zerostao

if i were in a mood to go into neoplatonist, is that right? i would explore marsilio ficino, cosimo and lorenzo medicci, and certainly Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

everytime i mention van gogh it quickly leads to trouble ! i am going to stick to the renaissance era

http://10awesome.com/tilt-shift-van-gogh/ http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery-recogn.htm

it is cool that seeing things thru your lens/filters/experiences/bias is working for you. we each have different lens/experiences/bias/and filters, no?

i can drink cold even iced coffee and room temperature guiness. the first guiness i ever drank tasted like cold coffee to me but as i finished that first pitcher i had gained an appreciation..this is no cold coffee!? ever since i heard that jack white stripes do his cover of jolene, i found he covered this next song too, even eric burden , steve earle, frazey ford? nice organ, robert plant ! maybe i like his cover best? from the desire album was the first time i ever heard it, i like this verson tho those little glass jars of cold starbucks are kinda cool and i reuse them to store other herb concoctions, dit da jow, all kinds of uses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRucZQSZMY

@mantis, curious to hear your views on soren when you get the chance. the last 2 books i am reading/will read b4 the semester starts monday eve, is To Move the World by jeffrey sachs and Who Am I by pete townsend

marblehead, they have not had the benefit of seeing the sparkling twinkle in your eyes.

i do agree that is it highly desirable to be well versed in a philosophy--and that it is highly desirable to join the philosophy to a physical practice like tai chi chuan. so, i am agreeing with you that studying the ttc and practicing taiji together makes wonderful sense. personally i see even greater benefit from playing taiji or pa kua and studying the I Ching. from my experience it was when i went deeper into meditation and deeper into the I Ching when my taiji and pa kua became very different. i can even say that studying hegel has helped my taiji and pa kua. Taoism is not a collection of verses in a book.

it doesnt matter does it? if it is a prophet or a shaman or a rishi or a poet or an Artist or any other flavor of seer(philosopher or scientist) that sees the vision and is able to abstract and translate it for the rest of us. they are all in the same bizness, are they not? everything is viewed thru the lens of their time and just ahead. all of it filtered thru their understandings of the science and philosophies of their own times. was it a scientist or a poet or an artist that first spoke in amazement of the visible celestial spheres and their movements thru the night sky---that area of the cosmos that held unspeakable mystery and some brilliant dazzling foreboding dark light. which is the greater work of art--the statue of david or the creation of taiji or the clovis point or the medicine wheel-- hard to answer , right? is there a difference in going into the cathedral of milan for the art or for the religion? going to the museum of science and technology is the same as going to an art museum is the same as going to a temple. i go out into nature http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bellini-and-titians-the-feast-of-the-gods.html

had your coffee already?! hehehe

are the roots of taoist philosophy taoism?

connecting to wuji

Tin Yat Taoist, again let me thank you for your understanding and your patience. i have confirmed that you are indeed a student of Mak Jo Si. i look forward to an informative thread here. i will start things off, when did Tin Yat sect begin and what does Tin Yat mean?

all members here are subject to the ToS please read those if you have not already. respect is a 2 way street. i do not expect members here to insult you and vice versa

Tin Yat Taoist, thank you for your patience waiting in the lobby while we confirmed that you are indeed a student of Tin Yat sect and a student of Mak Tin Si good luck and i hope your visit/stay here is good/enjoyable thank you for answering questions that some members here may have about your school and your practices we are aware of the drama, that has nothing to do with the tao bums, i hope it is not your intention to take the conversation in that direction

"Taoism teaches us that we don't have to believe something just because we've been told it is so. Also there are (literally) thousands of different sects of Taoism, and not all are strictly Taoist in practice, some are heavily influenced by Ch'an, others by Confucianism, others by traditional Chinese practices, and others by all of these combined. I wouldn't tell them they aren't Taoists if they came here and said something that wasn't taught in the Tao Te Ching or Chuang Tzu, but I would mention that it isn't what Lao Tzu or Chuang Tzu taught." aaron, well said. i havnt studied any ch'an and if what effi has presented on this thread is ch'an, then i do have some resonance with it. another thread i had a couple of years ago , simple jack and ct said in was ch'an like too. where does the influence come from then? i am thinking from my experience. "A lot of people come here and read these threads to learn more about a specific philosophy," yes aaron they do and for those folks i hope they find their way to the ttc and chaung tzu sections. alot of other folks come here without seeking a philosophy, they come seeking taoism. not all taoists are scholarly philosophers. i used to read ttc and chuang tzu and enjoyed and pondered, i have since put the philosophy away and am experiencing taoisim instead of reading it in a book. from my pov taoism philosophy is excellent to ponder upon and debate the different translators and all and we even have sections here specifically for that exact thing. if this had have been posted in the ttc section or the chaung tzu section, i could understand some of you philosophic purists replying like you have. but imo you have taken this off topic the title itself >>everything is illusion, altho i agree with it in the context that effi presented it, it is a little bit of a loaded statement. lets get past that part

hehehe, thanks for clarifying anywho, i am fine with however the local steward chooses to go here, me and my stick with withdraw

marblehead, you are the taoist section steward, i think you have powers to move this thread or at least to bring that up for discussion the steward haven, or you could go with the buddhist concept of wu wei and let it sort itself out on its own.or however you , as steward might think is best? i really wasnt confused until it was pointed out to me that i must be...

aaron , you take the position that only lao tzu is taoist all else is not?

rene, you dont see wu wei, naturalness, stillness, original nature, meditation as taoist concepts? i will not speak to the spiritual part of the op, but i am a spiritual taoist. i see chuang tzu influence thru the post., you dont?

nice post effi, again you have impressed me this is the type of dialogue that i can resonate with. from my view it shares some nice taoist concepts in crystal lucidity and it cuts thru the chase

his term of petty fuhrers, i have always called little hitlers, his label sounds more academically sound. if I think the world tendency is towards Fascism, here is the general indifference to the decay of democracy.

so nothern california and oregon should quit squandering their water on the southern california desert? just kidding, kinda growing grass is good for rebuilding soil but if its gonna have pesticides and heavy fertilizers added then there is no benefit gained. i do agree sunny southern california needs to being going solar

maybe he wants to be a 'struggling artist' on a spiritual quest? i just hope he doesnt cut his own ear off........or drink absinthe