Marblehead

She who understands the attributes of life does not strive for what is not doable in life; she who understands the attributes of destiny does not strive for that which is not permitted by destiny. For the nourishment of the physical form, material things are a necessary prerequisite, but sometimes there is a surplus of things yet the physical form goes unnourished. For there to be life, a necessary prerequisite is that it not be separated from the physical form, but there are instances of nonseparation from the physical form yet life is lost. When life comes, it cannot be refused; when life goes, it cannot be stopped. How sad that the people of the world think that nourishing the physical form is sufficient to preserve life! But when it turns out that nourishing the physical form is insufficient for the preservation of life, what in the world can be done that is sufficient? Although doing things is insufficient, one cannot but do them unless one avoids doing altogether. If one wishes to avoid doing things for the physical form, there is no better course than to abandon the world. Once one abandons the world, there are no entanglements. When there are no entanglements, there will be correct equanimity. When there is correct equanimity, one will be born again with that. {{There are countless speculations about the meaning of this simple word (e.g., the creator, physical form, nature, God [Deus], etc.). I prefer to leave it as ambiguous as its Indic cognate tat in the well-known formulation tat tvam asi ("that thou art") from the Chandogya Upanisad (6,8,6) where tat ("that") represents the universal principle (brahman), tvam ("thou") the individual soul (atman), and asi is the verbal identification of the two.}} Having been born again, one is close to it. But why is it sufficient to abandon affairs and to be lax about life? By abandoning affairs, the form is not toiled; by being lax about life, the essence is not diminished. When the form is complete and the essence is restored, you become one with heaven. Heaven and earth are the father and mother of the myriad things. When they join, the body is complete; when they disperse, completion begins anew. When the form and the essence are undiminished, this is called adaptability. With the essence of the essence, you return to become the assistant of heaven.

Zi-sang Hu, Meng Zi-fan, and Zi-qin Zhang, these three men, were friends together. (One of them said), 'Who can associate together without any (thought of) such association, or act together without any (evidence of) such co-operation? Who can mount up into the sky and enjoy himself amidst the mists, disporting beyond the utmost limits (of things), and forgetting all others as if this were living, and would have no end?' The three men looked at one another and laughed, not perceiving the drift of the questions; and they continued to associate together as friends. Suddenly, after a time, Zi-sang Hu died. Before he was buried, Confucius heard of the event, and sent Zi-gong to go and see if he could render any assistance. One of the survivors had composed a ditty, and the other was playing on his lute. Then they sang together in unison, 'Ah! come, Sang Hu! ah! come, Sang Hu! Your being true you've got again, While we, as men, still here remain Ohone!' Zi-gong hastened forward to them, and said, 'I venture to ask whether it be according to the rules to be singing thus in the presence of the corpse?' The two men looked at each other, and laughed, saying, 'What does this man know about the idea that underlies (our) rules?' Zi-gong returned to Confucius, and reported to him, saying, 'What sort of men are those? They had made none of the usual preparations, and treated the body as a thing foreign to them. They were singing in the presence of the corpse, and there was no change in their countenances. I cannot describe them; what sort of men are they?' Confucius replied, 'Those men occupy and enjoy themselves in what is outside the (common) ways (of the world), while I occupy and enjoy myself in what lies within those ways. There is no common ground for those of such different ways; and when I sent you to condole with those men, I was acting stupidly. They, moreover, make man to be the fellow of the Creator, and seek their enjoyment in the formless condition of heaven and earth. They consider life to be an appendage attached, an excrescence annexed to them, and death to be a separation of the appendage and a dispersion of the contents of the excrescence. With these views, how should they know wherein death and life are to be found, or what is first and what is last? They borrow different substances, and pretend that the common form of the body is composed of them. They dismiss the thought of (its inward constituents like) the liver and gall, and (its outward constituents), the ears and eyes. Again and again they end and they begin, having no knowledge of first principles. They occupy themselves ignorantly and vaguely with what (they say) lies outside the dust and dirt (of the world), and seek their enjoyment in the business of doing nothing. How should they confusedly address themselves to the ceremonies practised by the common people, and exhibit themselves as doing so to the ears and eyes of the multitude?' Zi-gong said, 'Yes, but why do you, Master, act according to the (common) ways (of the world)?' The reply was, 'I am in this under the condemning sentence of Heaven. Nevertheless, I will share with you (what I have attained to).' Zi-gong rejoined, 'I venture to ask the method which you pursue;' and Confucius said, 'Fishes breed and grow in the water; man developes in the Dao. Growing in the water, the fishes cleave the pools, and their nourishment is supplied to them. Developing in the Dao, men do nothing, and the enjoyment of their life is secured. Hence it is said, "Fishes forget one another in the rivers and lakes; men forget one another in the arts of the Dao."' Zi-gong said, 'I venture to ask about the man who stands aloof from others.' The reply was, 'He stands aloof from other men, but he is in accord with Heaven! Hence it is said, "The small man of Heaven is the superior man among men; the superior man among men is the small man of Heaven!"'

By nourishing the vital breath, one can preserve the body, even under such extreme conditions as those to which Hindu fakirs subject themselves. Focusing on one's inner being, as opposed to external distractions, brings supreme skill and long-lasting life.

I couldn't find that other thread of Nietzsche so I am starting a new one of his quotes. And the first one is: Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.

Master Chuang was fishing in the P'u River. {{In Shantung province.}} The king of Ch'u dispatched two high-ranking officials to go before him with this message: "I wish to encumber you with the administration of my realm." Without turning around, Master Chuang just kept holding on to his fishing rod and said, "I have heard that in Ch'u there is a sacred tortoise that has already been dead for three thousand years. The king stores it in his ancestral temple inside of a hamper wrapped with cloth. Do you think this tortoise would rather be dead and have its bones preserved as objects of veneration, or be alive and dragging its tail through the mud?" "It would rather be alive and dragging its tail through the mud," said the two officials. "Begone!" said Master Chuang. "I'd rather be dragging my tail in the mud."

Master Leh was on a journey and was having a meal by the side of the road. There he saw a hundred-year-old skull. He pulled away the weeds and pointed at it, saying, "Only you and I know that you have never died and that you have never lived. Are you truly distressed? Am I truly happy?"

I have identified another mated pair of birds that have been feeding at my place (and probably nesting somewhere in the area). My bird-watcher friends might not believe this but they look exactly like Scarlet Rosefinches. Yes, I know, they are supposed to be in Northern Europe area but this pair must have gotten lost or perhaps there is another species that looks exactly like this one.

And let us not forget that it was the peace-loving Democrats who took us to war in Vietnam.

Chapter 11 John Wu THIRTY spokes converge upon a single hub; It is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges. We make a vessel from a lump of clay; It is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful. We make doors and windows for a room; But it is these empty spaces that make the room livable. Thus, while the tangible has advantages, It is the intangible that makes it useful. English/Feng Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub; It is the center hole that makes it useful. Shape clay into a vessel; It is the space within that makes it useful. Cut doors and windows for a room; It is the holes which make it useful. Therefore benefit comes from what is there; Usefulness from what is not there. Robert Henricks 1. Thirty spokes unite in one hub; 2. It is precisely where there is nothing, that we find the usefulness of the wheel. 3. We fire clay and make vessels; 4. It is precisely where there's no substance, that we find the usefulness of clay pots. 5. We chisel out doors and windows; 6. It is precisely in these empty spaces, that we find the usefulness of the room. 7. Therefore, we regard having something as beneficial; 8. But having nothing as useful. Comments?

I am posting the following portion of a PM from Limahong at his request and with his permission: Hi All, Thank you very much for your very kind words. I 'left' TDB in the sense that I had deactivated myself and I had sounded out my last TDB post. I am doing it again ~ differently now... I am still a TDB member but on a silent wu-wei mode. I am definitely going to enjoy myself as a silent spectator at TDB. For instance I am now seeing Daemon in a different delightful light. I am still with TDB in spirit ~ humming this... [Legend : True Love = Love for Taoism, Loch Lomond = TDB] I am taking the low road in search of my "wu-wei 101" - through death and rebirth. Take good care - One + All. - Anand

Hi Myklan. Welcome. Lots of discussions here for you to get involved in. Have fun.

Hi Ben. Welcome.

Hi rkc. Welcome.

For me, spirituality points to my inner essence, my state of mentality regardless of external conditions.

Well, too bad you aren't impressed with my truths regarding this subject. At least I have some truths that I, myself, have verified.

Y'all got to leave. The EU must be broken.

Science also says that bumble bees cannot fly. But they do. Maybe w just don't understand some things in nature?

While that may be true, all other influences are unqualitative. Cannot be verified or nullified. Therefore only reality counts.

One thing that led me to my conclusion was that saying "The Devil made me do it." No, no god or devil causes us thoughts. It is our own mind and that is all. Now true, our mind might be screwed up but it are still our own thoughts.

Keep in mind, I'm not average.

Excellent comments. I am in total agreement with you. (We are responsible for all our thoughts, words, and deeds.)