Guan-Wen

CONSCIOUSNESS

Heyall. What a question! What a dire predicament we find oursellves in! But where there's life, there's consciousness... I have been working as a eco-tour guide for the past eleven years. My familoy has practised wildlife rescue for the same eleven years. For ten years prior, I worked in the conservation movement - everything from being chained to a bulldozer to parliamentary negotiations, media liason and research, school talks and carrying dead animals around in the city to show people the pointy end of their lifestyles. I have had exactly this discussion with numerous activists ovwer the years. Including the discussion about precipitating the crisis to limit collattoral damage. Do we let the mass of humanity aqmble its way to disaster? Or do we push them over the edge or pull the rug out from under them? Whenb injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty! By most measures we have patently crossed a critical line whereby life and the parameters of life will change. In way7s both subtle and profound. The delicate interplay of gravity and magnetism; of light and heat and sundry radiations; of consciousness and instinct all continue. We are the rocks dancing , but our ears are tuned to new songs and our feet are dancing in designer shoes. Do we honour and protect our children? Do we husband the environment for its own sustainability and for the good of all sentient beings? Do we carefully remove our waste away so that it cannot affect our nest? Fundamentally, are we overpopulating the planet??? The planet is on the verge of a series of ecosystem collapse. It is a question of wheter natural systems can cope quickly enough with rapid shifts in ecological balance to sustain systems within life-supporting parameters. Good luck my friends...

Look for but One in all things. It is the second that leads you astray...

Yo dudes. Bring it on! Taoist TV, having appeared in China, and having been muted on the Tao Bums; will now become a reality - it is only a matter of time! The swirl of consciousness has begun... Re-runs of "Kung-Fu", Martial Arts Movies( not crappy ones or just excuses for violence ), Doco's on practice and practicioners, On Masters, Diswcussion and interview, everything...!!! Sci fi movies that explore the Taoist theme, The Tao Bums Show, with online input... Aaarrrggghhh, stop before i go blind.......

The One Moon is reflected in all the waters. And all the moons in all the waters are held in the One Moons embrace. Chant this while contemplating a reflected moon.

Isn't it the case that the whole general theme of the AoW is to always delay action until the most opportune moment. Now sometimes there will be an obvious strategic factor or moment, perhaps as prosaic as the weather or the movement of a particular squadron or sapper unit. But it also relates to factors of consciousness and spirit and surely the concept of Wu-wei is pre-eminent. And from Wu-wei swirls the rest of the Tao and the TTC and Ic, etc. Sifu Bruce Lee was at times the embodiment of these principles. His admonition to :"Study widely. Absorb what is useful. Discard what is uselsess. Add what is intrinsically yor own.", is sound strategic advice. Through constant and rigourous dedication to self-knowledege and challenge of that self, Bruce Lee was always on steady and high ground, strategically speaking. When he takes that ready stance, you know that the opponent has already been outmanoueverewd! In military action, as in business and as in all our relations, we are challenged to repond appropriately but also in such a way that we are not strategically undermined. But the ultimate goal would be to not only avoid use of force but also to develop a win-win sitution for bothor all parties. If force is required, then the shortest route to victory (foot-strike to knee or finger jab to eye) with the leastexpenditure of power for the maximum gain. But of course sometimes decisive actio might be exactly the opposite of force. Perhaps to bend or sway aside. Sometimes to not engage at all is the most powerful course of non-action. Watch the Wing Chung or tai Chi Master deflect force with the slightest of motions while remaining fluid and unhampered from flowing in the Watercourse way. I think it is important that we do not get tunnel vision in these fora - to lose sight of the ground-truthing of these concepts in our daily lives. Think of the times when you felt so powerful for havinf deflected force or defused a potentially violent situation. Equally think of how we are secure precisely because we are rooted in the Tao and we dance throyugh every encounter because we know that we cannot be defeated by any adversary.

Yes. Definitely the finger and the moon! Definitely it is a tool that lends itself to the usewr. The world is seen and experienced according to the modality of the viewer. The magic of words and language that they can speak to us as a people but also intimately as individuals whatever our modality or millieu. TheTTC is just as much an oracle as the IC, just as the IC can b seen to flow and express the watercourse way as eloquently as the TTC. As Sifu Bruce Lee used to say:"The essence of Martial Arts is to honestly and openly express myself..." And of course to be like water. So when each of us slips in to the watercourse way, it will mold itself to us and we will experience it in our own unique way. We Tao Bums are rather like a gestalt in that we can all be informed by each others experience and so experience a multi-textured immersion in the Tao. Om Gaia dudes.

Hey all. Hail and well met. I Have been kept from posting for quite a while by various circumstances. But The Tao Bums have occupied a warm spot in my consciousness since I firast posted back in 2008. Through all the roller coaster of family life I have kept up my practise and in recent months I have been re-minded. Reminded of the potential in our lives and reminded of how valuable every moment and every insight is for myself and those who are connected to me. And that includes all you Bums. So I reconnect with you. I am the Dragon Guan-Wen! My practise continues daily with a mix of Yoga, 24 Form Yang Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Wing Chung and Meditation. I have been excited to discover the subfora for discussion of Tao Te Ching and I Ching and Art of War and I hope there will be more. I know there are a plethora of Martial Arts sites, but is there one with extensive discussion of the Tao in the Arts? More power to you Brothersand Sisters!

Om Mani Padme Hum The Jewel is in the Losar... :

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." Bene Gesserit mantra in Dune. Valerian. You must face your fear. Sit with it. Make it a nice cup of tea (What type would you suggest Stig?). What is the opposite of fear? Is iot courage? Make a list of every courageous thing you have ever done and note the small victories each day. Have the courage to be honest with everybody in your life!!! THAT is the heardest thing to do. When you are paralysed by fear then it has already crushed you. You are reduced to your bare psycho-physical aggregates and bereft of higher function. RECOGNISE THIS TRUTH. Next time it happens, spend quality time with your total response to the fear. Then, take a breath... See how the breath and your fear/fgear-reaction matrix are separate. Then breathe again. Spend quality time with your breath. Make it a nice cuppa too (Stig?). "Seek freedom, become slave to your desires. Seek discipline and discover youe liberty." Frank Herbert in Dune.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." Oscar Wilde "Be like water." Bruce Lee :In so far as I am unlike God, I am unlike myself." Meister eckhart [i think] "See but one in all things. It is the second which leads you astray." Meister again [?] "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." The queen in alice in Wonderland "The one moon is reflected in all the waters. And all the moons in all the waters are held in the one moons embrace." Yung-ji Ta Shia in Huxley ; The Perrenial Philosophy. I'll stop there, but: "I'll Be Back!"

Easy Rider!!! The whole soundtrack!! "The river flows. It flows to the sea. Wherever that river goes, that's where I want to be... All he wanted, was to be free. and that's the way it turned out to be.. Go river go past the shady tree Flow river flow flow to the sea Floooooowwww to the seeeeea..." Ballad of Easy Rider

Master Thic Naht Hanh Is a great modern master. He has that great ability tro bring us back to the moment. "Breathe You Are Alive" is another excellent work Well done Two Trees and thankyou for qouting the Diamond Sutra! When in doubt , go to the classics. Thank goodness for testicle breathing! I practrise whnever I am brought back to the mopment - at home, work, between times.. I love cricket [the game]. Cricket is like a moving meditation. In cricket, it is ok to fiddle with your tackle from time to time. Kind-of an overt show of testicle breathing... Anybody else ou there that loves cricket? "You do well to love cricket. To play it keenly, honourably, generously, self-sacrificingly, is a moral lesson in itself. And the classroom is God's air and sunshine." The fourth Lord Harris. When i was in the Green movement, I was part of a faction:"Greens for Sport." I s there a Tao Bums for Sport faction???

Hey. The ersatz masters are the ones with their teacups overflowing - already too full of their own poison brew. True masters do not speak. They sit quietly by the mountain, enjoyinf their tea...; Long live the Tao

Hey. Stig man, I like youe style. I love tea too. Tea for two. Tao Tea Ching. Tao teaching! On the River I take a drink bottler with black tea bacg and ginger. Each day there is a special guest - sometimes various herbal tea. sometimes vitamin . I call it :"Dragons Blood". Happy drinking friend. Long live the Tao

Hey. here I am. Am I in somebody elses reply??? Can two minds occupy the same space/time field?? Is it a reality web show??? The new post-ee mentions Chi Kung. Now, I talk about all sorts of thins in my posts and I discuss particular practices. But Chi Kung is really a baseline practice. Breath follows mind, energy follows breath... Of course, one may practice a particular Chi Kung form, but I would suggest that to become a Taoist, one must incorporate energy work into every facet of your life. How you choose to do this is up to you. But remember, its ALL energy anyway. Long live the Tao

Hey. Love that Single Whip! I say whip it. Whip it good! I pratice Yang style 24 form. I've been doing this form for about three years. I live remote and my work and family keep me from accessing a teacher to study oter forms. But I am very happy with Yang 24. The Whip and its progressions are some of my favourites. I am interested in other peoples practice and if someone has or does practice numerous forms, what are their thoughts on differences and the benefits of longer anf multiple forms?? Long live the Tao

Hey all. Its me again. Thanks for the posts those who did. I am already rewarded to be interacting with like minded fellows. I hope that this frank, sincere and robust dialogue will benefit us all and all sentient beings. The Dragons i speak of are many and in many forms. Literally and physically and viscerally. One of the main attractions on my tours are Saltwater Crocodiles! Totally awesome beings. Very much in tune with nature and the river. I love all reptiles. They are so close to the Earth Mother - touching her and sensing her constantly. And they worship the Father Sun every moment of their life. And they are like portions of the River oozing and morphing from solid to fluid and back. As Sifu Bruce said:"Water can crash and water can flow..." Also I am born in the year of the Dragon [1964]. It is perhaps a difficult consciussness to occupy, and certainly at times the wildness of it overtakes me. Anbd ,to be honest , sometimes the darkness of it and the anger and beings trampling our domain and our consciousness trobles me. Undoubtedly those closest to me sometimes bear the brunt of my frustrations. But I try to honour what is best about Dragons as much as I can. And of course there is Dragon energy emanating from the landscape and permeating the ether. The Daintree is such a dynamic and potent place. Of course, as all us bums know; the entirety of nature is potent and is a resource latent and immanent... To Drumr. Thanks for your interest. I too am fond of "Art of War" and "Book of Five Rings". I am a bookworm and a lover of fine thinking. I have also the story of Musashi [Eiji Yoshikawa}, various works by D.T Suzuki, and poems by Basho and Ryokan etc. The fusion of Taoism and Buddhism in China and its further development in Japan and Tibet are of critical importance to me. The journey of the doctrine and the consciousness through time and space are commensurate with the journey of the individual and collective consciousness. In astrophysics we say:"We are stardust". In deep ecology we say:"We are the rocks dancing". In Taoism we say:"See but one in all things..." In spirituality:"In so far as I am unlike God, I am unlike myself". I could go on. I probably will. Try and stop me. I personally am very conscious of the need to study. To study widely, to absorb what is useful, to discard what is useless. And at all times in any posts I make, I acknowledge the thoughts and deeds of the great sages and mystics on whose shoulders we stand as we reach ever higher and look ever deeper into the heart of time and space itself. Long live the Tao.

Well. Here we all are then. I was browsing and came across this site. I believe in manifest destiny. It is manifest, after all. I am intensly interested in the Tao. I am study the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching. I try to be mindful of the principles at all times. i am reminded every day of various aspects. One of my favourite quotes if\s from Sifu Bruce:"Be like water". My father was Han Chinese. From Hai-nan in recent generations, now dispersed far and wide. My name Guan-Wen means :"To excel at literature", [my father hoped I would]. My friends gave me nick-name:"Word-man!" I was raised Catholic by my anglo-irish mum, but escaped as a teenager. My life was kind of ordinary until my 28 year old brother died of bowel cancer when i was 24. That stopped me in my tracks. I was a mess for a year. I dropped out of mainstream and joined the conservation movement in northern NSW [Australia]. From serving at counter in "green" shop I gradually became more and more involved. Many meetings, letters, protests, chained to dozers, arrests, public speaking, political and media liason. For eight years this consumed my being. D uring this time I discovered both Tao and Buddhism. I gradually came to realise the transcendent nature of both philosophies and they became foundations of my daily and life routines. In1998 I decided to take a break from the movement and to formalise my new self i completed Kalachakra initiation guided by H.H. Dalai Lama. Now I live in Far Nth Queensland at the Daintree. For eight yuears I have been a river guide on the Daintree River. There be Dragons!! Long live the Tao.