shanlung

Booting this up for winniepooh_ank Taoistic Idiot

winniepooh_ank, I was in the Middle East for many years, in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and later in the Sultanate of Oman. I did have mullahs that liked to talk to me. And Fathers, Buddhist and Taoist priests and monks before. I like to think I truly respect all beliefs as who am I to know the Way? I have wrote that here in this thread earlier what I feel of Wuwei. I appreciate if you can find the time to read what I have to say of Wuwei http://www.shanlung.com/oldwuwei.html In my mind at least, wuwei is a state of mind/thought/heart-mind. Nothing karmically connected with wuwei. And in another thread, I tried to set out the differences, or rather what I think the difference between Taoism and God. Not to offend anyone. I do not think you will be offended by what I wrote Tao ke Tao, and where is God http://thetaobums.co...d-where-is-god/ The Idiotic Taoist

Genghis Khan was even more a greater part of history of China then Turkey/Russia/Middle Asia. He probably reduced percentage wise, even more of my ancestors then he did yours. Strangely you still hold him more to account that I would of him. I just have to remember those times were times of carnage regardless of who was the emperor or the khan. During the Warring States, perhaps 15 or 20% of the population was left. I think Genghis Khan left a larger percentage alive. Let us recall the precursor to the carnage in Baghdad and the Caliph empire. Genghis send his envoys requesting for expanded trade routes and links. The Caliph send back those heads of the envoys with their head dress nailed to the skulls with one live envoy to lead that return. Genghis asked for the perpertuator to be punished and was laughed at instead. After all, the Islamic Caliph Empire was the largest empire by far and Mongols were unheard of by them. He had to come to them and told them he was the punishment send by Allah and perhaps he was. He fought with army perhaps a tenth the size of his enemies. All cities that surrended to him were spared. Any city that resisted him were slaughtered. He was not cruel for the sake of cruelty unlike the image painted of him. As said, the letter he wrote to ChangChun came from a very powerful leader of man, and showed a side of Genghis Khan not known or even acknowledged. How can the world acknowledge that? Folks will get bewildered that Genghis is not the black hearted monster that they want to paint him as. What ChangChun said to him was in line with the teachings of Taoism, and he would have said that to me and to you, that we all should be warned of karmic consequences. Idiot on the Path

History, especially written by the West for the West love to paint Genghis Khan as the Incarnate of Evil. Millions died by his hand or ordered by him. I am not here to defend Genghis as I do not think he need defending by an Idiot. Let us look at another aspect of Genghis Khan. Let us look at the letter that he send to invite one of the 7 Taoist Masters, ChangChun to visit him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiu_Chuji In above , it was stated that The famous old Taoist monk, Ch'ang-ch'un, had been invited to satisfy the interest of Genghis Khan in "the philosopher's stone" and the secret medicine of immortality. As if Genghis invited ChangChun for self interest. Let us see the translation of the letter written by Genghis Khan (and which still exist). Would a leader who conquered countries that would have dwarfed what Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire combined be humble as the great Khan? Extracted from http://depts.washing.../changchun.html aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa The text has been excerpted from E. Bretschneider's Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1888), pp.37-108. Bretschneider's page numbers are included here in the format //[p.xx]. [Chinghis Khan's letter of invitation to Ch'ang ch'un] //[p.37] Heaven has abandoned China owing to its haughtiness and extravagant luxury. But I, living in the northern wilderness, have not inordinate passions. I hate luxury and exercise moderation. I have only one coat and one food. I eat the same food and am dressed in the same tatters as my humble herdsmen. I consider the people my //[p.38] children, and take an interest in talented men as if they were my brothers. We always agree in our principles, and we are always united by mutual affection. At military exercises I am always in the front, and in time of battle am never behind. In the space of seven years I have succeeded in accomplishing a great work, and uniting the whole world in one empire. I have not myself dis- tinguished qualities. But the government of the Kin is inconstant, and therefore Heaven assists me to obtain the throne (of the Kin). The Sung to the south, the Hui ho to the north, the Hia to the east, and the barbarians in the west, all together have acknowledged my supremacy. It seems to me that since the remote time of our shan yü such a vast empire has not been seen. But as my calling is high, the obligations incumbent on me are also heavy; and I fear that in my ruling there may be something wanting. To cross a river we make boats and rudders. Likewise we invite sage men, and choose out assistants for keeping the empire in good order. Since the time I came to the throne I have always taken to heart the ruling of my people; but I could not find worthy men to occupy the places of the three (kung) and the nine (k'ing). With respect to these circumstances I inquired, and heard that thou, master, hast penetrated the truth, and that thou walkest in the path of right. Deeply learned and much experienced, thou hast much explored the laws. Thy sanctity is become manifest. Thou hast conserved the rigorous rules of the ancient sages. Thou art endowed with the eminent talents of celebrated men. For a long time thou hast lived in the caverns of the rocks, and hast retired from //[p.39] the world; but to thee the people who have acquired sanctity repair, like clouds on the path of the immortals, in innumerable multitudes. I knew that after the war thou hadst continued to live in Shan tung, at the same place, and I was always thinking of thee. I know the stories of the returning from the river Wei in the same cart, and of the invitations in the reed hut three times repeated. But what shall I do? We are separated by mountains and plains of great extent, and I cannot meet thee. I can only descend from the throne and stand by the side. I have fasted and washed . I have ordered my adjutant, Liu Chung lu, to prepare an escort and a cart for thee. Do not be afraid of the thousand li. I implore thee to move thy sainted steps. Do not think of the extent of the sandy desert. Commiserate the people in the present situation of affairs, or have pity upon me, and communicate to me the means of preserving life. I shall serve thee myself. I hope that at least thou wilt leave me a trifle of thy wisdom. Say only one word to me and I shall be happy. In this letter I have briefly expressed my thoughts, and hope that thou wilt understand them. I hope also that thou, having penetrated the principles of the great tao, sympathisest with all that is right, and wilt not resist the wishes of the people. Given on the 1st day of the 5th month (May 15),1219. Idiotic Taoist

I think a lot yearned for that. As for how many gained supernatural powers? I think a lot less than people who truly know how to fa jing And for some strange reasons, those with those kind of powers is more likely to walk on rain swept crooked lanes of small town in Taiwan frightening innocent idiots out of their wits and not on Internet twittering about their powers. Taoistic Idiot

He( 6th Patriach HuiNeng) taught that Sitting Ch'an should be practiced at all times, not just during formal sitting. He stressed it is the attitude of mind that is important, and not the physical posture, because truth can be found standing, walking, or lying down. Idiotic Taoist

What happened after he fled the monastery have been the grist of many Hongkong swashbuckling movies and pens of writers and would be writers. With this kind of beginning, what more can you expect. Truth and fiction blurred or may be even irrelevant. HuiNeng eventually went to Po Lin Monastery in Southern China to spread the Dharma there. Here is one such episode of HuiNeng shortly after he fled with the robe and bowl. From http://sped2work.tri...om/huineng.html The monks were jealous and ignorant, believed that the transmission was material, and decided to get back the robe and the bowl. After pursuing Hui Neng for 2 months, they found him on top of a mountain and wanted to kill him. Their leader was Hui Ming, whose lay surname was Chen. Of all the monks who pursued Hui Neng, he was the most skillful. Hui Ming had been a general of the fourth rank, and was hot tempered and rough mannered. When Hui Neng was about to be overtaken, he threw the robe and the begging bowl on a rock, quickly hid, and then said, "This robe is nothing but a symbol. What is the use of taking it away by force?" When Hui Ming arrived at the rock, he tried to pick up the robe and bowl, but was unable to do so. He cried out, "Lay Brother, Lay Brother, " (for Hui Neng had not yet formally joined the monastic order), "I come for the Dharma, not for the robe. " Hui Neng emerged from his hiding place and sat down on the rock. Hui Ming made obeisance and begged him to teach. Hui Neng said, "Since the object of your coming is the Dharma, refrain from thinking of anything and keep your mind empty. I will then teach you." They meditated together for a considerable time, then Hui Neng asked Hui Ming, "When you are thinking of neither good nor evil, at this particular moment, what is your original nature (Buddha Nature)?" As soon as Hui Ming heard this, he instantly became enlightened. Hui Ming then further asked, "Apart from those esoteric sayings and esoteric ideas handed down by the Fifth Patriarch from generation to generation, are there any other esoteric teachings?" Hui Neng replied, "What I can tell you is not esoteric. If you turn your light inwardly you will find what is esoteric within you." Hui Neng's statement was used as a Koan from then on - "what did your original face look like before you were born? " Koans represent truths that can't be understood by logic. Hui Neng's Koan cuts through concepts and speculations about one's nature. It is shocking to discover that there is no concept which can fit such a question. The shock shakes one's assumptions, and that begins the waking up process. As in his first poem, Hui Neng's original face is empty: "When you hear me speak of emptiness, don't become attached to it, especially don't become attached to any idea of it. Merely 'sitting' still with your mind vacant, you fall into notional emptiness. The boundless emptiness of the sky embraces the 'ten thousand things' of every shape and form - the sun, moon and stars; mountains and rivers; bushes and trees; bad people and good; good teachings and bad; heavens and hells. All these are included in emptiness. The emptiness of your original nature (Buddha Nature) is just like that. It too embraces everything. To this aspect the word 'great ' applies. All and everything is included in your own original nature." Hui Neng later became The Sixth Patriarch, the founder of the Dhyana (Ch'an) School of Sudden Awaking, which emphasized that sudden Enlightenment was possible, given the right teacher and method. The Sixth Patriarch's teaching emphasize non-duality and oneness of everything. Hui Neng became the most famous Ch'an (Zen) master in Chinese history. After his death, his works were collected and classified as the only Chinese Buddhist sutra, called The Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra. His new school of Sudden Awaking is the only major surviving Dhyana School of Chinese Buddhism. Later, Hui Neng's disciples spread the Dharma all over Asia. Hui Neng defined Sitting Ch'an as: "In the midst of all good and evil, not a thought is aroused in the mind - this is called Sitting. Seeing into one's original nature, not being moved at all - this is called Ch'an." He taught that Sitting Ch'an should be practiced at all times, not just during formal sitting. He stressed it is the attitude of mind that is important, and not the physical posture, because truth can be found standing, walking, or lying down. In Japanese Sitting Ch'an was called Zazen. Idiot on the Path of Lao-Chuang aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

Those bent on scholarly pursuit will not like this. Let us recall the lessons from the HuiNeng, the 6th Patriach of Zen. There might be many paths to the Tao, but reading learned texts and practising meditations meant only just that, reading of learned texts and practising of meditations. Wonderful if that is only what you want. Keeping it simple is probably your best bet. From http://www.taoism.ne...ries/6patri.htm Part 1: Shenxiu's Masterpiece Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, is without question one of the most influential figures in Tao philosophy, and this story may well be the most significant tale in Zen lore. Not only is it an interesting drama of how the underdog attained an exalted position against all prevailing expectations, but also the poetry contained herein teaches us some essential and fundamental Tao lessons. When Huineng first came to the monastery of the Fifth Patriarch, he was a singularly unimpressive figure - a poor boy from the backward countryside who did not even know how to read or write. The learned monks at the monstery paid him to heed and in general considered him beneath contempt. Little did they realize that one day this scruffy-looking, low-class peasant would become their spiritual leader. When the time came for the Fifth Patriarch to name his successor, he ordered all the disciples to express their understanding of Zen Buddhist teachings in whatever way they saw fit. The one who could demonstrate the utmost undestanding would become the next Patriarch. The most learned disciple at the monastery was the head monk Shenxiu, who was an accomplished scholar. Most monks felt certain that the mantle would go to him, and that there was no way any of them would be a match for Shenxiu's intellects. Many did not even try. To demonstrate his wisdom, Shenxiu wrote his famous poem on the wall of a temple corridor: 身是菩提樹，　The body is a Bodhi tree, 心如明鏡臺。　The mind a standing mirror bright. 時時勤拂拭，　At all times polish it diligently, 勿使惹塵埃。　And let no dust alight. Bodhi means enlightenment or spiritual awakening. The bodhi tree is the tree that Gautama sat under when he became fully enlightened and attained the state of grace known as Buddhahood. This type of tree originally grew on the banks of a tributary of the Ganges and features heart-shaped leaves. In his poem Shenxiu compares the human body to the bodhi tree. His meaning is that sitting by the tree is the human soul, which like Gautama, is capable of attaining the ultimate wisdom. Also, in his poem Shenxiu compares the soul to a mirror that must be kept clean at all times. The "dust" in the poem refers to all the distractions, temptations and impure thoughts of the material world. To keep the soul clear of these unclean elements, a Zen disciple must diligently practice Tao - which is to say, engage in pursuits such as meditation, reading and reciting of scriptures, and the performance of the various rituals. In a nutshell, Shenxiu expresses that the road of enlightenment is not an easy one. Only through hard work and never-ending diligence can one purify one's mind sufficiently to attain Buddhahood. The poem was a rallying call for the monks to fortify their resolve as they continue on this difficult spiritual journey. All the monks were impressed. And, certain that this poem is effectively the edict from their next leader, they all memorized it and recited it as they went about their daily duties. Huineng overheard them, and that was how he learned of the existence of Shenxiu's work. Part 2: Huineng's Response Huineng understood instantly where Shenxiu fell short. There was another level of wisdom beyond that described in Shenxiu's poem. Huineng knew how to express this understanding in a poem - but being illiterate, did not know how to write it down. He ended up asking another monk to write it up on the same wall for him: 菩提本無樹，　Bodhi is fundamentally without any tree; 明鏡亦非臺。　The bright mirror is also not a stand. 本來無一物，　Fundamentally there is not a single thing — 何處惹塵埃。　Where could any dust be attracted? When they saw this poetic response, the monks did not get it at all. But the Fifth Patriarch comprehended Huineng's meaning perfectly. Represented in these four lines was an intuitive mind more capable of grasping fundamental Tao concepts than Shenxiu's formidable intellect after decades of schooling. Now, if the Fifth Patriarch were to announce Huineng's succession publicly and hand the reins over to him, he knew that the monks would not understand. They probably would turn on Huineng and possibly even cause him harm just to prevent him from assuming the office. Therefore, he pretended to be unimpressed with the response. In great secrecy, and in the middle of the night, he passed the symbol of his authority - a bowl and a robe - to Huineng and ordered him to flee for his life. And so Huineng did hastily depart the monastery, with a mob of angry monks in hot pursuit. What happenned after that is another story for another time. For now, let us ask this question: what exactly was the meaning of Huineng's poem that impressed his master so much? Huineng's central insight is in pointing out the transient or "illusory" nature of the physical world. "Bodhi has no tree," he said. Why not? Because our immortal souls are an entity apart from the physical bodies we inhabit temporarily. Wisdom, awakening and enlightenment are the attributes of this immaterial spirit, and exist with or without the body. "Clear mirror" isn't the stand. Why not? Remember that Shenxiu compared the heart to the stand, which holds the soul - the mirror - in place. Huineng points out that this is but an artificial constraint. The soul is there whether or not there's anything holding it up. The heart - the stand - isn't required or even particularly important! Huineng further points out that all the defilements and distortions of the material world are just as transient or illusory as these temporary mortal forms we assume. The polluting influences of the physical world come and go and cannot last, unlike the immortal soul. In other words, our essential, eternal selves are the only real entities in the universe. Money, material possessions, fineries, precious jewels... none of these are things we can take with us when we pass beyond. For all practical intents and purposes, they may as well not exist! If one can completely come to grips with this basic truth expressed by Huineng (easier said than done... you still wanna win the Lotto and you know it), enlightenment can happen in an instant. Hence, the true path to Buddhahood isn't the direction of hard work and the acquisition of even more knowledge and scriptures, as indicated by Shenxiu. The truer path is along the road of intuitive insight, where we progress beyond mere logic and reasoning and become one with wisdom and understanding. How can we traverse this path? With our entire being, rather than just one hemisphere of the brain. Too much intellectual sophistry leads nowhere except ever more confusing and confounding complexity. It's time we recognize the fundamentals and come to the simple yet profound realization that, hey, all this Tao and Zen stuff ain't the mystical, mysterious stuff that only inscrutible Orientals can understand! When you get right down to it, the ancient masters and sages are really trying to tell us to stick to the basics and keep it simple. Simplicity and clarifying, penetrating basic truths - these are the essence of Tao and this is the golden nugget of knowledge we have come all this way to find. Idiotic Taoist aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

Steve, I think we share much the same view of life and things. Feel free to use what ever I say if that reflect the feeling that is in you. I agree with exorcist. Far too much emphasis have been given to translators who might be language professors with no understanding of Taoism, or even with ax to grind against Taoism. Especially so in the very early translation done largely by missionaries out to propogate their own faith. They thought then Taoism to be garbage and translated it as well meaning garbage at best. Thereby giving us "spirit of the valley" which seemed to be jumped upon by so many others, especially the scientific scholars , that it became cast in stone. Scholars are good and known more for mistaking the finger pointing to the moon as the moon itself http://www.shanlung....lingrevisit.htm The emptying of the mind is not the brainlessness voiding of all thoughts. Just like the relaxing of the body in taiji does not mean that your body become a jelly with no backbone and on the verge of collapsing/imploding . Or like what I have said in Wuwei, that it is the beginning of everything, and not a listlessness avoidance of thoughts/actions http://www.shanlung.com/oldwuwei.html Idiot on the Path of Lao Chuang aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

Stosh, What happened happened regardless of whether you believe or not believe. It took me a long time to write what happened as can be seen from the times of those different postings, maybe about ten years apart. Since they were first posted in birdie forums, those dates could not be changed to suit what I wrote. Your choice not to believe a word of what I wrote here or anywhere else. You make your own universe to what you chose to believe in. Taoistic Idiot aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

I felt the same way. Not many people know Taoism, but lots of folks know of Zen Buddhism. Not that they know Zen Buddhism well either, but they know that better than Taoism. I tried to explain Taoism to those folks and I told them Taoism is the Zen in Zen Buddhism Luckily for me they did not ask me what is Zen Buddhism or Zen for that matter. And if they did, I have to confess up and tell them I have no words to describe either and they should find more articulate answers by googling for that. Not that I think articulate answers are the answers. The Idiotic Taoist

About 95% of the hits on my webpages and livejournal blogs came from beasties and birdies people. Strangely even though I wrote in English, over 2/3 came from non English countries such as Russia, Germany, France, Japan, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew countries. In forums there (including foreign language) we are united by our love for beasties and birdies, any differences in language and lifestyle pales in comparison and hardly talked about. I find it strange in Tao , or so-called Tao circle that folks here are so hell bent on elevating themselves and in using yardsticks left and right on anything and everything. I spend about 10% of my Internet time in this forum. I think at least 35% of any aggravation came from here. I can only think I should consider spending my time more gainfully and happily elsewhere

CatPillar, Is it that terribly important that we judge one relative to another? If so , by what yardstick should that be. I have a close friend who is worth about 100 million USD. He honestly felt himself to be poor and must make even more $$$ or that will be the end of his world. I have other friends who lived as if they are worh 100 million USD. But I know they are in hock to their eyeballs. I have enough for my family and myself, but I have to forego Lear jets and caviar and champagne. Not that it mattered to me as I seldom drink and dislike caviar and I can get around and get by without private jets I like to minimise my carbon footprint and live a quiet life with my beasties and birdies. If others here deciding arbitarily on their choice of yardstick and therefore superior to me, they should do so by all means. Who I am to deny them their choice of happiness. My choice of happiness is not at all dependent on what they think, or in the case of Stosh, whether he believe in me or not. I think Stosh take too much pride in himself as if I need to lie to him or to anyone else. Idiotic Taoist

How useful is the rest of the world when they do nothing more gainful than to mock at what they think are lesser than them. Is that what they need to make themselves feel that much superior? If so, by all means. They should do what pleases them, no more and no less The rest of the world will still go on. The giant tree will still fall in remote part of the forest. The roses will bloom and the rhino go on chewing grass. And the Idiot will go on to max his happiness and min his aggro Idiot Taoist

Very fascinating art works. I used to consult the I Ching a lot. Started with the initiation into the I Ching in my undergrad days by a Professor of Philosophy in the Arts department. I found I had a strong rapport with the I Ching,whether my using the yarrow stalks or the 3 coins. Kind of strange when the probabilities are different using one or the other. My personal preference was for the yarrow stalks. I could not get yarrow stalks, so I used bamboo skewers but with the sharp ends cut blunt. But I still call it the yarrow stalks. I Ching was like a good wise friend. That I talked to now and then. Then I got older amd in Taiwan with fluency in Chinese, I got to know of a Chinese proverb Sai Ong See Ma, Yen Tze Fei Fu. It goes like this. Sai Ong found a horse. He rejoiced in his good forturne and brought it back home in the village. He was proud of that horse, and his son love riding on the horse. One day, he fell from the horse and broke his leg and became a cripple. Sai Ong cursed his horse for without the horse, his son would not be crippled. Then the country went to war on orders of the King. All able body males had to go to fight. Sai Ong blessed his horse. Since his son was crippled, he need not had to fight. It was a short war. The king was victorious and all the men in the village came back with riches and honor. Sai ong cursed his horse as it crippled his son who was not coming back from the war with riches and honor. I thought the IChing only give insight into a window of time, or at best, 2 windows of time. To avoid the bad luck, which might well be a precursor of good luck to come. I thought what was the point then. I stopped asking for myself. But I used that for friends. Until a day a friend asked me to divine for him. A question he felt too personal to tell me. I cast the yarrow stalks and constructed the hexagram for him. His face turned white on that set and the moving lines and my intepretations for him. He told me what I did was so accurate that he got scared. I was not scared as I knew how that would work regardless if you believed in the I Ching or not. That was the very last use of the I Ching, and about 16 years ago. I never lost my respect for the I Ching. It is just my choice not to enquire of the I Ching regardless of the worries I have whether personally or of our Earth. I figured we moved past the tipping point and nothing the I Ching can do to point the way out. I want my life to unfold for me the way it would without me doing second guesses. We should just go max our remaining happiness and min aggro to ourselves or to others Idiot on the Path aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

You kill a green elephant with a green elephant gun You kill a blue elephant with a blue elephant gun How do you kill a pink elephant?

I like to say forget those books written in dry and musty way by scholars with axe to grind that they are scholars. If those books do not make you smile in your heart, drop them. The Tao to me is not learned or even glimpsed in those kind of pages. Tao is not logic , but a Path that you learn through the passage of life, where the journey is as important , if not more important then the destination. The key books of Taoism to me will be the Tao Te Ching, in the slimmest book, a book of pure LaoTze without any embellishment that translators love to add on. To the point the book was not even a translation, but the intepretations of jump-on-bandwagon writers and their intepretations of translations. A good bridge to the Tao, or Zen, or Chinese mystical practises, and by a man who did that, or encountered that himself will be the books of John Blofeld. Even if you have not read Blofeld before, you might have encountered his works being plagiarised by lots of low life such as Deng Ming Tao . Deng lifted whole passages and pages from Blofeld as I pointed out 15 years or so ago in alt dot taoism. Wikipedia John Blofeld http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blofeld And Blofeld books http://www.amazon.com/John-Blofeld/e/B001J3LDDA/ref=la_B001J3LDDA_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB001J3LDDA&ie=UTF8&qid=1348628069 And the comics of Tsai Chih Chung With translation by true bilinguals, and not by HotAirWorm and the likes Take a look http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tsai+Chih+Chung Do not take my word. Read the comments of others to his works. And then order and read them yourself And one more book that can help you very much in understanding of Taoism even if not the Tao. 7 Taoist Master (written long long ago) and translated by Eva Wong http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Taoist-Masters-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590301765/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348628435&sr=1-1&keywords=7+taoist+masters I mentioned now and then of this book. I have seen some of the places mentioned in this book when I was in China. The Masters were historical figures. One was called on by Genghis Khan to advise him. And in the book, he was the lowliest of the Masters. Idiot ranting on the Path aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

In 1993, after my project disbanded and I left Taiwan, I returned again to Taiwan just to be there again under the guise of continuing and learning combat taijichuan. I had to stay cheaply as this time no expense account and housing allowances like before. So I stayed in Al Amigo hostel, a cheap crashpad in Chi Ling Lu, where buskers, teachers of English , and learners of martial arts or anyone needing a cheap place to stay in. The manager of Al Amigo was this Captain Liew, an elderly retired Captain of the Nationalist Forces. We were having this exchange and he asked me what I followed. I told him I was a follower of Lao-Chuang. He laughed and laughed and other expats there looked at us as if we were crazy. He told me he was on the same path and it was my turn to laugh and laugh and laugh. We turned about the same time to the others in the hostel and said at about the same time "He is crazy" In that few minutes of laughter, I think we exchanged more of the Tao with each other than the later hours of conversation. I felt that was a better exchange of the Tao then trying to use logic and reasoning. But then again, I am the Idiot The Idiotic Taoist

If there can be a goddess then the god must be Procrastinatia, brother to Apathia. Procrastinatia knows me very well, and one of these days, I might even build a temple for him. Just do not hold your breath waiting for that Idiotic Taoist

As I have said, I came late into the Chinese language. I almost did not know my roots as my mother tongue was English. It was through the works of Westerners like John Blofeld that bridge that chasm for me in earlier years. And the works of the cartoonist Tsai Chih Chung. Take a look at his books, and consider buying them all. Not only you will not regret that, but very likely, will go on to buy more for your friends. He also did some videos in collaboration with others. The Sayings of Chuang Tzu 1a Zhuangzi Speaks From above, you can see the others of this series You might like that enough to go on to his Lao Tzu, Zen , and many others Go dream of that butterfly, and be free The Idiot on the Path aka Shanlung Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

It is a pleasure . In last posting, I forgot to include the link to his books. With translation by true bilinguals, and not by HotAirWorm and the likes Take a look http://www.goodreads...Tsai_Chih_Chung Idiot on the Path

Do bear in mind the opposite to a simple truth Is a simple lie The opposite to a profound truth Is another equally profound truth In profound levels, different truths morph from one to another Idiotic Taoist

I hardly look on our discourse as arguments. More of discussion and exchanging of views. So that from the many facets of view, the elephant might take shape. Taoistic Idiot

Idiots can be idiotic with no blame or stigma attached. Idiot lurching and reeling on the Path

Eeni Meni Minni Moe is very fast. Give that a try. Taoistic Idiot