mbanu

A Taoist shouldn't have any virtues. Te as virtue is a bit misleading. It means virtue as in "by virtue of". Te is the manifestation of a thing's original nature. When a thing is in accordance with Tao, Te is the natural consequence. Dogs bark by virtue of their being dogs. One could say it is a part of their Te. However, to transform barking into one of the Canine Virtues would be a mistake.

You could become an urban hermit. Move to a city where you don't know anyone. Live alone in an area with indifferent neighbors. Change your phone number and don't forward the contact info to friends and relatives. Get rid of your internet connection. Get a job where you work alone and don't interact with the public. Spend your time in places where nobody bothers to linger, or never thinks to look for. Why do you want to become a hermit?

Most of these places are probably just houses in the suburbs. I suspect that Taoist monasteries aren't that hard to start, rather the trouble is in becoming self-supporting.

A lot of practitioners run hot as a byproduct of their training (or perhaps too little grounding?). An understanding of TCM would help them recognize the signs and adapt their diet accordingly.

The best description of a big-m Master, I think, was "The True Man" bit from Thomas Merton's book on Chuang-tzu. Big-m masters are useless, though, because they no longer hold attachments to their students, which make teaching in any sort of meaningful way impossible. Really what most people need are little-m masters, and the ways to recognize them depend on the student's own level of development. Unless a student has reached the state where they can formulate certain questions, the sort of answers a master on a higher rung of the totem pole might give would only lead to suffering, and really aren't necessary for gaining the benefits Daoism can offer. In many ways, Daoism is a lot like a painkiller; being on a stronger dose does not necessarily mean that you have moved up in the world. Really a better thing to study, if one wants to study traits, is to determine how to recognize a Daoist con-artist.

I'd find it entertaining if moderation became the norm. This forum was founded, after all, because a certain segment of the HealingTao forums actually enjoyed posts from the Ron Jeremeys of the world, and discussion that wasn't strictly canonical. The reason Kunlun dominates the board is because people delight in arguing. If it weren't Kunlun, it'd be something else. Don't forsake the basics, keep things in perspective, and maybe post an image macro or two. It'll be fine.

A Taoist shouldn't have virtues.

I think TTC 6 may be about this subject. I'm a fan, but mostly because Fred Rogers was.

Kun Lun isn't Taoism, it's just a hobby that's popular among Taoists. Like drinking.

What makes Taoism seem more appealing? What have been your thoughts on life after death?

Wherever there is life, death is unavoidable. One feeds off the other. Why distinguish between one type of death and another?

Bleeding can be useful under certain circumstances. However, blood loss is usually only a step up from semen loss. That doesn't mean that if you donate blood it's the end of the world, (ladies lose blood quite frequently, and still live to a ripe old age) but I'd be careful of considering blood loss a cure all. The misunderstanding and misapplication of Greek medicine's bloodletting techniques helped lead to Greek medicine's eventual rejection in the West.

What makes an old Lao Tzu more precious than a new Lao Tzu?

I've been around, I just have less to say nowadays.

You know, if Ron Jeremy were still around, he'd have a picture for you.

One is enlightened in a Taoist sense when one can grasp Te, and through it Wu Wei, leading to harmony with the Tao. How to know when you're enlightened is a bit of a trick question, because when you are enlightened, the question won't be important anymore. Thomas Merton described it quite nicely in his paraphrasing of Chuang Tzu: THE TRUE MAN What is meant by a "true man"? The true men of old were not afraid When they stood alone in their views. No great exploits. No plans. If they failed, no sorrow. No self-congratulations n success. They scaled cliffs, never dizzy. Plunged in water, never wet. Walked through fire and were not burnt. Thus their knowledge reached all the way To Tao. The true men of old Slept without dreams, Woke without worries. Their food was plain. They breathed deep. True men breathe from their heels. Others breathe with their gullets, Half-strangled. In dispute They heave up arguments Like vomit. Where the fountains of passion Lie deep The heavenly springs Are soon dry. The true men of old Knew no lust for life, No dread of death. Their entrance was without gladness, Their exit, yonder, Without resistance. Easy come, easy go. They did not forget where from, Nor ask where to, Nor drive grimly forward Fighting their way through life. They took life as it came, gladly; Took death as it came, without care; And went away, yonder, Yonder! They had no mind to fight Tao. They did not try, by their own contriving, To help Tao along. These are the ones we call true men.

If you have access to such techniques, why not share them?

Enlightenment and immortality are different. Enlightenment is possible for all people regardless of orientation, given the right circumstances. In the process they may lose their sexuality, however. This is true for straights, gays, and everyone in between. As to alchemy practices, the advice against men having sex with other men is a rule of thumb, having to do with controlling sexual energy. Sexual energy is difficult to control as is. Typically, the female is the moderating force. When two men cultivate, their sex drives can feed off one another, making cultivation a lot more challenging. Semen retention is made more difficult, and the energy that is built up, even if retained, tends to run on the hot side, which can easily cause toxic heat problems for people who aren't already experienced with dealing with that sort of thing. Also, as stated, anal sex can cause energy leakage complications, although I'd be reluctant to say that these are insurmountable. The general reasoning behind advice against male homosexuality isn't because it prevents cultivation, so much as it makes an already difficult thing more difficult than it could be... or at least so I've come to understand. If one is homosexual, one should feel free to practice alchemy, only knowing that it will be difficult from the start, without the easier slope upwards that is available to some other practicioners, at least while using the techniques which we currently have at our disposal.

It's not modesty, it's confusion due to perspective. Like in the martial arts, a beginner will go around telling everyone that they know how to fight, while an advanced student will be far more reluctant to make this statement. This is because it means different things to the two, because of scope and scale. To the beginner, it means knowing how to punch a person in the face without hurting their hand. To a black belt, it means the ability to adapt to multiple attackers, a changing environment, many other far trickier things. It's the same way that someone who is well off but spends their time working with millionaires will not consider themselves rich, although they may still be far richer than many other people. Most of the people who say they are enlightened are beginners using the term in a different way. More advanced practitioners have a better understanding of what it actually means, and are therefor less confident, despite the fact that 1/2 to 3/4 enlightened is really the best skill level for teaching. The fully enlightened are terrible teachers because they have no attachment to their students.

Internal alchemy isn't Taoism. It is simply popular with Taoists. It's kind of like how liking Jewish food doesn't mean that you are a follower of Judaism. My understanding is that it does not mean forgetting literally, but rather forgetting the significance of the thing, because one is no longer in touch with the mental and emotional context that created it. He remembers propriety (for instance), but has trouble understanding why he once practiced it, or why he found the idea of not practicing it so terrible. He remembers music, and could play if prompted, but no longer understands why this is important or valuable.

Sleep more than usual. Sleep is the backbone of jing restoration. Avoid coffee, black tea, hard liquor, and tobacco. Before engaging in sexual activity of any kind, ask yourself if you are actually horny. If the answer is yes, go for it, but if the answer is no, find something else to do that will satisfy your needs. It may sound odd, but you'd be surprised how often people will ejaculate due to stress, boredom, or force of habit rather than because of genuine urge. Most importantly, go to a licensed TCM doc, and get them to give you a checkup. Follow their advice.

"Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles" does not mean give up learning and replace it with magical thinking. This is a common pitfall. I like to believe that fighting this is what induced the Zen Buddhists to invent Keisaku.

Consider extending your retention time and adding stagnation relieving practices, such as more frequent exercise, a higher fiber diet, drinking more water, and various things that ease tension. It sounds like your body is not a fan of the current ejaculation frequency, but is suffering from stagnation issues, which ejaculation can relieve. Sends mixed messages, y'know. I'd go to an acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist for a second opinion, though.