Lao Tzu

when you say "just be", you are pursuing "just be"...

I think meditation is thinking of some images or some place on/in one's body with your mind. zen is thinking of the philosophy.

zen path has nothing to do with meditation

At least, zen path is better than meditation.

I don't think it is necessary to learn such a rare character.

you don't need to sign up...!!

on the top of the bar it is "chat" button

chidragon: can we talk in chinese in live chat? that would be much easier for me.

So your parent must be from Guangdong province:)

Great! you speak mandarin or Cantonese? Can we talk in live chat channel right now?

which character?

Taoism is a English word. In chinese dictionary, Taoism can be a religion or a philosophy.

谷神不死,是谓玄牝。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。 A spirit can not die, this is called "XuanPin". The door of XuanPin, is called "root of the world". It seems exist there, being used without mind. I have to mention that LaoZi didn't tell us the Dao clearly in TTC. So TTC is a book which is very difficult to grasp the meaning of it. So I suggest to spend more time on other books in the beginning, coming back onto TTC later.

I am trying to translate, sorry about my English

道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。无，名天地之始；有，名万物之母。故常无，欲以观其妙；常有，欲以观其徼。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄，玄之又玄，众妙之门。 Dao, you can try to use language to express it, but the language is limited, is not the real self of the Dao; things in the world, can give it a name, but the name itself has not been the object. "Wu"(Nothing), that is, the status before the first world; "You"(something) is the basic properties of all things. So, keep the state of nothingness, you can see the wonders before the material produced; return to something, you can see the material manifestations. "Wu" and "You", both of which are performance of Dao, in different forms, different name. Both are known as the "mysterious", "Wu" and "You" are swithing all the time, which is the fundamental law of the universe.

Sure! When a theory is wanted to be deliverd to more people, a religion is born.

It is Classical Chinese, a ancient way to speak and write in chinese. Not same as Mandarin. Mandarin is a modern chinese. For sure, It is traditional, not simplified.

good translation! (except a little thing in No.3) are you chinese, ChiDragon?

maybe I can help, I am a chinese can you make your question more clear?

I think the philosophy can involve everything... But when we talk about the difference between philosophy and religion. We can see philosophy is more about the theory, and religion is more about a delivery system for the theory.

I am a Chinese, and my English is not so good. But I will try my best to address what I know about the Tao. Let us discuss together here. (I have studied and practised Tao for almost 20 years)

Duration is nothing. Understanding and practising well are important.

The core of the Taoism religion is LaoTze's philosophy. The religion is a server to its philosophy. The philosophy is a server to a life.

The core of a religion is the philosophy. The religion just a server to a philosophy.