ChiDragon

Yes, that proves the point that a military order is a serious matter under any situation.

FYI... Chang Chou or Zhuang Zhou is ZZ's real name. The character 子(Zi) was added the surname of each scholar to indicate as a philosopher of some kind. Hence, we have Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi.

FYI: Sun Zi was demonstrating to the ruler that the art of war can be applied to train women too. The concubines of the ruler were used for the training. Two of the ruler's favorite concubines were assigned as troop leaders. They were executed in front of the ruler for being disobedient.

hmmmm..... Don't you think you are slamming the door on me too soon.....???

This is interesting and something new to me. Let me try on my end to see that is true of not....!!!

Rara.... I know you have locked in your head that a Taoist do not kill. Why do they learn martial arts and practice with the swords and sabre? There are situations where they can apply the Taoist principles in major cases; and sometimes can't. Nothing is perfect you know?

HI, Rara..... Thank your invitation. You see, one must understand the definition of Tao but not "Taoism". Tao(道) for Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi are different. Lao Zi's Tao have various definitions; and Zhuang Zi's definition for Tao is 宇宙最高的法則, the Supreme Natural Law of the Universe. The definition is also one of the definitions of Lao Zi for Tao. However, ZZ borrowed the idea from the Tao Te Ching and use the natural law to explain why things are the way they are as reasons. The western term "Taoism" is very ambiguous and confusing which was never clearly state what it is all about. Zhuang Zi had observed that Nature was constantly changing which effects the human lives. He had come up with many principles from the observations of Nature and applied to the humans. The principles are actually called Tao(道 or 道理) in Chinese which means reasons. Hence, Zhuang Zi becomes a philosopher of principles in reasoning. In English, he may be a Taoist but one must understand what it means. There is one chapter in the classic Zhuang Zi is called 天道, the Principle of Heaven, which also known as the "Natural Law". The character 道 was used in many places. Anyway, it was immaterial whether the Tao character was used or not. It was the contents in the classic which made him a Taoist.

Daniel Reid's Book: A Complete Guide To Chi Gong(氣功) is a very good book for information about Chi Gong but it does not have a good method of Chi Gong to learn it on your own. Btw I have this book and used many times as reference. You should get the book and read it to get an idea what Chi Gong is all about before you go into practicing it. Also, there is no need to be in a hurry to learn about Taoism. Just do one thing at a time. FYI.... Daniel Reid practice western medicine as a doctor. He has very good knowledge about TCM. He married a Taiwanese woman which helped him to translate the Chi Gong information from Chinese to English. In addition, he used modern science in relation to explain the traditional Chinese concepts. When I was reading his English book, it seems as I was reading it in Chinese. It comes that close. I think he did a good job in the translation.

Yes, I had read it in the post above.

Good acting. IMO.

What is "real chi"? Where was measured from? How do we know that is the "real chi" that was being measured but not something else?

Rara... I like to follow your thoughts...!!! You know if Zhang Tzu was not a Taoist to begin with, then where would we get all the Taoist ideas from? Zhuang Tzu was ridiculing Confucius in many ways is because he didn't appreciate the trouble of going through the ritual motions by bowing to greet someone. Zhuang Tzu thought that was hypocritical and unnecessary.

Don't worry about the house but help to heal the troubling mind which where the problem was to begin with.

CT..... Thanks for your advice, but please reread my comments. Thanks....

聖人以必不必，故無兵； 眾人以不必必之，故多兵。 順於兵，故行有求. 兵，恃之則亡。 Sage consider a necessity as unnecessary, thus no military action. The majority consider the inessential as essential, therefore, there will be more abusive military action. One who misuse of military power, then there are demands need to be met. Military action, who insist upon it will lead to self destruction.

Yes, I may consider myself is tending to be a Taoist because I am practicing some of the Taoist principles. However, I may not be considered myself as a true Taoist because I am still living in a modern life style. In general, since I do practice the DCXM(see post #26), thus that will make me a Taoist or semi-Taoist. Edited to add: In regards to imitation, if I practice something without any understanding and just do it, then it would be an imitation. However, it is not in my case. I do understand the principles behind all my practices.

Perhaps xiejia was literally meant what was in the quote from Marblehead:

Yes, a war is always inevitable, then the most defensive system is the most offensive. It all depends who make the first move which will be the aggressor.

The United States is no longer fighting a Taoist war since the atomic bomb was dropped. BTW The art of war was written in accordance with the principles in the Tao Te Ching. The word "war" in the "art of war" may sound very offensive without a thorough study about its contents. Actually, the art of war is very defensive. If we make a comparison, we will see its principles are in parallel with the Tao Te Ching.

There must be an error about Wang Bi's year. According to my time table, it is 226 to 249 CE.

The question in the OP is very ambiguous because there was no beginning or ending. How can anyone come up with a definite answer.....???

Yes, we're screwed and confused, you bet....!!! It is not the forum that was screwed but it was the people who provide the information. The forum is only a meeting place which gives us a chance to express ourselves. It is up to a true Taoist to sort out the facts from all the misinformation and make corrections in accordance with the purest concepts. These purest concepts may be learned from the principles in the Tao Te Ching. By using these principles as a guide line, thus any misinformation or fallacy may be rejected for keeping the known facts in tact. This process was considered to be purifying the mind. Indeed, purifying the mind is the main practice for a Taoist which has been known as the Cultivation of Xing(修性). Another is the Cultivation of Ming(修命). The combination of both was known as the Dual Cultivation of Xing and Ming(DCXM). In plain English, DCXM is the Dual Cultivation of the Mind and Body. Taoists are mandatory to hold the DCXM as a standard practice. Of course, there is one more important concept which is Wu Wei(無為). Its concept is "let everything be the way it suppose to be" or "let Nature take its course". The only, and only, intention is not to interfere or interrupt Nature if possible.

By this, I practice some of the principles that Taoists do but not just other people. You mean after all this time you have been, here, with TTB and you have no idea what a Taoist is.....???

My motivation is: I want to live a life like a Taoist and do what they do as close as possible.