ChiDragon

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Posts posted by ChiDragon

  1. Posted

    Hehehe. Would you two guys look at the last two lines of this chapter?

     

    I really would like for both of you to long endure.

     

    Should I post the next chapter so we can start all over again?

    hehehehe..........

    This is only part of the learning process of the Tao Te Ching. All misunderstandings are ironed out only by talking it out. Nobody will have the last word, until all the reasons are being depleted.

  2. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    If we are talking about the term Chi in Chi Kung, let's stay within the definitions of Chi Kung and keep the other definitions away to avoid confusion.

     

    In Chi Kung, Chi means breathing. The dan tian, here, was referring to the "one down and beneath the navel (low dantian)."

     

    Have the Chi sink to the dan tian which means take a deep breath by sending it down the the low dantian(the abdomen). Under this condition, your abdomen is fully expanded which causing the diaphragm to be flattened allowing the lungs to hold more air. That's what it means but nothing else.

     

     

    PS...

    Dantian is only a location of the body. It is not a part of the body.

  3. Posted

    Not idea what your talking about MSG. I certainly did not send you any message (I don't play those kinds of games by sending private messages like that. If I did, I would hope you don't play the kind of game of publicly talking about private messages). We are allowed to disagree with another's idea; that's why it's a discussion forum. Let's just discuss the chapters.

    "Let it go. No response needed." This was the MSG.

     

    This was analogous to to an old saying:

    Only the ruler was allowed to set a fire, but the people were not even allowed to light a candle.

     

    Sorry. If that wasn't what you meant, please forgive me for my over sensitivity and stupidity.

  4. Posted

    I was not upset with your translation but your attitude and assumptions, like the above. This is the second time you want to call me out directly by name in posting to others. How about keeping your editorializing assumptions in check since you don't really seem to even know your doing this. If you do know, then your trolling for trouble. Let it go. No response needed.

    All words have meanings. I can only follow your words fanatically but not blindly. I got your "shut up" MSG. Therefore, I will not respond to any of your posts even though my words were seriously criticized.

  5. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    Nature has no purpose because it is natural with the balance of the Yin and Yang. As far as the Tao Te Ching was concern, Heaven, Earth, Human, and Tao are four separate entities. Human was caught in between Heaven, earth and Tao. According to LaoTze, human is not part of Nature because human has to cope with Nature all the time by following the principles of Heaven, Earth, and Tao. Human are straw dogs as LaoTze putted.

     

    All animals are part of Nature because their physical protection are provide by Nature from adverse weather conditions but humans are not. Human has to deal with animals to survive. Thus that was considered to be dealing with Nature in a philosophical sense which isolates human from Nature. From the Nature's point of view, Nature has no purpose. However, from the human's point of view, the purpose of Nature is for the survival of human.

    According the Zhuang Tze, everything in the universe is Tao. Thus heaven, earth and human are part of tao(small t). Zhuang Tze's meaning of tao is like it was a principle with reasons. Heaven, earth and human are being in the universe as a whole for a reason. This reason he called it tao. The things that heaven, earth and human are committed for various reasons. All these reasons are just tao. Hence, the tao of ZhuangTze is different from the Tao of LaoTze.

     

    Nature to Zhuang Tze is tao because Nature just happens to be there. In LaoTze's mind, if there is no Tao, then there is no Nature.

  6. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    Only comment is the use of "and" in the first three lines instead of "or". "or" seems to be more fitting to me.

    I thought you might say that. Yes, you are right in the English language. But the character 與(and) was used in the classic text. The reason that I was hesitated to make the correction because I do not want to alter the original context. Now, do you see the big difference in both languages that may be causing a confusion to the translators.

     

    PS...

    I know why dawei was so upset with my translations. It was caused by this kind of nuance in the thoughts and it was very irritating. Especially, it was something that is not very easy to explain to a non-native speaker. In this case, it was very easy to understand. However, in some other more complicated cases, they were much more difficult to bring the point across. Sometimes, when I've encountered in such a situation and tried to express it, I rather bump my head against the wall instead. Do you see what I mean...???

     

    Peace. :)

  8. Posted

    Chapter 44 - Knowing Your Limitations

     

    Translation in terse English...

    1. Fame and life which is more intimate?

    2. Life and goods which is more precious?

    3. Gain and death which is more harmful?

    4. Superfluously in love(with fame) must pay a high price.

    5. Excessive storage(of goods) may result in a heavy loss.

    6. Therefore, one with content will not be ignominious,

    7. Knowing when to quit ended with no risk,

    8. Can be long lasting.

     

     

    1. 名與身孰親。

    2. 身與貨孰多。

    3. 得與亡孰病。

    4. 甚愛必大費。

    5. 多藏必厚亡。

    6. 故知足不辱。

    7. 知止不殆。

    8. 可以長久。

  10. Posted

    佛說一切法 ,

    為除一切心 .

    我無一切心 ,

    何用一切法 .

     

    Buddha speaks about all the principles,

    Was to remove all the undesirable thoughts.

    I don't have any undesirable thoughts,

    why bother with all the principles?

  12. Posted

    You are still a young man (I am assuming you are a man as opposed to being a woman) but I am sure that in time even your ideals will change. Change makes no exceptions.

     

    But you go ahead on and don't let my marbleheadedness alter your ideals.

    Thanks, you won't alter my ideals. My head is harder than marble...:D

     

    If you follow someone else's ideal, then it cannot be changed. Like I'm following LaoTze's. If you follow your own ideal and doesn't work, then, you make change it as time goes along.

     

     

    BTW........who sets your ideals....???

  15. Posted

    Yep. Ideals are great. They give us something to work toward. They even offer us light when otherwise we see only darkness.

     

    But even ideals change because everything changes, no exceptions. So we take the path of our ideals and enjoy the journey even though our ideals are never attained.

     

    And it is true, ideals get corrupted by reality. But that does not make them any the less valuable.

    IMO Ideals do not change. We are only working with reality to reach our ideals. Indeed, as you said, ideals are only corrupted by reality.

  16. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    Yes, I know that you try to stayas close as possible to the TTC when discussing it. I feel it is necessary for me to point out observations I have had in life while discussing the philosophy because I feel the philosophy must be livable. I feel Taoism is but there are exceptions in my life and path.

    Specific cases are different from ideal conditions. It is because specific cases do not fall in the ideal cases. Thus we cannot use a specific case to shoot down the whole ideal philosophical system.

     

    PS...

    It would be getting monotonous if this specific/ideal case showdown is constantly at large. :o

  18. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    That yin yang sphere is awesome :)

    Thanks Non and Dagon.

     

    Normally, the Tai Chi movements are very slow which the muscles are relaxed. The movements shown in the video is called Tai Chi Qigong with muscle contraction during practice and deep breathing. You can see that compression was applied to the muscles. However, there is another stage before this is called Fast Tai Chi where the movements are a lot faster with less muscle contraction. It was for practicing the arms and legs with fast movements and accuracy.

     

     

    PS...

    There something is different about the Chen style Tai Chi. Next time when you watch this style, please notice there was a little twist added to the body movement. Only the Chen style does that.

  19. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    One who wants to practice Chi Kung should get a good grip of its definition. Then, one will have a good idea of what one is going into.

     

    Here is my definition of Chi Kung:

    It is the ultimate method of breathing with slow movements which needs to be practiced to its perfection for energy cultivation. The ultimate goal to attain abdominal breathing which is to sink the chi to the dan tien.

  22. Posted

    No. I have found that in life there are those who resent a person for being able to do a good job at something they are not capable of doing. No competition there but still resentment.

    Oh.....Ok

    He was not Wu Wei.

     

    BTW

    I was speaking on the behave for LaoTze in a virtuous manner. It was pure philosophical excluding non Taoist thinking. Anyway, as a rule of thumb, when I discuss philosophy I abide myself within all the definitions in an ideal condition to avoid any misunderstand and avoid constantly defending my justification. Sometimes, I know it is hard to do so because we do not think the same.

  23. Posted · Edited by ChiDragon

    無有入無間: "無有" LaoTze used as a noun.

     

    水無有不下: "無有" used here as a verb.

    It says to me:

    There is no water that doesn't go downward.

     

     

    PS...

    I speak and write and type the language for many many years. I don't mind any challenge to my understanding of my own native tongue.

  24. Posted

    Yep. That one is clunky. Hehehe.

     

    I do like the phrase "no resentment" though (line 12).

     

    Winning brings on resentment. If we do not compete there is no winner therefore there is no resentment (well, most of the time).

    Well, we must look at both sides of the story as LaoTze does. If we do not compete there is no winner and looser, therefore there is no resentment(all the time). :D

  25. Posted

    Yes, that last I imagine air (the wind). Air is invisible but yet, when the air moves it will seep into any crack, even those that themselves were invisible.

     

    Of course, water is generally used with this concept but water is not invisible so it's not a pure example.

     

    And, of course, martial artists and military people use this concept with the understanding that no matter how secure an opponent appears to be the opponent will have weaknesses. The challenge is to find these weaknesses and exploit them.

     

    Tao permeates all things because all things are Tao.

    If we are discussing the philosophical thoughts in the Tao Te Ching, then, Tao is invisible. Tao can enter anything without any crack.

     

    If we are crazy enough and follow LaoTze's crazy idea, we might come to a conclusion that...

    Wu Wei is formless and the extreme softness in the world....???

     

    1. The extreme softness in the world.

    2. Manipulates the extreme hardness of the world.

    3. Formless enters non-space.

     

    The extreme softness(Wu Wei) in the world. If we follow the Wu Wei concept, we can overcome any difficulty(manipulates the extreme hardness) in the world. Eventually that is what LaoTze was saying in these three metaphorical lines.

     

    Note: The Wu Wei concept is "let Nature take its course without interference".