ChiDragon

I can tell you this. The legend says Dharmo was, during his meditation, facing the wall in a cave. After nine years, his image was imprinted on the wall in the cave.

信言不美。 美言不信。 Trustworthy words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not trustworthy.

That was only a warning for the readers to be aware that Tao is eternal. However, we don't stop here. After that, in the following Chapters of the TTC, Lao Tze was telling you what Tao is. Don't you think those chapters had not spoken about Tao.....???? Not spoken of doesn't mean to shut up but one still can be spoken about it. Even one has spoken about Tao, does it make Tao not eternal....??? Aren't we talking about Tao now....??? Didn't Lao Tze name "Tao" Tao......??? Is Tao not eternal now because he named "Tao"......???

Yes, the chapters do not stand alone but they link to each other. It is just like a jig puzzle. One can link the thoughts from chapter to chapter to reach a logical conclusion. The chapters do substantiate each other if we look close enough; provide that if and only if the definitions of the terms were interpreted and defined with consistency.

Yes, if one knows how to fight, then one will only hurt the opponent but not oneself.

From my side of the story as a Chinese, It was known to me that when Darmo went to China and stopped by Shaolin Temple to preach Buddhism. However, Darmo had discovered that the Shaolin monks were in poor health because they had been sitting all day and night in practicing Buddhism. Hence, he taught the monks Kung Fu and Chi Kung to improve their health.

1. It can be objective but all depends on the readers. I see that you are one that is not willing to. 2. I see that they are only your perspective. Isn't reflection means the revelation of one's idea. An original idea can be written down in a language. However, interpretation can be done in one or two ways, may be three but not more than that. Misinterpretation may be caused by many factors. Even native speakers with different education levels do misinterpret the TTC quite often. I can see that there are thousand translations with lots of errors were done due to a language barrier and cultural differences. You have mentioned "a language is highly subjective", it is because people wanted to interpret the TTC in their favor. I had been doing it objectively by making correction as I went along. The more I study the TTC, the more I have discovered how less that I knew about the TTC. I had diminished some of my misconceptions about the context in the TTC on a daily basis as I go. Hopefully, I will narrow it down to just one final exoteric interpretation. In regards to "Wu Wei", it was said to be a term that was patented for Lao Tze by the native scholars. If we leave it up to the individuals who interpret it as "non-doing", then we can remove Lao Tze from it. However, in order to get the true meaning of Wu Wei, then we must replace Lao Tze back in the TTC. His definition of Wu Wei is "do nothing adversely". One might say, Wu Wei does not have the character for "adversely" in the terms. Hey, It was understood; and that is one of the cultural inheritance in reading a Chinese classic.

To answer the OP.... In accordance with Taoist mythology, that is when a Taoist had been cultivated to a point that the soul had left the body and went to heaven.

Ah, okay, then where is the name of Tao came from. Did you know Tao before you read the TTC....??? Did you discover Tao from Nature....???

Yes....

If you take a close look of the TTC, then Tao is not just "the way" but it could be as one of the definitions.

Since both of the religious and philosophical Taoism do exist, can we accept one but deny the other....??? I believe Lao Tze is human for once, don't you...???.

Don't you.....??? I am just curious to ask; where are the principles of Tao came from....???

An atheistic Taoist does not believe in immortality but only follow the basic fundamental principles of Nature as model.

A Taoist is human. What about Tao.....???

炼己: Self cultivation; self discipline.

Indeed...!!!. That would put oneself in a very dynamic mode for balance. I would rather sit like that, at least, with my head lean forward to pass the vertical....

Your problem with breathing is most definitely cause you to feel slouch due to hypoxia(lack of oxygen). The keyboard on the laptop is much narrower than the regular one. Especially when you type on a sofa, it may cause your shoulders to tense up with stiffness. The former is a more serious problem then the latter, I would suggest that you work on your simple breathing problem first. Also, try to work on your laptop on a desk which will give you less stress on the shoulders. I would lean forward a little bit while sitting during meditation, as suggested by some practitioners, to avoid a stiff back. If you have the back too straight or lean back, your upper body tends to fight the vertical for balance and that is very stressful.

Okay, thank you. I guess I got hung up on the definition of "complement".

Greetings.... I hope Taoists do have some concerns about the health of their bodies, otherwise they wouldn't want to go through all the troubles to be an immortal. I am sure that wasn't acquired with a minimum effort. Yes, in general, "there is no distinction between nature and the Life of all living things"; but there is a difference in philosophy between a Taoist and Buddhist. The issue here is the philosophy rather than a general argument. I believe the notion about "minimum effort" was derived from the idea of "Wu Wei" in most case for some individuals. I will not go into the part about "with minimum effort they achieve maximum results in harmony with the collective whole." Indeed, this concept is not too far out of reach.

A Taoist is more concern in dealing with Nature. While, a Buddhist is more concern in dealing with the life of all living things.

Thank you very much....!!! The black and white are the symbolic Yin-Yang colors for dignifying and showing the highest respect for the arts of Tai Ji Chuan. It manifests the spirit of Tai Ji during practice. In addition, it helps to integrate the mind and the body holistically for coordination. Try not to miss the breathing too.

What do you mean by "their.......are complementary".....??? If the "True meaning and interpretation of old and modern characters' writing are not far away from each other", then why "Probably the description of the ancient character of Dao should be added into the article."...???

The beginning of Heaven and Earth before human intervention. Some may think that human is part of Nature but human has a nature of one's own.

Wu Wei, 無為, is do nothing adversely to interrupt with the course of Nature. This is the proper definition in the Tao Te Ching. By do nothing or doing nothing does not define the philosophy of Wu Wei. "Do nothing" is not the correct definition, for Lao Tze, in the Tao Te Ching.