Yoda

I used to be way into all that channeled stuff, but I've decided that the content is ultimately misleading and the energy behind the content isn't helpful either. Looking into the lives of the modern channelers, 90% of them including Seth, Ramtha, Winn's entity dude, the Dalai Lama's Dorje Shugden, Madame Blvatsky had had bad experiences with their familiar spirits. Take away all the channeled embellishments, and the idea that there are a few lost civilizations out there is quite possible... I heard about the Cuba coast ruins... they sound cool. Bringing archeology into the picture is usually a buzzkill... from what I understand the Cayce people contributed to the radiocarbon dating of the pyramids but were disappointed with the results... No luck for the Mormons in Mexico theory either...

there was a funny/sad video that someone posted here about an empty force old master who could defend himself against over 20 attackers at a time!!! The students would run at him and get slammed around and all. So he decides to become famous and offers something like a $2,500 reward to *any* fighter who could beat him so some big, young fighter shows up and smacks him and he goes down absolutely stunned but staggers up and wants to go another round. The young guy is starting to feel really bad about the situation but agrees to smack the old master once more and the old guy decides that he's had enough... Pitiful but funny... the students were amazed! Good lesson in brainwashing, though! I'm sure the vid is still out there but I can't find it.

41.5% non religious 27.5% traditional Chinese folk beliefs 8.5% Buddhist 8.4% Christian 8.2% Atheist 4.3% Animists 1.5% Muslim 0.05% Other from National Geographic 5/08. I'm guessing that the Atheist/non-religious stats for the USA would be coming up on around 20% by now.

The Five realms in Buddhism and Taoism are definitely different, that's for sure!!! I just googled Shangdi and it appears that Shangdi is a Confucian god with mostly Confucian texts, scholars, and poets talking about him.

A Taoists would disagree, of course! It's my understanding that Taoism Gods are people who have done great things and that there are only miscellaneous exceptions to that... various folk traditions sometimes view such and such a god as the creator of the universe or something but those views have not permeated classical (in my view 'real') Taoism. Tao Toe, Kyle

According to the Religion in China wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_i ... te_note-21 I think there is a lot of disagreement as to what Taoism is so a lot of people like the National Geographic just don't use the term.

So this is the story of the fall of the Shang Dynasty. I finally got some time to sit down and read some more... now I'm up to the point where the demon possessing Daji, the Emperor's fav consort, frames the Empress in an attempt to overthrow her. Plenty of people have told the king that Daji is bad news but the king only listens to her. A taoist gave the king a wooden sword to hang up in his palace to kill off all the recent demon activity in the palace. The Emperor does but then notices that Daji is dying and she said that he had to take down the sword... that the Taoist was actually an evil sorceror and is trying to kill her. The emperor takes down the sword and she gets better immediately so he thinks that proves she was right! The Emperor ignores his advisors' appeals to put Daji aside and to attend to affairs of state but he has started torturing them using devices Daji has devised! Daji's demon has been training for 100s of years and is having an easy go of manipulating everyone and is making a move to have the Queen framed and ousted. Hopefully not tortured too!!! The Emperor is dizzy now... his moral foundations and ability to think straight are gone... just a matter of time for the dynasty to fall apart and the Zhou Dynasty to arise...

Interesting angle... maybe I can be corrected, but it's my understanding that there's not really any gov't antagonism towards religion anymore in China. Just that it is considered to be like Christmas and Santa Claus... not to be taken seriously but no fear mongering stuff anymore. The Sexy Beijing Christmas episode on youtube is where I got the idea that religion is just for entertainment in China now: Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, the National Geographic stats I posted are for China. Tao Toe, Kyle

I was raised in a Christian for social reasons family, so that makes sense to me.

I haven't the foggiest, but I'm assuming that it's a Taoist/Confucian/Buddhist/Shaman blend with Taoism being the primary ingredient. It's interesting that China is a more secular country than the USA. Tao Toe, Kyle

Trunk, The Wild West was awesome!! Mom wouldn't let us watch it so we tried to go to our friend's to at least see some episodes. I'll need to watch one at some point! When I was 5-6 Robin Hood When I was 7-8 Luke Skywalker Gaai Ji, Kyle

It's a wild world for sure! ~~~ I guess I'm the only religious Taoist here!!! As long as us communals get a serving of immortality, I'm cool with the three divisions... nicely articulated, imo. Gaai Ji, Kyle

another good episode for your occult romance series...

So I'm very much enjoying the 3 Kingdoms but my kids don't find it nearly as cool as Journey to the West... too adult for them. So I cracked open Outlaws of the Marsh: it opens with a giant chemtrail mushroom cloud of demons and fallen angels blasting out of a Taoist prison!!!! Is that fun or what??? Three thumbs up!!!!!! -Yoda

Ryan, We are neighbors... I'm in Columbia, SC! Sounds fun! Do they have a current version? Tao Toe, Kyle

Scott, In some Chinese archeological findings, no men and only certain women were buried with great wealth. Archeologists speculate that this is due to their status and ability as shaman leaders and has been seen in other cultures as well. Tao Toe, Yoda

Pietro, The raw bacon does have some kick to it, it's true. Stigweard, I don't have any problems with Mak Tin Si's thoughts expressed there. If you are referring to Mak Tin Si posting Sean's PMs without permission, that might be a protocol thing that Mak Tin Si was not aware of like typing in all caps sort of thing. Personally, I wouldn't be bothered if someone posted a pm from me unless I explicit asked and the other party agreed to keep something private. Sean didn't seem troubled by it in any case, so no harm done. I am disappointed that Sean drove Mak Tin Si off but it's Sean's forum and he can do as he wishes of course. Tao Toe, Yoda

I've heard that several dynasties rose and/or fell thanks to bandit groups like that. The Han started as a bandit band exactly like that: a jailer lost a few prisoners and rather than face execution he freed his prisoners if they would follow him into the wilds...

Pietro, Once in awhile I'll go for some raw bacon, but that's it... raw-rr!! Is raw a Bruce thing or just a la carte? Tao Toe, Yoda

Pietro, I originally assumed that one had to be vegetarian to follow Mak Tin Si's path at the higher levels but it turns out that only beef, dog, eel, snake, and turtle are out of the question. And not eating any meat, eggs, and alcohol on the 1st and 15th and Taoism dates. But aside from that, eating meat is encouraged for health reasons. It's my understanding that this is a fairly common practice within Religious Taoism. Tao Toe, Yoda

Biff, I think it is around $500 or so to get to Stage 3... not cheap. It's on the taoismcanada.com website. I've paid for lots of other stuff but they aren't required. An altar starter setup is about $200 and is very cool... I love mine. And a modest donation (at least $1CAD) on the 1st and 15th and during Taoist holidays to the Temple is required Stage 2 and up. Stage 2 and up there are rules like no beef ever, no meat during Taoist holidays, no channeling, etc... Simply having a path that fits with my intuition is the best benefit. Tao Toe, Yoda

Anyone here into it? If anyone has any advice for a newbie, please share!

Bum Grasshopper, Thanks so much for such a fantastic writeup!!! Tao Toe, Yoda

Sherab, ok, no yoga... Check. How about this... my last trick... if you are into religious Taoism definitely read Journey to the West and the Three Kingdoms... lot's of info there! How'd I do? Tao Toe, Yoda