Erdrickgr

In chapter 35 of the Dao De Jing we find this passage: "She who follows the way of the Tao will draw the world to her steps. She can go without fear of being injured, because she has found peace and tranquility in her heart. Where there is music and good food, people will stop to enjoy it. But words spoken of the Tao seem to them boring and stale. When looked at, there is nothing for them to see. When listened for, there is nothing for them to hear. Yet if they put it to use, it would never be exhausted." That is from the McDonald translation, which I picked at random from an online site, but other translations seem to say essentially the same. However, in a text by Zhuangzi, titled "The Main Currents of Thought" (Lin Yutang, The Wisdom of Laotze, pp. 23-37), we find this: "The Ascetics, the followers of Mo Ti (or Motse). Some of the teachings of hte ancients lay in this: not to strive for posthumous fame, not to waste the things of the earth, not to be dazzled by laws and institutions, but to be severe with oneself and hold ready to help others in need. Mo Ti and CH'in Huali heard of these teachings and loved them. (They) tended to overdo it, regarding it as a great satisfaction. (Motse) wrote the essay 'Against Music,' and taught: 'Be thrifty. Do not sing in life, and do not morn in death."... He would not accept (the tradition of) the ancient kings, and wanted to destroy the ceremonies and music of the ancients, such as the Hsiench'ih (name of the sacrificial music)... Motse taught that one should not sing in life and should not mourn in death... However, what kind of a teaching is this, when one must not sing when he wants to sing, must not weep when he wants to weep, and must not enjoy music when he is feeling happy? It causes a man to live strenuously and die cheaply, and must be considered too severe." (p. 27) Do the two need to be reconciled, and if so, how should that happen? Are these passages just looking at things from different perspectives, with the first passage cautioning not to get caught up in sensual pleasures which are fleeting, while the second passage is saying that it's healthy and natural to do things like sing when you feel like singing (even if it is only a temporary happiness)?

Mine is just from Google--the only one I've posted so far anyway. It's an Orthodox monastery in Greece. Here's another random one from the net...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpavSXoAPC0

*Bump* Yep, I'm interested, anyway Also, regarding what was said earlier about pronouncing Taoist with a T, fwiw while I've never heard anyone pronounce it that way, I do have a book in front of me where they recommend that pronunciation... "Taoist - It is convenient to pronounce the first syllable as tow in towel (instead of dow), following the accepted anglicized pronunciation of the word." - (Ed. by Lin Yutang, The Wisdom of Laotse, p. v) They don't say to pronounce Tao with a T sound, but rather with a D sound.

I rarely read fiction, but being a fan of the Dragon Age: Origins game I did read the two prequel books (The Stolen Throne and The Calling) and enjoyed them. I read LOTR several times when I was younger, but haven't read it in probably 15 years.

Underoath - I'm Content With Losing

Corrosion of Conformity - Fuel

I don't know whether it works or not, but here are some red flags that I see upon a very brief glance at the webpage: - Claims to impart knowledge that others don't want you to know - Claims to be "UNBEATABLE in the streets" - Further claims that it is unbeatable regardless of age or fitness level - Makes outlandish claims, such as: "If you'd like to know how even someone who is slow, out-of-shape and has zero self defense experience can, in one hour or less, know more about surviving brutal street attacks than most black belt karate masters... then this letter will show you how." - Claims that the system does not require any practice and that everything can be learned in a few hours, and will thereafter be "'locked in' your mind, your neurology and even your muscle fibers forever"

Nice

Many claims of "healing" are fraudulant, so I wish the government would do more about it. Even "healers" like Peter Popoff, who have been publically debunked and exposed for the frauds that they are, are still around making money off people.

I've lived in the state of Pennsylvania in the US most of my life (except a brief time in Florida).

Based on what I've read, I would say that this is accurate. The Bible mentions lesbianism once (Rom. 1:26-27), while the majority of passages mention only men (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9). Also, I remember reading in Eve Levin's scholarly work Sex and Society in the World of the Orthodox Slavs, 900-1700 that lesbianism was treated as a sin, but a much lighter sin, than male homosexuality (provided, of course, that the lesbianism didn't result in breaking of a virgin's hymen). As to women in Taoism, I am much too new to it to express any opinion myself, though I will say that I've read that women weren't always treated exactly as equals. I guess just read around and see what you find.

I think it is normally justified, though sometimes the police and security people go too far. I remember reading a story a year or two ago about a guy who got tasered while holding a baby. That one really threw me for a loop. How do you taser someone holding a freakin baby!? Obviously sometimes people do act without thinking, and it can have tragic results. At the same time, like Marblehead said, I'd rather have them pull out a taser on someone than a gun and end up killing even more people because they overreacted. I mean, if these guys are gonna overreact a certain percentage of the time, I'd rather have them do it with a weapon that usually isn't lethal. But certainly some of the people who are using these weapons do need to practice more self-control. EDIT--I found the story about the man holding the newborn.