Procurator

i dont know how you can equate a life of an average working stiff, with a superhuman king whose job descriprion includes actually killing people that the text envisages but more power to you. now all of the errors in this discussion stem from two things: bad translation and pushing own ideas on the text. nothing can be done about the latter but i will present a correct translation here so what was much talked about as "action without action' is revealed as a fiction. there is no such phrase in this paragraph.

不尚賢，使民不爭；不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；不見可欲，使心不亂。是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。常使民無知無欲。使夫1知者不敢為也。為無為，則無不治。 Dao De Jing: (Keeping the people at rest) Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal. http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing this translation is closest to the meaning because it was made before tha advent of the new age, and all the nonsence herewith. remember the Qin Shi Huang-di? The one who budried the confucians alive? That is what was meant by "Not to value and employ men of superior ability " in that day and age. He was the first taoist emperor, but not the last.

this is thinking in the right direction but not close enough. managing a team is quite different from managing a totalitarian state. and make no mistake this is what DDJ is all about. the rest of the commenters just refuse to see this obvious fact.

Dear Alfred the 18th century called, they want their myths back.

it does. if other individuals are "straw dogs" to us, that is a big if.

so you r saying that "an average person" is privy to a mistery of misteries. really?

apparently not on "Lao-zi converting the barbarians"' team. but what the heck does he know?

heck lets all think about it. who is yr master?

they cant handle the truth, can they?

nah, ppl want escapism. that is not how the original story goes, but u r right it was for the rulers. well ppl just dont wanna c it, but its right there in the text. The ruler should do this, the ruler should do that. In that harsh age the human exsistence was all about survival. Its a survival manual for the ruler.

Marblehead, my bafflement with this discussion is exactly the issue of topic, there appears to be none. you cant meaningfully discuss a book w/o stating explicitly why this book was ever written in the first place. why somebody took a writing utensil to a bamboo plank 2,500 years ago. what he was trying to sell? What did the buyers believe they were buying? unless you people answer those questions you dont know what exactly you are discussing. calling it a bible seems to be off the mark since the bible WAS written as a clearly religious manual. On the other hand TTC does not give any importance to gods, religious rituals or divine commandments. So its not a religious manual. What is it?

i dont understand what exactly you guys are discussing. a book, right? so, what is this book about? is it a car owner's manual or a crime novel? you seem to be not too clear on that, either.

telling a person who suffers from one emotion to switch to another is like telling an alcoholic to switch from whiskey to burbon.

yep. every hard qigong is the same thing. and every thing that glitters is gold. for some.

its really amusing how ppl give advice w/o even asking what exactly r u doing. seems not to be a part of the equation at all. what exercises exactly r u doing?

hi Craig. it depends on who is the judge. i have made a study of water and fire my specialty and can recognise the symptoms right away. If you interested i can explain in more detail. It is possible but not likely that the Reishi is causing the symptoms of excess thirst described. So many people are yin deficient and this is a classic symptom of such. **you see, the only meaningful way to talk about the chinese med, is in terms of energetics. And what u do here is to confuse physical Yin, water in the body with energetic Water. The thirst is caused by overabundance of energetic Yin, not by deficiency of it However, Reishi is known as a superior herb and not highly likely to cause an imbalance as described. ** It is specifically said to target a specific organ- the heart, mainly. How can that not to cause an imbalance in a medium term? Please note, that the red is color of fire, same as heart's.

dont mention it, u r asking good questions and its my pleasure to reply. on supplements...its just common sense, you have heard the saying "if something sounds to good to be true, its usually is". now, does "take this $19.95 calcium , it will make yr bones stronger" sound a tad too good? on sources...i have been translating the original chinese texts for several years now. The herbalist's quote promises immortality, wouldnt it be neat to get it in a bottle? But if you consult a diff text, by a daoist saint Ge Hong, titled "Bao-pu zi" it says "The herbs rot in ground, burn in fire, they cant even preserve themselves, how can they possibly preserve human life?"

i have noticed two things that are funny in her admonitions, funny in a sad way thou: first the pattern...they all start with "lets all just get along", and that out of the way unleash a barrage of arrogant condescension. we want candy, we r 3 yr olds, we r kids who dont know what is good for us. second, she makes weird, unsupported references to mass murders, suicides, and psychotic stalkers. Coming from a person with a creepy mod signature about "sword of dao" it betrayes a projection. and it stinks. much was said about ppl VOLUNTEERING for this job. Heh, by all means lets give power to a person who craves it. What can possibly go wrong?)

Hi;) its a good question. yes, the supplements especially the vitamins are a waste of your money. The marketers know that people want an easy fix and have oral fixations. Also notice how they always insist on long periods and several packages otherwise there will be no benefit. Its just another ruse to line their pockets. But I might be totally wrong, maybe taking the same supplements too long bring your body out of balance. * yes that is the case. everything has to be in proper mesure Heres a quote by the famous chinese herbalist Li Shizhen about the red Ling zhi mushroom, " It positively affects the life-energy, or Qi of the heart, repairing the chest area and benefiting those with a knotted and tight chest. Taken over a long period of time, agility of the body will not cease, and the years are lengthened to those of the Immortal Fairies". This quote seems to contradict what you are saying and advices one to take Ling Zhi for a long period of time to enhance one's life. *unfortunately its not that simple, you see any valuable knowledge is a secret, the books intend only to show you the goal but not how to get there. also notice, how nobody on this thread did not even mention the dosage:)). just not a part of the equation it seems:))

yes, you r overheating yr heart w/red one and it dries up water in turn.u should stop taking it, but if u must, switch to black one, it might bring the water into balance for a while. supplements r never a good idea in the long run.

he probably perfected his mighty kick on people calling him that.