things that will happen in future appear to us beforehand at the present moment ...etc

We can't become god/Immortal /God because we are entangled in a physical body ,only by getting rid of the needs of eating, sex, breathing ,sleeping , thinking....step by step, can we free ourselves from those physical limitations and transform ourselves to near- immortal/ god... Yet , Taoism does not advocate the leave of our body and search for spiritual immortality , quite the contrary , it advocates the unity of body and spirit , the immortality of both physical and spiritual life . In fact, from the viewpoint of Taoist theory of qi, there is no absolute gap between physical and spiritual things , both are different faces of qi only ( Similar to Computing science ,there is no absolute boundary between software and hardware, the basic elements are only 1 and 0 ( yang and yin ) , and how we express them ).

It is said that our blood looks red only because we are breathing and living with air ; at certain stage of our cultivation, no matter we follow taoist, Buddhist even Catholic, the phenomena of stop breathing will definitely appear, making our blood look white /milk. There are lot of records about it in old Taoist texts ; As a Monism of qi ( Jing and Shen are its different expressions only ), the crucial point of Taoist theory , which differentiates it from others , is that the highest achievement of our cultivation is going to be the ability of freely de-composing and re-composing our body (qi) at our free will ( just like chemists who do it on molecules , unfortunately relying on apparatus and other means ; but in Taoist case , we do it at the qi level directly .)