devoid
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Hi Ya Mu, I think you have a very valid point: I fully agree with you that blaming people or suggesting that people blame themselves for their ill luck is a vice. Yet, at the end of the day, critical self evaluation is not necessarily the same as self-pity and blaming oneself. The poster suggested pretty clearly that she was not ready to accept the doctor's medicine and wanted to try something else - I read the responses to this thread as suggestions for some tools for self evaluation, but I can also see how they can be misunderstood as manuals in self-blame. This is an important distinction.
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Nice posts and viewpoints. Thanks everybody
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Hi Makyea, Manitou, Manitou, I would like to commend you on an excellent post. Makyea, if what Manitou said speaks to you, I can recommend a book I read lately: Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss. In the book the author speaks of similar and other conditions where she managed to "inspire people out of it". Through examples and by relating certain issues and feelings to each other she inspires the reader to search their own self and intuition for what they need for their own healing. I wish you lots of happiness and all the best in your journey of getting to the bottom of your issues.
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Hi wan qiang, I think Harmonious Emptiness posted some very good pointers. Additionally, I would recommend reading the book Qigong Empowerment by Liang, Shou-Yu and Wu, Wen-Cheng. It is really a book of five books covering medical qigong, taoist qigong, tantric buddhist qigong, healing and iron shirt qigong. Keep in mind that qi is not qi. Hmmm, so what does that mean? That the meaning of the word qi depends entirely on the context - sometimes it means energy, sometimes it means genetics, sometimes it means breath, sometimes it means healing (thought / intentional) energy - it can have many other meanings as well. Just remember that no matter how high a level of "qi mastery" that some people may convince you they possess, we are all still bound by the natural laws in this physical realm. Stop reading and start laughing if you read about people defying gravity or moving objects using Star Wars-like mind tricks - as appealing as it may be, those are stories and special effects - and there are many combined charlatans and magicians out there who would love your dollar. I wish you all the best in your studies. Feel free to pm me with questions along the way.
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Good question: Probably the spell-checker is a sage who read chapter 49
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Hi Arab, No, we don't need external teachings. Yet, if we shun them, we will be forced to reinvent the wheel on our own. My personal preference is to learn and receive inspiration, but a hermit seeks the solitude to reach his own conclusions. At the end of the day, the choice is yours. And, in any case, remember that you are your own master. I wish you all the best.
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Very nice insight, Marblehead and Twinner. Twinner, I especially like your angle: A person is not per se inherently good or bad, but a complex being and as such will have good / virtuous AND less bad / less virtuous sides. Marblehead: I agree with the non-judgement, yet I observe that of course one needs to evaluate an action (or inaction) to know what is virtuous. Thus, elements of the process of judging must somehow be in there, yet the last step of passing judgement is left out. Thanks
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Hi Marblehead, Thanks for posting this. I still have something to say about this as I had been holding back in the previous discussion which started off on an odd premise suggesting that the sage was not a sage To me, this chapter is about integrity - it is about the ideal of being and acting as the role model we think others should follow rather than sinking to the level of those who obviously don't know better. I should add on a personal note that this advice is not always easy to follow Edit: typo
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TTC 49: the sage has borderline personality disorder?
devoid replied to Everything's topic in General Discussion
Hi Everything, I don't see anything resembling a personality disorder. To me, this says that the sage doesn't do prejudice, but simply (continues) to act through example, as a role model (even if others don't). I can think many great human rights struggling leaders who fit this category: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. immediately spring to mind. -
Thanks for starting the thread and providing the translations. IMO the part about doing nothing leading to nothing undone is too often misunderstood as a call for inaction. This is a great vice because whereas doing nothing surely implies that no consequences will ensue of the action not taken it is not the same as to say that no action should be preferable to action. Very elegant in the formulation across the translations - and (I suppose) in the chinese originals as well
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IMO Taoism is a matter of philosophy rather than one of faith. Sure, by practicing it one gains experience and insights, and this in turn helps shape ones opinions. Yet, this has very little to do with faith as in organized religion. (unless, of course, for those who treat Taoism as a religion rather than as a methoed of observing, questioning and drawing conclusions on the Way).
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Hi Friends, I was wondering if Sun Lu Tang's books in Chinese are available online and if so, where one might find them? If any of you know of this, I would greatly appreciate to hear from you. Thank you.
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Hi wan qiang, There are many castles in the sky. If I remember correctly, John Chang could survive any type of car crash at will and dodge bullets by 'catching them with stomach'. If you want to learn about "taoist alchemy" there are many books out there. Don't get me wrong: meditating is a great thing and I do it too, but there are better sources of inspiration than the Magus of Java. I just want to warn you that you're currently on a wild goose chase. Maybe, if you could let people know what you are hoping to achieve you will receive more useful pointers. Just a thought and piece of advice that you might find useful even though it didn't answer your question.
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I don't know Jenny Lamb's variant, but I would be surprised if it is not as great as the next one. As you quote her saying: What's important is to stick to one and do it until you can to it while sleepwalking. After you have learned one to this extent, try the next variant or new system. Also, you should seek criticism on how your doing a form compares to how it should be done. Make sure that you get every detail right - chances are that you think you do, but you overlooked a couple of things... NB Being good at qigong or tai chi does not necessarily make you a better taoist. Happy training.
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Are we actually better off today, because of technology?
devoid replied to strawdog65's topic in General Discussion
With the word 'labor' I meant childbirth - not work... Here's an example of a charity that helps women who barely survived it in the developing world and who suffer tremendously as a result of not having technology available to during labor (i.e. childbirth): http://www.fistulafoundation.org/ Also, w.r.t. eating rice, etc. as opposed to meat does ensure against the animals in question from suffering. So, we could all eat mushrooms instead collected from the forest. Sure, but you can't feed 5-7 billion people forest mushrooms - even if there had never been any deforestation. Finally, the liver thing is indeed my own - turns out my great grandmother died from the same thing in her mid-forties - the root of it turns out to be a milk allergy that causes internal clogging of the bile system. Be well.
