Yoda

Leon, You should read the journey to the west with us in the book club section... the Tao te Ching is nice theory but how it goes down is J2W! Your pal, Yoda

Great quotes Mal!

Nanashi, sometimes I wonder if that time thing is accurate. There used to be an IP address for everyone somewhere. Maybe Sean took it down. Your pal, Yoda

On the topic of America being controlled by unseen forces and chemtrails: that's a *huge* theme in Journey to the West compiled in the Ming dynasty: when rulers where influenced by evil Taoists, fox demons, etc... subtle bad-energy clouds would hang over the kingdom that the Monkey King could easily see and he could tell who *really* ruled the country before even meeting the Emperor in person and getting a vibe from the people. Meanwhile, even the Emperor himself and his court might not have any idea that they had been led astray... often the entity/demon/evil Taoist would have direct control over the kingdom by taking over the emperor directly. In happy kingdoms the Monkey King wouldn't see bad energy clouds and wouldn't describe his subtle vision in terms of clouds over the kingdom but would remark directly about the happiness of the citizens and their good energy when scanning with his subtle vision powers. If this Ming dynasty perspective is what is going on in the modern world then we are in luck... Taoism specializes in this department! Yoda

Marblehead hearts Buddhism! Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, Thanks for the Confuscian lesson! There has got to be some sort of inner cultivation side of C. somewhere though? In their music theory or something? It's got to exist somewhere! Your pal, Yoda repost from Chinese History thread: On the topic of democracy being hijacked in America by unseen forces, that's a major theme in Journey to the West compiled in the Ming dynasty: rulers influenced by evil Taoists, fox demons, etc... whereupon a subtle bad-energy clouds gather over the kingdom (early chemtrails?) that the Monkey King could look at to see how prosperous and happy the kingdom in question was and he could tell who *really* ruled the country before even meeting the Emperor in person but meanwhile, even the Emperor himself and his court had no idea that they had been led astray...

wasn't the HK airport mostly built by HK before the reunification and allowed to finish by the Chinese gov't? Anyways... just finished watching the youtube first emperor of China show... egads... rough chap! But is interesting to see that right after the totalitarian Qin dynasty, the more enlightened and ethical Han dynasty pops up... and the Qin didn't last overly long either. Perhaps that can be a model for the Maoist dynasty... a little totalitarian hyper discipline in the short term might have a tonic effect and lay the ground work for a kinder, gentler situation after a 100 year run? Measured in terms of % Chinese citizens killed by the government, it sounds like the big problematic dynasties are Qin, Yuan, Maoist... is that accurate? What are the most idealized and looked up to dynasties? Han, Tang, Song, Ming? I heard that Taoism was set back hugely by a Ming ruler destroying the Taoism temples and building Buddhist ones over them. ~~~ On the topic of democracy being hijacked in America by unseen forces, that's a major theme in Journey to the West compiled in the Ming dynasty: rulers influenced by evil Taoists, fox demons, etc... whereupon a subtle bad-energy clouds gather over the kingdom (early chemtrails?) that the Monkey King could look at to see how prosperous and happy the kingdom in question was and he could tell who *really* ruled the country before even meeting the Emperor in person but meanwhile, even the Emperor himself and his court had no idea that he had been led astray... Yoda

sounds like a good plan!

cool thread, thanks! I've heard it said that it's the good schooling system that is pushing Christianity's recent popularity... I didn't realize that Taoism and Buddhism have reached a "laughable" stage... Doesn't sound like a comeback is possible any time soon!* Remove Taoism and Buddhism and we are back to the Qin dynasty brutality. Mao was compared to the first emperor of China who buried alive 460 scholars and Mao said he was offended by the comparison as Mao had buried alive 1,000x that!!! I'm watching the youtube of China's first emperor and he was really paranoid of payback in the afterlife... hence the 8,000 terracotta soldiers! I hope that worked out ok for him! ~~~~ *but are the Chinese *really* Christian and not simply enjoying it as a western fashion? I saw the Sexy Beijing youtube on Christmas which suggested that they are just playing Christian.

just curious.

we still play!

I put 5 years as that is the approx age of TTBs. One experience I had at the beginning of TTBs made me wonder if something formal might have kicked off the whole thing: on the old healing tao board I could distinctly feel the moment it went down and shortly afterwards TTBs pops up. Perhaps there were no formal operations, but there certainly was a strong energy to the event. As time has gone by and as the TTBs has grown in popularity, the energies swirling around here have intensified... again that might not mean anything formal, but I'm assuming that there are lots of formal blessings and curses swirling about. Of course are they effectual or only effectual against us psychologically unstable types is another issue... Yoda

Scotty, Thanks for asking: definitely includes positive or negative but the poll is directed towards operations or rituals which are premeditated and involve more energy than the spontaneous evil eye thing on the negative side or a heartfelt prayer or wish for a taobum's well being on the positive side. My guess is that behind the back operations/rituals tend to be more often negative, but I don't have any idea what that ratio might be. Stigweard, Just stirring the pot as always.... studying with Mak Tin Si has definitely raised my curiosity about this sort of thing. He is very insistent that a successful practitioner *will always* attract those who will make a play for a piece of the action! Of course, if it's secret then we can only speculate, vibe out, etc any answers. Your pal, Yoda

thanks for the lesson! That's one of the reasons I believe J2W is such an important book for westerners... everything has been cooking together for centuries that it is hard to tease out different inspirations. I would love to know more about the interrelationships between Taoism and Confuscianism, but J2W doesn't seem to cover that.

Witch, It's the crying game!!! Happens to all of us... I always look for that adam's apple! Your pal, Yoda

Witch, You are mega-mega-awesome and it's totally understandable to feel sad and it's nice that your friend has come clean. Your pal, Yoda

I was wondering if the Monkey King is Ramayana inspired at all? They say if you read the Ramayana just once, you'll be much wiser the rest of your life. I like to think that the same is true for J2W.

Witch, Elvis has left the building??? Please excuse my gratuitous curiosity, but why did he go? Your pal, Yoda

That's a great list!!! Every so often I have wished that we had a Mod Squad, so I'm glad that has been put into effect! Yoda

Scotty, Great point! and a 4th camp who says that entities don't exist... I forgot all those campers... sorry about that! Your pal, Yoda

imo, 3-8 there are some accounts of what life was like in the Heavenly court... lots of parties!!! Mak Tin Si says that this isn't actually the case.

Taomeow, Not nearly as sad of a tale, but I was an "ok" Go player at one point and then I read a book on how to be a great Go player and from that point on I totally sucked. Your pal, Yoda

Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, Coleman!!! Thanks! xabir2005, Stage 1 or 2???? Are you crazy? All blonde Asians start at 5, period. Plus I like the one eye bigger than the other thing... adds backstory. Your pal, Yoda