Stigweard

Just an inquiry to Vmarco Why is it that these hexagrams are said to portray true harmony?? And why would some Daoist say that it is better if the woman is on top during sexual intercourse??

Erm did we ever consider that perhaps the speaker doesn't speak because she actually understands Chapter 1 properly ??? Just a thought ... carry on

I can see we are going to have fun with you !!! Oh well ... let's have at it then.

Hmmm ... me thinks we need to get back to basics and start again. OK .... YIN: And .... YANG: Let's continue from there shall we?

Well I will say "Yes" for fun, because "No" is just as relevant.

Vmarco, So the Sun is Yin and the Moon is Yang(??) Really??? Hmmm ... my Taiji practice tells me that your "Duality's reality" doesn't match my experience of practical reality. But I guess you will tell me that I am wrong, right?

As I understand it that would be a fair conclusion

An associated poll of this thread: The Relationship Between Religious and Philosophical Taoism Apart from all the connotations loaded on the word "religion," I have chosen to stay with the conventional definition of the word. re⋅li⋅gion  (rɪˈlɪdʒən) [ri-lij-uhn] 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. 2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects 3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices. Comments and discussion welcomed and encouraged either in the above thread or below.

Well I am up in Queensland, but if the timing is right then count me in

I think I like ... +1 A point of variance though, and in tune with the topic, is that instead of "peeling back layers" of the ego Heng is telling us to stabalize and harmonize our personality. I have outlined a simple Shamanic model of the self over in How to handle the unknown. Using the same basic model, our personality comprises of various elements and features, synomonous to the landscape features that you may find on an island. Now what happens in many cases is that certain features of ones personality maybe overemphasized, some elements maybe creating "leakages" in terms of addictions etc, and some features may in fact be warring against each other. The result is an island that is wracked with earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, civil war and all manner of discordance. In all a gross waste of life force ... life force which could be better used instead for the evolution of the soul. So the guidance of Heng Te is to resolve and dissolve these extremes of personality. Of course the next question is "How?" As a side note, Master Ni Hua Ching gives a wonderful Daoist parable in his book "Story of Two Kingdoms" which describes this process very nicely. I don't have it on hand at the moment so I will annotate it in a subsequent post. Firstly though we need to ask: What sustains our personality complexes? The answer there is: Self-narration. Our incessant self-description (aka You ming 有名 in Daoist parlance) upholds and perpetuates our personality structure. Therefore it follows that if we can cessate, or at the least decrease, our self-narration then the extremes of our personality will correspondingly start to smooth out and stabalize. The challenge there is that we can't use the mind to work on the mind. This would only create further internal seperations and frictions. So we must refer to Laozi's advise in Ch 4: It erodes sharpness, It dissolves obstruction, It softens glare, It settles dust. Sharpness, obstruction, glare, and dust - these are the characteristics of a personality that is unbalanced and extreme. Erode, dissolve, soften, settle - these are the water-attributes we need to utilize to acheive a constant or stable virtue. Daoist ontology is essentially an awareness of the integral energy reality of the universe. On a personal level it is the awareness that mind and body are one energy manifested in different forms of use (i.e. Jing, Qi, Shen). Thus the "sharpness, obstructions, glare and dust" of the unsettled personality are simultaneously the "sharpness, obstructions, glare, and dust" of the physical body. Thus also if we erode, dissolve, soften and settle the obstructions and artificialness of the body we likewise do the same for the personality. SO, coming back to the "How?", the answer is the quietude of the mind and the gentle movement of practices like neidan, qigong, and taijiquan etc.

Yes, thank you for adding this

Thanks for the responses and the inquiries As briefly mentioned in the OP, heng 恆 is the name for Hexagram 32 of the Yijing: GUIDANCE: "Be constant; it is right. Now is the time to be persevering and undertake something." The inner/lower trigram is ☴ = 巽 = xùn = wind; the outer/upper trigram is ☳ = 震 = zhèn = thunder. Neither Thunder nor Wind has the attribute of constancy, so why is this hexagram called Constancy? Wind and Thunder often occur together, but only at particular times and under certain conditions. Neither Wind nor Thunder alone connotes constancy, but the laws and conditions under which they operate are constant and eternal. If the universe were completely still without the generative energy of Thunder or the persistent action of Wind, there would be no life. It is the movement of all the heavenly bodies and the incessant flow of energy that reflects the constancy of the universe. On earth, it is the change of the seasons which expresses this constancy. The energy cycles of all life are based on an invariable Subtle Law. All natural phenomena are in continuous process of change, with constancy as the underlying principle. On the human level, one's attitudes and disposition should be supported by the constancy of one's virtue. Without a stable axis, neither nature nor civilized human life can endure. The natural principle expressed by one who is whole is the enduring spirit of life. In the midst of all changes, remain undisturbed. Whether the days are good or bad, whether dealing with virtuous or unvirtuous ones, do not forsake the wholeness of your spirit. What is the enduring spirit of life? It is the same as the spirit of the universe, which is governed by constancy, regularity and spontaneity. With its eternal virtuous nature, it nourishes and cares for all things. Virtue is the inherent nature of life. That which is inherent in the nature of life is inherent in your own nature. In order to restore the enduring spirit, we have to practice its subtleties. Nature endows people with discernment. You can actively change the rigidity of your mind, dissolving destructive tendencies and false images by practicing this constant virtue. Thus, you arrive at the delicacy of your spirit, which is creative, useful and beneficial to all. p 393-397, Ni, Hua-Ching, "The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth", Sevenstar Communication Group Inc., 2002

Yes AKA Shaman/ess. Were you trying to make a point?

Very much enjoying the line of discussion. Just saying

Yup, I can see how you arrived at that. I dig it.

Hmmm ... not exactly the sort of support that would sway an debate. But I thank you for your perspective anyway.