dawei

My sense is more about the spirit/origin/way... than energetics alone. It seems to me that women are much closer to the spiritual source; which comes about by a cosmic birth. This life may be easier but the transition to the other half/ or next / may not...

Close behind this is Tai Ji... either one will require a lifetime commitment... and along the way, you can only wonder... WTF am I doing after all these years... The point of my comments is that the 'practice' is closer to a smoke screen... the Path is what matter. It is easy to see one stuck in the former as they always want to talk from it... when integrated into the latter... well, that is a different thing...

Traditions forever live on... they are updated...

Yes... even Laozi relates this relationship. Worth repeating... but one should realize these are easy dead-end practices. Qigong - do this if you want some good health benefits... but the gym may be the same result for many. Do what your lead to do... but don't let a sense of duty or practice be your master. Neigong - don't do this unless this is your destiny... otherwise, you're wasting your time and maybe your body.

Most anciently, Di is a "celestial Thearch resident at the pole" [1] Oracle bone divination was astronomy-driven... the "Di-sacrifice" was to the celestial gods. The 'highest god' was Tai Yi... but that is another thread. This was a joke...elephant god/Ganesha [1] Link

Hendrick's breaks down part A further, as you did... but at some point, one breaks it down into no relationships at all... So one has to simply go with something thematic... or not. IMO, I never worry or think about any thematic aspect to the GD.

A belated but well deserved nod to Stig's pointing out the importance of Water within the characters... Thomas Michael's The Pristine Dao: In two closely related passages from the Zhuangzi and the Liezi, the watery environment preceding the formation of the world is given a more complete depiction. The Zhuangzi passage is especially noteworthy not only in that it regards these watery worlds as in some sense cosmologically prior to the formation of Heaven and Earth, but also because it makes clear that these prior realms continue to be accessible to certain human beings. To gain access to these realms allows one to attain a physiological experience of the pristine Dao. . . . The Zhuangzi appears to be partial in its descriptions of the Nine Abysses; only three are there presented. The same story is given in a very slightly altered form in the Huangdi chapter of the Liezi; the only significant difference between the two versions is that the Liezi enumerates all Nine Abysses. A gathering of whirlpools forms an abyss, a gathering of still waters forms an abyss, a gathering of flowing water forms an abyss, a gathering of flood waters forms an abyss, a gathering of irrigation waters forms an abyss, a gathering of cavern springs forms an abyss, a gathering of returning waters forms an abyss, a gathering of marsh waters forms an abyss, a gathering of collected waters forms an abyss. These are the Nine Abysses. The addition of the six abysses not named in the Zhuangzi serves to fill out the complete description of the cosmogonic environment. The generative potency of these waters is constantly underscored as the vital and material potentiality in the generation of all life, the qi as the breath of the cosmic Dao. These early Daoist writings demonstrate a sustained effort to control discursively the periods preceding the formation of Heaven and Earth. Instead of a murky, watery chaos that roughly describes the beginnings of the world, these writings present specific representations together with designations of, for example, nine watery abysses. These depictions characterize cosmogonic origins in specific ways that have deep ramifications for how human beings are to understand and manage the manifest world. They express a rejection of traditional notions of hierarchy and the current systems of value and structures of social practice. The world envisioned by the early Daoists writers is ultimately resolved in a fundamental unity, rather than in fundamental structures of hierarchical dualisms. The detailed descriptions of the watery abysses play a definite and necessary part in their cosmogonies, which strive to bring out into clear light the relationship between the pristine Dao and the manifest world of human existence. This posited relationship keeps open the possibility of soteriological reversion to a direct identification with that Dao through physical embodiment. This route from here to there leads through the realms of the watery abysses as the pure potentiality standing between the Dao and the world. There are further important connections between these passages from Zhuangzi and those earlier cited from Laozi 4. Three important terms are shared by both, namely “overflow” (chong), “abyss” (yuan), and Early Daoism and Cosmogony “ancestor” (zong). Both sets of passages envision the Dao in its relation with water, and, at the same time, affirm that through this waterlike quality the Dao is able to give life. The Laozi writes that “the Dao overflows” (dao chong), while the Zhuangzi passage names the watery realm as the “Supreme Overflow” (tai chong). The watery environment in both passages is described as an abyss (yuan), and the Zhuangzi further cites nine of them. Finally, the Laozi says that “the Dao is the ancestor of the ten thousand things,” while the Zhuangzi passage, describing the unity of Huzi and the Dao, says, “I revealed to him what it was like before I had emerged from my ancestor.” Without delving into the issue of textual borrowing, it is nonetheless clear that both are calling upon the self-same body of technical vocabulary and general images specifically identified with early Daoist discourse. Both, furthermore, present alternative, even subversive, perspectives on human origins by discarding commonsense notions of human lineage, seen in their unexpected use of the term “ancestor,” that lie at the core of both the Confucian and the ancestral ideology current in early China.

I think this is a good thematic breakdown... except GD-C codex should exclude Tai Yi Sheng Shui, which is cosmological.

I was simply using another's gloss on the character... I did not have any other character exactly in mind. I added comments above.

If he was a tutor, then he was responsible to teach from a library of books... I would assume a library of someone's choosing... but this is mostly speculation as nobody really knows the answer. 賽丌兌 - Realize/Rest in the release of thoughts and emotions (ties to first line) As mentioned in Hendrick's GD, some suggested 賽 should be another character to mean Realize/Rest in; Another reference I found has 兌 as dispersion or dissipation. I am not sure I agree with it, but I can find where such an idea would come from. BTW: Defensive, walled settlements do go back to neolithic times... but the 'great wall' proper was not begun till the Qin unification (221bc)... and that was just a small start...

I'll comment on the first two lines alone: 閟丌門 = hidden or closed gates... but what gates? It is used in the Shijing to mean a closed off temple [doing its thing]... what do temples do when closed off? purification 賽丌兌 - Realize/Rest in the release of thoughts and emotions (ties to first line)

Good question and point... there are many threads which connect on some deeper level (I think TT suggested as much). The 'why' has been asked since the discovery... why did this tutor (if that is what he was) have just these chapters? As a bookish guy (sorry, I assume a man), he had many philosophical works. As he did not have the entire Confucian canon (but did have quite a few), he did not have anything daoist beyond the LZ and TYSS. IMO, it is best to just accept this was his 'collection'. I have my own collection of works as well. I think some will not really connect to the deepest parts of the chapters where neigong exists. They are there but not everyone will 'see' it. It seems from the start, there are changes... and by the time Wang Bi gets it, he transforms lot of ideas about Dao... Young and brilliant, but he was a Confucian... lest we forget. I trust Wang Bi the least. I think we should just trash the received version... but that is me.

Excellent point... whether I am working on another person or doing energy exchange with something, permission is important. The way I do is to 'smile as one with the other'... your energy will let you know if there is some objection or reason to stop. Right... one way is to use your hand to 'scan' around the tree; sideways, high/low, etc. With a person, this is also very informative towards reading a person and exchanging... just scan a person slowly (after permissions!)

Take a snapshot in any moment in time of you... happy, sad, upset, angry, etc... the baby will see it. They take note but let it pass within milliseconds... At an airport... is that everyday life experience? It is part of the whole experience. Let's not create some form of utopia for babies... they can more easily view and accept it all... than you and me... they are ahead of the curve

Another recently said to me that the "local mind.body" can be infinite and the greatest trap we'll never see we set day after day... some paraphrasing Yet, from birth, this is where everyone starts... trapped by our nurturing/culture/learning/seeking/ .... Most try to self-transform via the internal methods; change the mind, thought, desires... deep breathing... and post the mantra of 'cultivate'... My path has never understood this Way... this seems an never-ending attempt to get somewhere... to seek... to try to attain... The internal methods exist and there is an arduous path ahead... but in the end, it is the local mind.body in control. I find the external methods are natural and direct to the source. Maybe this is another topic but your posts have made me think about this...

Oak Tree just means a 'hard wood' tree... there are soft wood trees and then softer... and bushes... etc. Each level has its own Qi feeling. The harder wood, the bigger, the better... You can still experiment the feeling with any tree and size. Energy exchange: Hard to explain in posts. With a partner, let palms face each other and focus on each other's heart. Hands slightly outward in inhale (both partners) and slightly inward on exhale (never touching). This is the same with the Qi ball: Stand with legs shoulder width; empty downward several times... like rain drops falling over your body or oil dripping.. let it take 2-4 minutes to sink you into the ground. Hands in front about 6 inches apart... on inhale spread hands on exhale bring them closer... focus on the area in-between... create an energy field between your hands. For the record... at least 5,000 years of human existence has documented proof of this... you can get what you need to understand from the environment; you will feel it quickly, even as a beginner. You don't need determination as much as an open awareness of the universe. If you enjoy it, then you will naturally return to it; not from duty of practice but from a 'call from the distant past'. This is what will separate you from some advice here: Duty or Destiny... You should follow the latter. The above is beginner advice from me... You and the universe. If you get too caught up in 'nothing else works', then your closed minded approach will shut down on you... We're talking the universe here, not the trappings of the local mind/body.

Even once in a while the dirtiest person should take a shower

IMO, meditation is over-rated in regards to some Qi work... I only use it in very selective situations. Like after an intense 2 hour energy exchange, you can lay down and meditate and the energy will feel like it is lifting you off the ground as it runs head to toe. if you do tree hugging, then just take a walk and exchange with the world around you. I am thinking beginner... get the feeling of energy exchange with life around you. Feel it between you and your partner or friend... or create a "Qi Ball" with your hands. If you can find a Qigong class, then check it out.

Sorry... typo. BIG oak tree.. the bigger the more Qi. Compare trees... Try a Palm tree... so little energy... Relative comparison is also eye opening. BTW: You may see pictures of folks actually hugging (ie: touching) the tree... better to let the distance do the work... JMO.

Look at the stories of the ancient men who 'attained dao'... they had female masters in many cases. And females are said to have 'attained dao' in the same ancient texts listing men. I think, like some others, your too caught up in the idea of 'cultivation' which is mostly internal... one can also cultivate at a gym like planet fitness... and get better results. The main issue is one's connection beyond life itself. Gender is moot.

Qi is everywhere around you and stored in material, and in the universe. It is that which empowers all things. As such, we can feel it internally and externally, and in other things. IMO, the best way for someone new to feel Qi is in an energy exchange environment. With another person or something which holds Qi. In the latter case, a bit oak tree should do Before dealing with Qi ? Be expansive like the sky; radiant like the sun; vast like the ocean. And then let them merge and forget any distinction of everything. (even if you just think it, that is enough). Now... go hug a tree (but no touching is needed)

One has to look at the deities of the five viscera in The Central Scriptures of Laozi... and compare that to the central theme of the 'red child' ... and how this yellow and red relate... which is an alchemic visualization of the spirits... of Laozi. Also as: 中極黃老 or 中黃真人 Also a location (as 中黃) which ties to The Central Scriptures (think 'yellow court' in alchemic process). In talking on Baopuzi methods of ingestion, Pregadio says one ascends to be an assistant of the Great Man of Central Yellow.

I have to agree... a reasonable translation is 'efficacious' ; successful in producing an outcome. Dao endows; De empowers; De is Dao in us... the power to live, to arise, to return.

That's why Wu Wei is NOT about external issues but internal ones.

Too cool... your going deep in an evaluation of a translation I find the main problem in the above three Scholar lines is that none of them can understand Dao... SO I am not sure where that translation is going.