johnboy83

Thanks for the reply. A few things I am not sure about here. Firstly, my understanding of non-action is not that you don't take any action but that whatever you do you do it without excessive grasping or desires. Like if I am in a fight, if I simply do nothing I will be beaten badly. However if I am able to avoid grasping at thoughts like 'I must win or I will be humiliated' then I can react properly to my opponents movements. Here Wu-Wei is simply being one with my surroundings as opposed to letting them 'occur' all over me. I had thought that practices such as semen control are in line with this if we feel them to be personally necassary. I find that semen retention has immediate benificial effects for my health and well-being. Would it not be going against nature if I was to ignore this fact? I'm also not sure if it is possible to separate Taoism the religion and Taoism the philosophy so easily. Weren't the people who do what you describe what you call as a religion also inspired by the Tao Teh Ching etc? Whatsmore, if I find these practices to be benificial in a real sense then aren't they immediately elevated beyond the status of belief? Also, if I were to simply go with nature what would my actions be? Would I simply do nothing, or just let my ego and insticts control me? The again I am human, is it not against my own nature not to want to improve? If Taoism is simply a philosophy then can we simply read about it, agree with it and effortly conform to its tenets?

Very helpful answer! Cheers for that

Hi everyone, I have been more and more interested in Taoism and Zen over the past few years and up until recently was learning mainly from books which is clearly insufficient to gain insight beyond the intellectual. Now I have found a teacher and am beginning to progress. However I have a question which I find difficult to over come in my daily life and in light of my knowledge of Tao. Clearly Taoism is the philosophy of non-doing, of letting things be as they are. In Tai Chi and martial arts these are helpful concepts as cultivation of non-doing allows us to listen to ourselves and others which then allows greater insight into a given situationn without needless stress or tension.When we act we do so inaccordance with our deep mind and not through the distracting tendencies of the ego. However, some forms of Taoism promote exercises and practices such as semen retention, strict dietry control and deep breathing in order to preserve life and cultivate energy.In fact, surely, in order to have any kind of practice or routine which one sticks to, a person must have at some point have removed themselves from the continual being of life and into the 'thinking about being' of life; that same secondary voice which removes us from the natural patterns of ourselves and our environment. Often, as a relative novice in this Way, I find myself moving between the two extremes causing much tension. When I just let myself be I am concerned that I will contravene the many guidelines which allow my development. When I stick to the rules strictly I am concerned that I live in too artificial a manner, not just being but imposing my will onto my self and surroundings. Can anybody advise on this bind?? Thanks, John