baiqi
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Everything posted by baiqi
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Bodyguard. That was the job of many IMA artists. Those interested by the fighting aspect of their arts, obviously. Apart from that, I agree, it is better to do a physical job, but some factory jobs are too repetitive and can have a bad influence on the body/mind. I believe working in a farm would be better: you are closer to nature, and therefore the Tao. But some farms are quite like factories now... Anyway, IMA are good for any job. Even unemployement.
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Yamu, I was not talking to you in particular. Sorry if you felt offended by my post. I was more thinking of some "spiritual teachers" implying the fact that eating meat could free animals from their inferior condition (yes I have heard that!) , or those who advocate "naturalness" while living in an urban area. Those are, I repeat, bullshit and false excuses. I do understand, however, that some people find hard to become/ remain vegetarian. You don't easily chage eating habits. You also have social pressure. So, yes, in some cases, people need to eat meat. But this should just be a stage. Just like if you want to climb a mountain, you may need to go down for a while in order to avoid some obstacles. But your goal is the top, not the bottom.
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Meat doesn't help spiritualy at all, any "spiritual teacher" saying otherwise is bullshit to me. That does not mean you necesserily need to become vegetarian to be spiritual ( honestly most of people can reduce their meat consumption A LOT), but at least you must not try to find false excuses. Tibetans are buddhists but eat meat anyway... why? Very simple: look at the place they live! I would eat meat without hesitation if I was living there. Same thing for Inuits, people of the deserts and so on. Now, if you live in an industrialised society, do you really need to do so? Especially now when you have all the ressources (information and food) to become easily vegetarian? Pork... I don't see why more pig than another animal. Maybe for some energy-stuff reason...In taoism, cow is the first animal one should not eat.
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No: there is no such thing as a shamanistic treatise.
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Taoist Temple Forcibly Demolished, Henan Province, China
baiqi replied to Stigweard's topic in Daoist Discussion
As far as I know, this could not happen in some European countries, such as France: any building that is a bit old is protected. Needless to say, China has a completely different policy on the matter. -
Taoist Temple Forcibly Demolished, Henan Province, China
baiqi replied to Stigweard's topic in Daoist Discussion
By the way, this is Song Shan, the same mountain as the Shaolin Temple, right? -
Taoist Temple Forcibly Demolished, Henan Province, China
baiqi replied to Stigweard's topic in Daoist Discussion
F*** that. You make my day start in a bad mood. I am not such a fan of "building temples everywhere". I'm saying that because I have met many taoist priests who gave me the feeling that they cared more about building temples than about internal alchemy. However, I understand their point, given such events... Of course they should keep their temples, and not just the temples anyway: old buildings in general, or even (and probably more important) the farmer's lands! I have kinda given hope about China for that. -
It is a mythical thing (don't say animal) that exists in all culttures (I know of...) anyway. It is a very powerful archetype, and therefore it has its own existence in non-physical realms.
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Yep, some Taoism was anarchist. Kang Xi, one of the "seven bamboo sages" wrote some essay called "why Kings and Nobles are a nuisance to the people" (not sure of the exact title, but that's the idea). The guy ended executed, quite obviously...
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ζ θͺηδΊΊ originally was a Taoist then became a Buddhist Hey, just like θε, anyway!
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One advice: go to see some muslims, you'll LOVE christians after that! Seriously, please do not confuse the religious ideology with the people. There are lots of wrong in christianity (and Islam too, by the way), but it does not always mean these people are bad.
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:)thanks
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It's been a long time I have been waiting for this! Ladies and gentlemen, let me dintroduce you to the first international Zhan Zhuang World Cup :ph34r: Rules: - any posture, but no moving. (Holding the pole is the usual standard, it depends on the candidate, and if the others agree.) - only micromovements, led by qi are allowed, other movements disqualify the candidate. - the structure must be absolutely aligned (our referees can check this at all times), qi must circulate freely - no doping allowed. The one who stands the longest/or first obtain illumination (this will be checked by our spiritual experts) wins. Incredible show, much better than the superbowl!!!
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I love Bagua Zhang, all "styles", although there are some I like more than the others. Liu Jingru's bagua looks very nice, but, IMO, too many movements, too many low stances (which isn't a bad thing in itself). It seems good for health and fitness, I have some doubts about the martial aspects. Depends what you're looking for...
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Gerard, that is a great post, which is relevant with my own experience. About alcohol: with my practice, I did also begin to feel the chi of this and that kind of food. It made me stop eating meat completely, also made me realise some food I love aren't that good for circulation (cheese is a very good example. Still eating it, though I know it's bad for health! I feel like I'm an addict! ) As for alcohol, I feel the differences between different kind of acoholic drinks: - red wine is the best, by far. It improves the circulation. - liquors are generally to be avoided, though it may be ok if you drink just a little. - beer: I was originally a beer drinker, I am reducing it more and more. I realized it makes the chi stagnate. There are however somme differences according to the quality of beer you drink. In Europe, especially Belgium, some beers are brewed by christian monks. "Strangely", these beers seem to have a much better effect than the others. Oh, and of course, one should drink moderately. I disagree however with those who say alcohol is a poison. Any poison depends on the quantity. Even water can be a poison.
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I like metal too... Never heard of any taoist of China hearing this kind of music though. Never asked. Anyway, I see art (including music) as the door for the emotional (the Chinese xin). So I realise what you hear is important; it does influence people. I always condidered metal as a catharsis, a way of releasing negative emotions, especially anger (depends also on which metal genre, I personally listen to power metal mainly. Machine head, Pantera, that kind of stuff. Gojira is good too;)) However, I also notice that one should be careful: sometimes it raises bad things. It can have a bad influence for some people. Or even on me, if I hear some at the wrong time. Of course during meditation, it is not great... The more I grow, the more I try to listen less to metal. I'm no teenager anymore. I try to balance with more relaxing, even "sacred" music. Not that I don't like metal anymore, it's just me trying to change, listening to music related to my practice somehow. I also try to avoid hateful metal. It can be aggressive, may be okay in some ways, but some lyrics are just spreading hate, including some of the bands I like.
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The way I practice is a bit different: Inhale, qi goes down from Tiantu to the lower dantian, exhale,it crosses the Huiyin point and goes to the first vertebrae. Inhale, goes through the back until the last vertebrae. Exhale, it goes around the skull and goes down to Tiantu (throat) I don't believe there is a better version than another, just like in other meditation techniques; should the right hand be on the left or the opposite... Besides, I think all these kinds of "small circulation qi gongs" are okay, but limite somehow. You just don't open channels on by this kind of method. It can provide a good basis for more advanced stages anyway.
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@ informer, please inform me I don't quite understand the second picture (whereas the first one is quite common). What are "transitional" chakra colours, and where did you get these pictures. Thx in advance.
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Very good point ATMA. But, are you drained because you are sad, or sad because you are drained? I think all emotions are draining to some extent. Only when you have reach neutrality of emotions, you can get your full potential of energy. The question is: how to achieve that, or get closer to it?
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The 2 year old girl issue is more complicated than just because of the rulers, it's history; people almost have a fear to help others. Yes, and...no First, they don't ALMOST fear to help others, they are DEFINITLY scared to death to do so!! It is a complex thing, I agree, but their political system does encourage this type of attitude. Explaining why here is a little bit hard. At Twinner: you may be right, but in my case, China isn't a faraway country anymore. I know other coountries are worse, and we don't seem to bother so much, but... I lived there, part of my family is there, and many things litteraly made me sick. Hard to let them go...
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Monks and Priests have the easiest life on Earth?
baiqi replied to tulku's topic in General Discussion
I will ask the next monk I see... If they made the choice carefully, I think it can be one of the best lifestyles. Otherwise, may be very boring... Really depends on the person IMO -
Very interesting article, thank you very much. This is one of the reason I did not want to become a Daoshi (could have been!): I do not want any connection with the CCP, even by far. Those people (the CCP, not the taoists) are a shame to Taoism, religious or not. Taoism is about freedom and compassion, following nature. These concepts are completly unknown by the Chinese governmnent. The incident with the 2 year old girl in Foshan is a consequence of their ruling, in my opinion. I'm happy Taoism gets more important in China, but I'm also happy it grows out of control systems. Even it may be a bit chaotic.
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Yes, baguazhang rocks, not just as a martial art, but also as a healing art. I would also add it rocks as a spiritual art. It is all of these, depending on what you put your effort into. It is definitely my favorite martial art. Very happy to hear you recovered from your sickness with it. The oldest (known) guy living in China is a baguazhang man. His name is Lu Zijian, lives in Chongqing, and is a martial arts legend. He's 120 or something. I mish to see more people turning in circles!
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Finding difficulty understanding "Religious" Taoism.
baiqi replied to Nihro's topic in Daoist Discussion
Although I am not a "religious" taoist, I beg to differ: there are some things to save in religious toism (Dao Jiao) More precisely, I have met some Daoshi who are the very embodiment of the philosophy, and I thought "oh, their stuff does work". That does not mean YOU should become a priest. Especially if you don't feel confortable. The thing is, I was living in China, so I had occasion to talk to Taoists. Some were just normal guys, others frauds, and a few were what I expected: people living in the flow of the Tao. (No, I won't explain more! ) But you have to understand that Daojiao, contrary to Daojia (philosophy), is very "cultural": the Daode Jing is very universal. Daojiao is very Chinese. It is not bad, but very few westerners can enter this easily. Buddhism tries to be more universal, in comparison. But the Taoist don't give a damn about preaching. I also first thought "it's not daoism": but it is, in it's own way. The Daoshi know the DDJ very well, and some really apply it in their lives. It also depends on which branch we talk about. For example, I believe that the Quanzhen branch is closer to Daojia than the Tianshi, who are too much into exorcisms, and all the like. (I have met some nice Tianshi anyway, just not my stuff) I understand your fear of religion, I hated it for a while because of what religious organisations turned it into. But again there are (a few)good things in christianity. Also, even if the Daojiao added lots of stuff in the philosophy, even if politics tried to influence it, it never was as bad as chrisitanity. Never heard of a Taoist inquisition for example.(Whereas you can find it in Tibetan Buddhism for example) Let's say, for a religion it's not that bad. But as for you, you don't need to artificially try to be a Daoshi. You may just try to follow your path, and respect other people's beliefs, even if they seem weird to you. In the end, it's all a matter of Yuan Fen (destiny) -
I personnaly prefer Henrick's translation: I don't see the word "happy" in the first two verses, although the idea of simplicity is linked to happiness in Daoism (which I agree with of course!). However this is an "over-translation" to me. As for the Feng translation: "goodness becomes witchcraft" is simply a misunderstanding. Well, it can be understood, since ε¦ is a word used for withcraft sometimes. Hoever, it is also used for "monster". Here, it seems better to me to say "goodness becomes monstruous" or something like that. Basically everything becomes it's opposite, including "good" and "evil". Of course Sifu Roy is right: the "kingdom" can be the individual, this is very common in Chinese thinking, especially Daoism.
