beancurdturtle

Welcome!

I am not arguing, I am trying to understand. For what purpose? Assuming fate already exists, what relevance does understanding it have to our moment to moment existence? If the reality already exists, what is the purpose of divining it? Isn't it more proper to just live it? So, back to the opening paragraph... If fate is "right now, in present time" what purpose does divination accomplish. Are you saying that we can right now, in present time know what fate will bring to our future, or that divination helps us understand what's happening right now, in present time? Ok, a better question is, in the context of your opening paragraph, what purpose is there to divination? Again, I'm not arguing. I hope to better understand your thoughts. Please try to answer in your own words. That may seem a presumptuous request, but some of your writing sounds to me like the "Allah exists because the Holy Koran tells me so." flawed logic I hear from my Muslim friends.

boy and bows

That was my reaction on reading the first post - that and a big belly laugh.

If it's not fixed is it still a mindset? Is it a mindset if it's not fixed? Maybe that's when it becomes a "mind fuck."

hello, my name is daniel, i am.

Huzzah!

Lovely! Lauozi: Tao te Ching Chapter 71 (Merel) Who recognizes his limitations is healthy; Who ignores his limitations is sick. The sage recognizes this sickness as a limitation. And so becomes immune.

Precisely "Cultivation" is the attempt to get there, and the first stepping stones on the path. "Actualization" is to be there, and be there, and be there. The real thing morphs through time. Our application morphs through time; cultivation conceptualizing understanding actualizing

that's not god speaking it's the boom box playing Lyle Lovett in the next room ...they just don't come no better than a bear

A friend told me this was a good Asian Supermarket in Chicago. Broadway Supermarket Phone (773) 334-3838　 4879 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640 I haven't been there, but usually somewhere near Asian Supermarkets, there will be a Chinese herb shop. But I'm not from Chicago, someone local would be a better source of information.

Of course. Your choice of "are" or "is" (就是) suits the purpose much better than mine. Thank you. My Chinese is clumsy at best, and amusing at worst. 我中文说的不好。

When I start to smile, and feel what would be articulated, "well this is an interesting way to perceive things" - that's when I feel it's about the sizzle instead of the steak, more like "spurious mysticism." When I just feel what would be articulated, "well of course - no duh!" - then it's closer to "the real thing." Profundity is overrated.

welcome

when it comes to insight years of study creates stronger biases and sometimes to cultivation chauvinism years of actualization creates ease of understanding and amused munificent acceptance until attempts at insight are no longer attempts they just casually are (是) peace,

Isn't it interesting. Our objective is a benevolent impartiality, balance, harmony and the like. To live at an accepting point where we actualize it without thought. At this point there is no need to divine anything. When we begin the path we start with focus and desire - seeming unbalanced. Reading, studying, crazy for cultivation.Then the pendulum swings back to the middle.

I've been following a Poll/Thread about "The Big Draw," desire, sexual energy & etc with interest and some amusement. I even jumped in with a couple questions, a silly comment, and a bit of topic obfuscation. In the thread there's a lot of discussion about controlling sexual energy, controlling orgasm, the meaning of desire and etc. http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showto...amp;#entry31417 My feeling about dreams is that they are very organic and closer to our natural beingness than our waking experiences. Though influenced by our waking states, dreams are not necessarily relevant to them. Of course I might be wrong about this. This morning I had a dream. A very pleasant dream. Later as I'm showering to prepare for work a thought pops into my huge, empty, cavernous head. The thought condensed into a question (questions actually) - questions that I don't have an answer for. What if you practice something like sexuality in one way in your waking life to cultivate a given end, yet in your dreams it gets done differently? Is there a dichotomy here? I'm curious to know people's thoughts about this, and the related questions: - Is the un-reined process in dreaming states a balance to the "cultivation" process in waking states? - If something gets done differently in dreams than the way it's done in waking states, does it mess with our holistic path? - Is what does on in dreams interesting, but really not greatly impactful on our whole being? I am asking largely in the context of sexuality and sexual energy. But answers in any context are appreciated because they all have relevance (at least to me at this point in time). Besides, I'm not a topic cop. I realize my vocabulary is a bit unorthodox, but I hope you get the gist of my question. Thanks for your thoughts.

and therefore the best person to forget what we "know" about ourselves

Yes, it would be nice. I apologize if I seemed to be competitive or confrontational - it certainly wasn't my intent. My writing style is sometimes terse and impartial. No disrespect or insult was intended - and I hope none was taken..

Yes. Someday I may even have a little wisdom to share.

Ignore the abstractions, hold fast to substance. Reference Tao te Ching chapters 12 and 38.

Enough said then. That's the most I could expect - assuming I was expecting anything. To me it seems (it's only my, perhaps incorrect, perception) that you dissect opinions - even largely in agreement with yours - to their tiniest minutia. Then bludgeon the minutia you disagree with to oblivion with volumes of argumentation that aims to prove your opinion of minor difference is the shining beacon of purest Tao. In doing so you validate the honestly admirable depth of your scholarly understanding of Chinese classics and philosophy. In doing so you prove that you've lost sight of the sweater for the tiny flecks lint. I could be wrong in my perception of your multiple voluminous postings. However, if I am correct, it seems to me that better use of knowledge of Tao would be to find points of commonality and acceptance with the voices of other people who are integrating Tao in their lives. Then you might offer contributions aimed at deepening understanding rather than creating confrontation. To be honest, your contributions are amazing in depth, accuracy, and detail. But in many cases your contributions seem to be focused towards confrontation and oneupsmanship. If you find my recommendation to lostmonk for learning about Tao and the steps for doing so to be bad advice - then just say so. Don't bother picking the lint of arguable and subjective points off the sweater, examine and criticize each ad infinitum, and obscure the warm fuzzy sweater of honest and reasonable advice. By the way. I understand what you're saying, and largely agree, but I'm inclined to miss the motivation for argumentation. Peace,

I, without a doubt, don't know better. My understanding is that the I-Ching is likely to be the oldest of the classics of Chinese literature. As such, it is not at it's core Taoist. Further, Taoist arts, practices, medicine, and so forth have a strong foundation in the concepts threaded through the I-Ching. Confucianism is also strongly grounded in concepts threaded through the I-Ching. It's probably fair to say that the I-Ching is neither Taoist nor Confucianist - but more an archetype for many ancient Chinese schools of thought. The fact that Taoist practices, arts, and medicine are strongly influenced by the I-Ching can't really be argued if you are familiar with both. The fact that Confucianism is also strongly grounded in the I-Ching would be hard to argue against as well. However, it can be argued - and has been asserted by some scholars of ancient Chinese literature - that the fundamental Taoist morals and ways of living core to the Tao te Ching have little to do with the categorization, compartmentalization, and divination that is so much part of the I-Ching. So I would again say; if you want to learn about Taoism, go to the seminal text that is the root of morals and way of life for a Taoist - the Tao te Ching. Then when you approach all the incredible things that have grown from the root - or provided shade and nourishment to the root - you will have a better foundation from which to understand them. I can't think of anyone who would argue that a strong understanding of the core Taoist morals and way of life in the Tao te Ching would take anything away from the many beneficial arts, sciences, practices, traditions, etc. born of the I-Ching, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and so forth. Which is the frosting and which is the cake could be argued all day long I suppose - with no resolution and to nobody's benefit. Peace,

and toe to chin I'm deeply offended. O Holy Sage of Pancakes, I couldn't wring disrespect out of your words if disrespect was the water in the last wet rag in the Sahara at the Summer Solstice and I was with thirst. Peace and enlightened waffles,