themaninthesuit

I think you have to keep telling yourself the beliefs before you can finally inact them. Your mind has created a prison for you without you knowing it. Keep telling yourself to see it differently and you will. You have to free yourself from the things you have been taught. Then free yourself from that as well. If you forget what it means to be virtuous, then how can you not have virtue?

I dunno man. I think you are trying to understand something that is unfathomable. Being and non being exist together. If you define being then you define non being. Things just are. If you search for an answer you can find an infinite amount of solutions. An undefined problem has an indefinite number of solutions

I think there are few words because words can only describe. Words are like pointing to the moon, they can not make you feel what it is actually like to be there. The words written are the only words needed to get the point across.

Haha shiiit well it seems i am the only to still be smoking on the thread. Any person that has smoked for a while can feel its physical effects on their body. And i am not sure how cigs affect energy but i am sure of one thing. My use of cigs shows i am dependent on them. We should not depend on one aspect of nature but the whole itself. When i get angry it makes me want to smoke to calm down, but i should easily be able to do that without the help of something other than me. It must have a negative effect on your energy somehow, because when i think about it, i am still a prisoner to it. Alfred- Hahaha i dont think i have ever heard that. But yes we do, we suck hard and all day

Hey guys, unfortunately i do not have my version of the TTC to verify (its a Stephen Mitchell version). And i believe in the introduction he states that the TTC was written genderly neutral and the translators add he or she as they see fit. I also believe it states that you could interchange the he for she (or vice versa) if you want. It is pretty interesting to consider, because gender really has no effect on the ability to achieve harmony. But in western culture there is certain actions can seem more appropriate for a certain gender.

Aaron i am gonna say that analysis is full of grace and truth. I love this, not sure why but it reminds me something i read from my chuang tzu book and i will put it down for those that do not have it. Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu: "All your teaching is centered on what has no use." Chuang replied: "If you have no appreciation for what has no use you cannot begin to talk about what can be used. The earth, for example, is broad and vast. But of this expanse a man uses only a few inches upon which he happens to be standing. Now suppose you suddenly take away all that he is actually not using so that, all around his feet a gulf yawns, and he stands in the Void,with nowhere solid except under each foot: how long will he be able to use what he is using?" Hui Tzu said: "It would cease to serve any purpose." Chuang Tzu concluded: "This shows the absolute necessity of what has no use." People seem to think of emptiness as a negative thing, but without it where would we be?

Haha thanks for the replies, i appreciate it. Twinner- My senior year of college (which was last year) i walked to school everyday and began to find a lot of joy in it. It is a good idea to begin doing that again, and i will take your advice and not bringing the ipod nailed me on that one. Let me know what you think of Tai Chi too i have always had interest in that. dmattwads- I will look into the things you mention. I probably will just do a lot of googling and stuff, but are you aware of any good websites or sources the 8 brocades. Also, i am assuming standing meditation is a general term, is there different methods or stances? if so are you impartial to any? I have also been interested in trying herbal remedies, so thanks for mentioning a few. Scotty- Is zhan zhuang a form of standing meditation then? Have you tried any others. And shhhhh its ok i will look for a download too. If its free its for me. Thanks again for the help

Hey guys, to start i just realized my quotations do not say who said them so i am sorry if that adds any confusion. Ha ha not really sure why this is happening but i do suck at computers, so please forgive. Marblehead- Exactly what i am trying to do. I still judge (even though not as much) but try to notice that i do it and correct it. Hopefully this continuous effort will soon rid me of having an initial thought about someone or something. Strawdog- Very beautfiul man I am going to try and remember that for the rest of the day. And i agree with the internet, people on the internet are usually full of judgement about others. Damn i forgot what the website is called, i call it the shit-talking shit, cuz you can go on and go to someones name and talk shit about a particular person. That in itself is ridiculous, i can go on and rip people to shreds that i do not even know. And really what is the point of doing so, people that do such things are truly only hurting themselves. Manitou- Damn that kind of made me speechless. Because before i felt judgment was more based on the differences between you and someone. And I thought your selfishness or ego was what made you judge them. Like i sag my pants and i used to get of odd looks from older people and sometimes some unnecessary comments. I figured it was kind of like "I dont sag i think its x, y, and z to do so, so this kid must be or believe in x, y, and z." And this may factor in to judgment. But after i read your post i feel that most of my judgment comes from my projection on people like you stated.

Haha excellent man i love every component of your statements. Before this thread I probably would not fully understand what you meant. But i think that is very well said and i think there lies some truth in that. haha for some reason i forgot all about ignorance when dealing with this topic. And i believe i follow you on that. From ignorance you gain knowledge that your chair is not real. From this knowledge comes the wisdom that things are they way they are. Is that what you are getting at?

Hey guys First good thread wayki a very interesting inquiry. I first thought happiness was related to being content with everything you are given. But i am not so sure now some good opinions have been presented. I definitely agree with that statement. I believe that is what most people see as happiness, but since we are bums we know there is more to it. Beautiful you knew how to say it much better then I. And your view of two differing happiness is intriguing. I never thought of it that way, but when i read what you wrote it resonated with me, so you may be on to something. I think this statement along with Marblehead's (quoted above) is a perfect perception of happiness. That Ram Dass book sounds quite awesome as well. Damn good point Aaron. I feel happiness can not be maintained forever because for you to be happy that also means unhappiness is in your capacity. So it seems that true happiness is found when you forget the concept of happiness and stand in between unhappiness and happiness. The way i know how to do this is through living in the moment. So maybe serenity and happiness are closely related.

Hey guys i hope all is well Many people on these forums have much more experience then me in all aspects of taoism. And so to all those people i am wondering what some good physical practices are. The past few weeks i have just been extremely tired and lacking in energy and i feel its because i have been devoting too much time to mental cultivation and not physical cultivation. So im wondering what methods you guys use and if you would recommend it for a beginner. I dont really have much money to get videos and stuff as of right now but i hope to. I appreciate the help my fellow bums.

Thanks strawdog, i havent been on the forums long but i dont remember reading a post dealing much with that feeling of emptiness. So i wanted to bring it up here and see what opinions people had about it, and i included the little story to maybe help see my perception better. That feeling of emptiness is very interesting because it seems like everyone has felt it before. And it doesnt look like we can really get away from it. For something to be full it must first be empty. Haha and i will let you know how that friend situation works out.

Haha thanks marblehead, i could have not done it without my taoist friends i.e. you guys. See i was also kind of wondering about the phrase teaching without words. But it definitely makes sense now. Words can only be used to describe the truth, they can not attain it. It also kind of makes sense why if i talked about taoism my friends didnt seem to understand it. Because my words will never come close to letting them feel the truths i do.

Hi all, well i actually like the Stephen Mitchell version i have of chapter 4. So ill post it before i talk about it. 4. The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities It is hidden but always present. I dont know who gave birth to it. It is older then God I agree rene, i feel it is the first to "point" us in the direction of the Tao. Cuz it seems like its telling us its something you can not grasp, as in the tangible sense. We can not see it but it is there and we can use it whatever way we want.