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.

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.

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.

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.

Haha most definitely been a good thread, seemed like some wisdom was being thrown around. I definitely agree with the gut feeling, the more ive been cultivating the more accurate it becomes. I feel like curiosity or reasoning has been a big hinderence in my life. Its good to a point which i always go beyond. So i have been telling myself things to get through the day and help my perceptions. Because i realized that people know who they are, or what they are, and what their purposes is. But i dont know these things about myself, and if i spend time figuring it out, i will probably be a different person by that point. What does it matter if i know who i am or what I am to do? The wind is not aware its blowing Northeast at 6 mph, the rain doesnt care if people dont like it, the sun is not aware it is setting. So why should i think my nature is any different then theirs, just because i can think it? What are we without heaven and earth? Compared to the ocean, i am nothing more then a particle in a handful of dust. Why should i act like i am something better?

Hey guys ive had a few thoughts on this subject the past few days. I realized a few days ago how their is a part of me that knows i cant live a "normal" life, but it still wants to so bad. Like things keep coming up that makes me get stuck. This realization came when i noticed i had romantic feelings for a friend that ive began to spend a lot of time with. I was never good with relationships so I just stayed out of it, this was mainly because i could not find a girl that i knew i could spend days at a time with. And now when i am losing interest in the modern world i find someone that resonates so deep with me. And then i was looking through this thread, and i am sorry but i forgot who, mentioned that it seemed like no matter the circumstances they had this feeling of emptiness. And it hit me hard because ive had that question for a long time. During the day i would be content but the nights all felt the same, like i was incomplete or empty. And a conclusion hit me soon after, and i am interested to know what people think. I feel that this emptiness is something innate in all of us. So in a sense we are incomplete, or missing a piece of our puzzle. And it appears that society and its institutions have taught us that we have had this emptiness since we were young, but we are just unaware of it. We are taught to be driven for knowledge, power, money, and happiness- that these are the parts of you that you are missing, those trivial objects can make you whole. But no matter how much of any of those things we have, we still feel the same. Its because that missing piece is supposed to be there, that void of emptiness is where we can be in harmony with the world. That void is like a fire in us, and if you try to extinguish it with objects, the fire will be inexhaustible. The only way to smother the fire, is to fill that void with the universe.

Hey marblehead thanks for creating the thread. I dont have internet at my house, so i only get to use it a few hours a day when i am helping my grandma with my sick uncle. I would have responded much earlier if this was not the case. Thanks everyone your posts really helped me with the concept. The one thing that always held me up about it is that knowledge and wisdom seem closely related. But knowledge seems more frowned upon then wisdom, so it was kind of hard to understand. Maybe its the scientist in me, analyzing things too much to where i miss the answer right under my nose. Thanks everyone.

Hey guys, i like John C. H. Wu's translation of this chapter as well. This chapter seems to speak about the dualities of the world, and by pursuing one you are causing the other. Free yourself and others of the concept so you can act as the fulcrum of the dualities. Marblehead- I have always seemed to struggle understanding the difference between knowledge and wisdom. How can gaining knowledge lead to the wisdom we can use in our life. I dunno if you could enlighten me on this subject on a little i would really appreciate it, because i think i am more knowledgeable than wise

Sorry adept i did not see your post there. man totally agree with that and it seems like none of these people notice that. i kind of started thinking that most zombies see life as a game. They are a seperate entity, a player in the game. There are winners and losers here and its best to be a winner. If you dont think about yourself first then the other players will take advantage of you. The more things you acquire or the higher the score the more powerful a player you are. But life is not a game, life is more of a dream

Hi guys glad to see this post is still going and good opinions are still being shared. Everseeking my feeling may relate closest to yours. Whenever i am in the city, all the people i look at just seem to be sheep. Sometimes if i really pay attention its like i can see every movement that is not natural. And it seems like people are blinded to this aspect. Most the time being genuine with people incurs some resistance. A lot of times when i act kindhearted to people they look at me like i am trying to get something out of them. I agree many social norms are wrong, and that always makes me think how have we as a people allowed ourselves to get so blown out of shape. Can they not see or feel how unharmonious this lifestyle is like some of us can, or do they just choose not to? I agree with the running out of time thing as well. I just have a feeling that something is going to happen that will make people change their perception. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall i think we are going to be there to watch it all breakdown.

Hey guys i think you all did a good job with the analysis of chapter 2. And excellent i am glad to see there is a section for this now, thanks twinner. I really dont have anything to add after marblehead and manitous well worded responses. But i think parts of chapter 2 touch on everything is not as superficial as you see it. Or there is a deeper level of connectedness to everything.

this is an interesting thread and its something i have been thinking about a good amount recently. Wayki your experience in solitude sounds quite amazing, i hope to be able to do it at some point myself. I think its very possible to be happy in solitude. I go through phases of loving solitude to wanting to be around many people. I think this want for people is because we think we need people to be happy. For most of us, we are surrounded by people from an early age so it seems like its a necessity. Your question of happiness is interesting as well, it reminds me of in my philosophy class the question was brought up: would you rather be a satisfied pig, or an unsatisfied human? Me i would rather be a satisfied pig living as its nature demands, than a human who thinks he is content pursuing what he can not have.

sorry thesongsofdistantearth, i forgot about you in that reply. That is also an interesting point. A lot of my friends in college were considered hipsters i guess. They didnt wear or listen to name brand clothes or music, and there was a lot of marijuana going on. But everyone cared about the current issues with the environment and society, to a great extent. I considered us the "new age hippies", because it was the social group that best related to us. So i think what you read is pretty interesting and it holds some credibility

steve- haha i totally forgot about that and it happens all the time. I will be hanging out with friends, then it gets silent, and i look around and everyone is doing something on their phone. Is it really that boring to talk to people that are right in front of you? Samuel- ya i agree with many of your points. I only have 3 years on you but it doesnt get any easier. The closest thing ive met to a taoist is probably my buddhism teacher (haha funny thing is he is a catholic priest). And i really do not like social networking sites, most of all twitter. I am sorry if anyone reading uses it, but i find it incredibly sad that people care that "There are so many people here at wal mart" or whatever dumb trivial thing someone posts. Our generation seems too selfish and it cares too much about others and their approval. Strawdog- First a very good point by your loving and intelligent wife. And for who is to be held accountable for the lack of sensitivity? I think its all of us. Being a younger individual its easy to blame society and the older generation. Because the media and society portray to us that this is the way to live. This is how everyone seems to live, so why should i not try to live like them. Its like people are telling us its ok to be a selfish asshole who only cares about material goods. But its also our fault for not looking inside ourselves and asking if this is the true way to live. Instead of questioning if these perceptions resonate within our soul, we just allow ourselves to be molded by it. Its hard to tell whos to blame, but i do know that it requires all of us to change it.