shanlung

ha ha ha! I like that.

Birdies with very sharp beaks and very charp claws know exactly how sharp they are. They can be very very gentle. On the other hand, they can let you know if they dislike something. Idiotic Taoist

That I will do when I am thirsty. In USA you can do that with Bud. In my part of the world , I do that with a Tiger or Singha. Idiotic Taoist who drink when he is thirsty and eat when he is hungry.

Hate to me is transient at best. So if that is not long lasting, any impact will be brief. Unless you chose to keep focusing on that. Just like a pimple with pus, after you pop that, you get on with life and enjoying what is left of life and not dwell on it after that. Taoistic Idiot with no pimple with pus to pop (no blackhead either)

Hate is on the same coin as fear. Even if it is on the flip side of that same coin. There is no connection with love at all. In which case, you need to look into the fear of yours and rid yourself of that, or come to terms with that. Your Hate will disappear or be transmogrified into indifference, which will be the same. Idioitc Taoist caught in between hate and fear

After my recent trip on a fruitless search for the Tao in the lake gardens, street side restaurants and mountains around Taiping, I needed some rest at home. My fingers did some walking and I stumbled onto the old Usenet Alt.Philosophy.Taoism where I had roamed about as the Idiotic Taoist. I came across a very long piece that I wrote in about 1996. Which might still be fascinating reading for those interested in the Path of Tao even if we still have not even come close to agreeing what is the Tao about and what is Taoism or even what a Taoist is. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ============================================================== This was posted into apt around end Oct 1996.Instead of fiddling around with my floppies, I use Dejanews and managed to locate these letters once more. Jester ahem! As I have said, I have been in this place before and not just for a day. ====================================================== Deng Ming Dao's Chronicles have sections which are so similar to other really noted Taoist writers. It is unfortunate that my library is not with me right now and I cannot check and quote the other corresponding parts from them. However, I do have a couple of John Blofeld books (first written by him in 1960 or earlier) with me. There are two letters following this posting. The first letter contains a section from Mr Blofeld book. The next letter contains excerpts from Deng Chronicles which looked grotesquely similar to Mr Blofeld. That next letter also contains portions from Deng so strange that you best read them for yourself. This is not the first time that these letters were posted here. However, entities unknown to me have gone and deleted them soon after their posting. Warmest regards The Idiotic Taoist ========================================================= This was originally posted on the Tao-List sometime back in Mar 96. ********************************************************************************* I just finished reading 'Chronicles of TAO' by Deng Ming Dao. It was supposedly the story of Deng's Taoist master Kwan Saihung, tracing the education, martial arts and spiritual, he had in China Hua Shan to the time he crossed over to America. After all those years of real martial arts experience, Kwan then went on to 'learn' boxing eventually taking part in the Golden Gloves. The absurdity that after training in many forms of the highest martial arts he was badly beaten when he tried boxing for the first time even though the book went on to make Kwan the 'winner' after due training.( I remembered my boxing for the first time with gloves when I was in the Army with my even more limited background in karate/kungfu without any trouble). Not too long into that book, it was easy enough from the inconsistencies that it was more a novel rather than a true story that it made itself out to be. There were far too many instances of 'americanised' behaviour and thinking, typical of that make belief of David Carradine's Shaolin temple fantasy to make that book believable. There were certain parts which were true, but again, while 'Lobsang Rampa' books also did have some truth it, it sure does not make those books true or that the monk 'Lobsang Rampa' truly exists in the past now residing as a 'spirit' in an Englishman. I guess that people being people, the only point that really matters is the 'angle' they can get in making of money, and in this 'New Age', Taoism is as good as any an angle to make money. What bothers me is that in their making that kind of money, they had no qualms in spinning tales that may well mislead others really searching for the way. Further more, tales need not be spun as the truth is often stranger than fiction. There are also parts of Deng's Chronicles that bears very great similarity to other books written by noted authors written many many years ago. Perhaps it may be that great minds do think alike, but on the other hand, some authors need to be 'inspired' by other writers even to the following of their mannerisms and phrasing of words. I am appending below an extract from John Blofeld's book 'Taoism, the road to Immortality'. Mr Blofeld have spend many years in China and travelled and stayed at many Taoist temples in the past before Communism came. I rather believe in Mr Blofeld account of a Taoist recluse rather than that of Deng Ming Dao. My apologies to those who have read Blofeld books, but this is meant for those who have not read it yet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (In Blofeld's words) This final story of immortals is very different from the others, being no legend but a factual account of the attainment of immortality in the true Taoist sense of that word. I hear it years ago from a Taoist of Mount Heng and, though I cannot recall the actual examples he gave me of the 'double talk' with which Taoists clothe their secrets, I can vouch for the closeness of my version to the original in spirit if not in detail. The recluse who relate the story, told me that he was a 'third generation spiritual descendent' of the White Heron Immortal. In the reign of the Hsien Feng Emperor(1851-62), there lived on the slopes of Mount Heng a recluse known as the Narrow-Waisted_Gourd Immortal, more commonly called Hulu Weng, the Gourd Ancient One, or it may have been Hu Lao-weng which has the same meaning. Besides a few middle-aged disciples, he was attended by two children who were supposed to be boys, though some said they were his granddaughters, the offspring of a son conceived before he retured from the world of dust. Strangers coming to pay their respects were invariably received by one of these children, who had some skill in distinguishing false from real. Those whom the children reported to be unlike followers of the Way were generally told that the Immortal, being deep in meditation, might not be able to receive them for several days to come. If, however, these guests persisted and asked that lodging be provided until such a time as the Immortal found it convenient to bestow some of his precious time on them, than coolness vanished and they were made welcome. Perhaps their desire would be fulfilled that very evening, the Immortal suddenly emerging from his inner chamber, crying:"Well,well. How may an old and ignorant fellow serve Your Honours?' One day there arrived from the capital a scholar surnamed Pai who, at the age of 30, was already a little stooped and short-sighted from too much study of the Confucian classics. He seemed at once distraught and impatient, so it was just as well that the little girls reported favourably on the state of his heart and mind. Upon coming into the Immortal's presence, he was with difficulty restrained from kneeling and knocking his head on the floor as before a Confucian dignitary. "I come to Your Immortality", he cried, "as a very last resort. Either you must show me the face of truth or I shall dispatch myself here and now to the yello springs with the help of my silken girdle. All my life I have been searching for truth, pouring over the classics, listening to so-called sages in vain and cultivating the company of eminent Confucian scholars. A brilliant offical career lay before me until, all of a sudden, I realised that all that talk of benevolence, filial piety and propriety is so much claptrap! What li[propriety] conveivably have to do with the Great Way? Does cultivating the Tao require that we walk or bow in this way or that? Of course not! Your Immortality must help me to make up quickly for wasting my whole life upon such nonsense!" Impressed by his sincerity, the Gourd Immortal invited his official to stay for a while and receive 'such poor teaching as an ignorant old fellow has to give'. Pai was delighted , but the next day a horrible disappointment awaited him, for the Immortal spoke to him in terms that seemed utterly at variance with his own conceptions of sagehood and wisdom. This was the substance of Hulu Weng's first lesson to the bewildered scholar: "I cannot describe to you the indescribable, but I can teach you several by no means inconsiderable arts - invisibility, flying without wings, invulnerability to sword or serpent's fang - you know the kind of thing. Here, then, is your syllabus of study. Seeking the Mysterious Portal, you must first provide yourself with the wherewithal to bribe the gurads and render yourself invisible that you may slip through unnoticed. That sort of thing is not to be mastered in a day. Next you will have to learn how to fly thence to the courts of heaven, make your way to the central chamber, surprise Lord Lao[Lao-tze] at breakfast, snatch up his flask of golden elixir, slay those who will come running in to rescue it, break down the walls of the sky-castle and return to earth an immortal! A man of your determination has but to follow my course of instruction to be certain of sucess." Hoping with all his heart that the Immortal was just having a little joke at his expense, Pai gazed at him earnestly, trying to read his expression. Alas, his face was calm and solemn, and his eyes shone with an unearthly lustre that made Pai wonder if he were not dealing with a dangerous fanatic. Had he travelled post-haste from the capital, scarcely dismounting for weeks on end, forgetful of food and sleep, merely to be told the kind of nonsense that any child can find for himself in the sort of books he borrows from servants without letting his parents know? The thought was intolerable. The next day, long before dawn, he rose and packed his few belongings meaning to slip away without having to make embarassing excuses. He was tying up his bundle when one of the little girls came in with a pot of tea. Seeing how things were, she smiled and said: "Please, Uncle, do not leave us son soon. If you do, I shall get the blame for not looking after you properly. You would not like that to happen, would you, Uncle? I know why you are angry. The Immortal said something you did not like, isn't it so? Have you heard of mountain divinities pretending to be horrible re-toungued demons just to test the pilgrims' courage? You wouldn't be taken in would you, Uncle?" Rather than cause trouble for the friendly child, Pai decided to delay his departure for a few days, since it would be quite impossible to admit the true cause of his wanting to leave. Meanwhile the lessons continued arousing such interest that the few days became many and, in the end, Pai never left the hermitage again, staying there in all for some seventy or eighty years! Since a prerequisite for flying without wings is weightlessness, the first lessons were directed as 'trhowing things away'. Unlike many others, Pai had discarded greed and ambition before coming to the mountain, but he still had cumbersome baggage to be disposed of - excessive ardour, for example, over-eagerness to succeed and over anxiety lest he fail. He was taught to lose all sense of hurry, to subdue his tendecy to strain. He had to learn to let limslef to be borne along like a floating cloud on the chi of heaven. Simultaneously, he set himself to acquire the art of invisibility. For this, stillness was required and the capacity to be as unobtrusive as a lizard on a branch, mingling with the pilgrims who came on festival days - there, yet unnoticed. The bribe to be offered to the guardians of the Mysterious Portal turned out to be a vow that, if the golden elixir were won, Pai would not depart into final bliss before founding and nursing a line of disciples capable of passing on the recipe for immortality to future generations. As to the Portal itself, he learnt that it stands in a region known as the Precious Square Inch lying just behind the mid-point between the eyes.There came a day when he could at any time behold the rays of heavenly light that are forever streaming through this gate but remain invisible until the adept has learnt how to develop his inner seeing. Learning to fly proved the longest and most ardous task, requiring that his physical endowments - semen and subtle essence, breath and blended personal and cosmic vitality, spirit both personal and cosmic - be transmuted into a spirit-body able to soar, during meditation, beyond the stars. Entering the courts of heaven meant achieving at will a state of ecstatic trance. Passing into the central chamber was the fruit of a yoga for drawing up the final product of blended essence, vitality and spirit from the region below the heart to the ni wan cavity just below the top of the skull; snatching the golden elixir from Lord Lao meant causing the perfected elixir to descend (and reascend) the central pschic channel running between the pelvis and the ni wan. Slaying the guardians was a term for countering the illusory ego's final struggles to retain the recognition hitherto given to it as an individual entity. Breaking down the walls was the supreme act, destruction of the last barriers between the adept's being and the Source of Being, so as to attain immortality in the true and only meaningful sense of those words. It signified in fact, 'return to the Source', the be all and end all of Taoist endeavour, of cultivation of the Way! The former Confucian scholar, having by devoted labour and with the unstinted help of his teacher attained to immortal state within a mere decade of his distraught arrival, was destined to make the Gourd Immortal's hermitage his permanent home. Its former owner, before 'soaring among the stars on the back of a dragon', confirmed Pai as his spiritual successor. Pupils of Pai's pupils were still to be found there in the 1930s and it was probably their pupils who were truned when the red tide reached Mount Heng around 1950! ----------------------------------------------------- Warmest regards The Idiotic Taoist ===================================================== 2nd letterContinuation of my earlier letters on this Deng's Chronicles ************************************************************************* You recalled two weeks ago when I typed out the piece by John Blofeld, I said it was to cleanse my soul after reading the Chronicles of Tao purportedly the story of the Taoist Master that Deng Ming Dao claimed was his master. I know I have hurt some of the people in this list who thought highly of Deng when I wrote what I wrote with my 'heart-mind' and not being very explicit why I felt such a way. That piece by Blofeld was a 'finger pointing to the moon' as I thought that it would immediatly be clear when I downloaded that work of Blofeld. Perhaps people have not read that 'Chronicles' or have forgotten what they read and remembered only a warm glow when Deng's name was mentioned. I now write with my 'logical-mind'. In case Deng whipped up another book or maybe set up a 'Temple of Immortal Tao' for his master and pass the hat for donations. Deng's Chronicles, have been so full of inconsistencies in martial arts (Shaolin based martial arts taught in Wudang Mountains???)that it is really a sick joke and can be treated as a D grade pulp fiction novel. The masters Kwan Sai Hung claimed he learned under like the Taiji MASTER Yang Chengfu died in 1936, at the time Kwan claimed he was learning Shaolin style martial arts. Same for other MASTERS that were listed such as Chen Weiming, Sun Lutang Hsingyi/Pakua and Zhang Zhaodong of pakua. After all those listed Inner Martial Arts masters Kwan 'trained' under (introduction page 2), the rest of the book talks on Shaolin martial arts he trained under instead. I did not even comment on the miraculous travels Kwan made even with his uncle. In his Deng's words --------------------------------------- Chronicles page 329 He eased the tension of the two Taoists' deaths by wandering. Accompanying an uncle who was a wealthy fur trader, or going alone by bicycle, he toured Germany, France, and Eastern Europe, even though World War II was in progress. He found charm and beauty wherever he went, and had taken sentimental likings to the Black Forest, bridges over the Danube, the sound of Chopin. He loved to stay in alpine villages and appreciated the hospitality that people proffererd even to strangers. Though the land had been devastated, he took it all in, and the enchantment of a foreign land was mixed with enthusiasm of his youth. For a time, he had even wanted to move to Europe, but his only friends were members of a dying aristocracy. They could offer him no solace. ------------------------------------------------------ I am not sure fur will be traded in those part of the world during WW II. You all judge the possibility of one/two Chinese travelling merrily in Germany, France and Eastern Europe during the WW II staying in Black Forest and all that stuff above. And the second last sentence?...I checked it and typed like it is in the book. I only can conclude that portion was 'inspired' from something else he read without too much understanding. What blew my fuse is below. As written by Deng in his 'Chronicles of Tao', page 296/297. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In the midafternoon, Slender Gourd took him to a shaded corner of the broken-down, weed-invaded courtyard. "My brother and I will both teach you," he said. "I will first outline the method of cultivating the Way." "Let me complete what I began last night. You must seek the Mysterious Portal. But it is guarded. You must have an offering to first bribe the guards and then the ability to be invisible so that you may slip through unnoticed. With these preparations, you must then learn to fly to heaven, surprise Lao Tzu in his chambers, snatch up the flask of golden elixir, slay the defenders, break down the palace walls, and return to earth an immortal!" "This is like the opera 'Monkey Makes Havoc in Heaven' commented Saihung. {Comment - that episode referred to, of the Monkey God Sung Wu Kung is nothing at all like what is written} "Yes, but this is no opera," said the master severely. "sit down and listen to me. The first thing is the bribe for the guards." "What is that?" "Gold and jewels do not move the demon generals. It is the human spirit. Your bribe is a vow that should you attain the golden elixir that will liberate you from this earthly plane, you shall not depart into the infinite before teaching others and continuing the lineage." "I promise. Iwill do everything I can to walk the holy path," said Saihung." Master, i will do anything to succeed." "Not so fast," cautioned Slender Gourd. "You are obviously a man of determination, but you must maintain a certain perspective. For this brings up the question of flying. Flying means weightlessness. Such lightness means shedding weight. Your emotional burden is overeagerness to succeed and anxiety about failing. Gain and loss are not to be taken to heart. You must leave these attitudes behind. Do you understand?" "Yes, Master." "Invisibility, as you said last night, signifies stillness in mediation. With it, you can slip through the Mysterious Portal. This gateway is in the region known as the Precious Square Inch in the center of the head at eyebrow level. It is through this gateway that you will someday glimpse the divin light that is always there. When you can unify semen, breath, and spirit, you will soar to heaven - that is to say that you raise this essence to the Mysterious Portal. Snatching the golden elixir means thatyour channels are now open and that your energy breaches the Mysterious Portal. But at that final stage, the guardians will appear, and you will have to slay them." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forgive me for not continuing on with the rest of what Deng have written. I believe you all will agree that it is a very very remarkable similarity to that of Blofeld and his conversations with the Taoist master when Blofeld travelled in China in the 1930s.(If any newbies missed out on those letters I send 2 weeks ago, I will be happy to send it if you drop me a line) Deng even put in that not_so_stupid sentence ' "This is like the opera 'Monkey Makes Havoc in Heaven' commented Saihung.' I can only conclude that he is not satisfied with 'lifting' that part, that sentence was to innuendo that his story shared 'common origin' with that of Blofeld, in case you may happen to have read John Blofeld. And unless you happened to know Chinese classics well and know that there is no such thing in the Monkey Makes Havoc that Deng elude to, Deng would have succeeded in what he set out to do, using 'inspired' writings of other works to 'prop' up his story of his 'master'. I have not read and have no reason to read his '365 Tao'. I know people who read it said it was good. But given his 'Chronicles', I can only assume that the 'good' in the 365 Tao must have shared remarkable similarity with other good Taoist books. And instead of reading about them through Deng, I rather read those books directly instead. Your comments are most welcomed. Warmest regards The Idiotic Taoist ========================================== Your Idiot on the Path

Booting this up as there seems to be a revival of that Deng Ming Dao recently

Just note that Deng Ming Dao is a plagiariser mixing fiction from B grade pulp fiction and stuff he stole from other writers with his own rubbish and getting people money in fists begging to reward him., especially his trash book Scholar Warrior. Might as well set up an account for Madoff so folks can give Madoff money instead of to Deng Ming Dao. http://thedaobums.com/topic/27637-deng-blofield-works-is-it-ethical/ spelled out the details.

Opposite of love is indifference, or cold indiffference as said by Rex. Now the opposite of a simple truth is a simple lie. Opposite of a profound truth is yet another profound truth. Idiotic Taoist vacillating between love and hate and indifference and bewildered by choices everywhere

Dont know about rattlesnakes and king snakes. I seemed to be luckier with dragons who might well be lizards of a kind. Plagiarised from Goodbye to dragons written in Mar 12 2007 Goodbye to dragons Hi folks, While I might not have taken active part in your forums, I do write on parrots. One series has been on clipping wings that I extracted into my Livejournal here. http://shanlung.livejournal.com/65601.html I was also fairly active in Wikipedia - African Grey Parrot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Grey_Parrot Of greater importance , will be the 'discussion' that you all can go to when you click on the tab 'discussion' at the top or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:African_Grey_Parrot You might like to go there to make this to be more reflective and useful to all in the community. Its been a long time I wrote to all since I came over to Brisbane. I disliked staying in hotel and I quickly got a place on a 6 month lease to get out of that hotel. I am now counting down the 3 months left to end of that lease to get a house to stay in. Thats because I am not allowed to have any creatures, furred or feathered. As this place has no balcony either, I am frustrated by calls of rainbow loris, pied magpies, SC2s that sang in trees and ground and I not able to interact with them. So much so that I even befriended the redback under the steps of this leased apartment. In office, I spend my lunch breaks by the side of a creek. There were these 4 water dragons. Eventually I gave them scraps and then I ended up buying kitty kibbles to feed them. My wife came over a couple of weeks last month and took some photos that you can see in http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimmertje/sets/72157594547160392/ Without any other creatures, they became my lunchtime friends, for three months. And in the last week, to the stage that I was able to rub the big alpha queen on her head. She kept the other three some distance away. Then starting from this day Monday, I was seconded to a client and will be working with them on a big project. That meant I will be at their office and no longer going to my old office. While thats exciting to me, I was sadden to say goodbye to the dragons. Idiotic Taoist sadden to say goodbyes to dragons

Just like the Tao. Eat when hungry and drink when thirsty and that will always be there. Qi and chi is like the Tao. Thinking of qi or chi is nothing but thinking of qi and not of the real chi. I needed to be thrown about on my ears and bum to learn humility and beat out of me my imaginations of chi running here and there before I finally latched on if I stop kidding myself, and when it is so needed, the chi I been yearning of will be there. Maybe you need the same too, and if you are lucky enough to meet Masters and not the dime a dozen masters all eager to tell you the chi here and chi there and chi everywhere. Idiotic Taoist in peng li ji ann http://thedaobums.com/topic/24575-taijiquan-styles/page-4

While Un-named and Nameless, And for want of a Name, the word Tao was used. If you do like Zen, as the finger pointing to the moon. Which must not be mistaken as the Moon itself. Anything and everything else will be at best avid descriptions and ponderings on the finger and its shape and size and if crooked or curved. And in going on that path, the moon will be missed entirely as all focus will be on that finger. Idiot on the Path trying to see the moon hidden in the forests of fingers and thumbs

The Tao was found by the wood carver and maker of wheels, the oil seller , the butcher. Tao was found by Liu ChengSheng in a brothel where he stayed for over a year financed by gold he fraudulently created (some called that transmuted) from stones. Liu CS was so highly regarded by Wang ChongYang (founder of QuanZhen Pai) that Wang chose Liu to be leader of his funeral procession. Tao need not be searched for as it is part of everything and anything be that 66-72 hours work week or eternal contemplations of the fluff in your navel or roses or supernovas or saints or ISIS with suicide vests or in cowdung. Idiotic Taoist not inclined to seek the Tao for the Tao never left him be he drinking or eating or yabyumming

I missed this. Was during the time when I was standing on tip toes to get breathing space from the pile of bullshit and KPIs which exalted the beauty of the Emperor new clothings during that 66-72 hours 6 days work week. Good to kick this up for all to admire our own ignorances while babbling on what cannot be described and best be babbled on. Idiotic Taoist babbling when in mood to babble

Just eat when hungry and drink when thirsty and fornicate when horny and all you need to know of the Tao will be with you naturally without you having to reach out for the Tao , or for the De. Idiotic Taoist good at all things an Idiot is good at.

While on this topic, there are at least 2 other dance groups of Taiwan that can be eye openners especially if you have not heard of them before, the U Theatre and the Cloud Gate. I got to know them purely by chance when I dropped in on their shows hold in small towns in Taiwan, perhaps as promotionals, or more likely to bring art to the masses of great unwashed. What I saw got me to flocking to their shows money in fist all ready to buy tickets. So should you if they be in your neck of the woods . Those folks grew up on tales of Water Margin 水滸傳 and Romance of 3 Kingdoms 三國演義 and the 鹿鼎記 Deer and the Cauldron. Their productions got more martial arts content then what you see from a cage, inside or outside. It will be a mystery as to why the Prince of Peace got more war content then messages of peace. Meeting with Bodhisattva Manjusri and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Lin Hwai min Moon Waterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ6g6waPA-0 May we end up clinking glasses or passing the joint about in more than one place. Idiot on the Path chanting peace and being in peace while preparing for war and mayhem

Always better to meet in flesh to clink glasses of tea or beer Or even to share a smoke. Which cannot be done over the keyboard Idiotic Taoist all ready to share and share alike

No end to trying to get to the heart of De when we do not know what in the world (or Universe) is the Tao Idiotic Taoist now wondering if for a change to eat when thirsty and drink when hungry

I just about to finish chapter 3 of 鹿鼎記 My rate of reading got somewhat derailed. I found Brandon Sanderson The Way of Kings , itself consisting of 2 books about 700 pages each, continued with Words of Radiance of 1100 pages. Which was another incredible read. I further found that was given Gemmell prize. And in googling other books with Gemmell prize found many other authors with books readily available in my local libraries. Such books by Andrzej Sapkowski such as Witcher and Blood of Elves and more. Furthermore, books by James Rollins and Lee Child latest Make Me got borrowed and begging to be read. Which kind of indicate why my rate of reading of 鹿鼎記 got slowed down even though it was getting more and more readable. I need not mention either of the many lunches and dinners and drinks with old friends , retired or ungainfully employed. In 2nd chapter, found Chinese language extremely full of colorful language that the hero Wei Siao Bao at 8 years old gleefully used. His mom was a prostitute in a whorehouse and did not know who the father was. Whorehouses in those days were places of entertainment with story tellers spinning tales from Water Margin and Romance of 3 kingdoms with tales of heroes and fighting and cunning back stabbing strategies. Siao Bao found he was without peers in back stabbings as his martial arts was close to zero and guys that frequent brothels were all big guys and/or martial artists. For those who love martial arts stories, even in chapter 2 and 3, you get those in abundance such as an old evil eunuch who could put Bruce Lee into his pocket and beat the shit out of Miyamoto Musashi armed with a single chopstick. But lost to Siao Bao cunning ways who blinded him and pretending now to be his little caregiver that Siao Bao killed. And thats only in chapter 3 with one hundred ++ still to go. He yet got to meet the young Kangsi Emperor. In the messages up to here, I was still on the soap box scattering my pearls how to get into Chinese while reading that 基督山恩仇記 which was why I kept a running record of the chapters I had read. Those pearls all scattered. I am also trying to finish those books I borrowed from the library before I go on my walk about. I will add on only when folks like to ask me more, be that on handful of coarse grit and sand or Ponds cold cream. I try to give advice as honestly as I am capable of. Taoistic Idiot just about to finish chapter 3 of 鹿鼎記

De (德)

道可道，非常道 Tao ke Tao , fei chang Tao 名可名，非常名 Ming ke Ming, fei chang Ming The Tao that you think is the Tao, is not the Tao The Name that you think is the Name, is not the Name I think my first reading of Tao Te Ching was when I was 12 or 13 years old. It did not took long for me to decide what I was reading was so laughable and corny. I went back to read TTC again and again, and yet again , and again. The TTC grew from a very thin pamphlet into volume thicker than telephone directory. That simple thin pamphlet I recalled reading was the best. No interpretations and conjured stories to bury what LaoTzu wrote that can then be copywrited. And the one was was corny was that little boy of 12. How many of us read and re read the TTC in all its different versions from the thin to the thick? And read the first couple of sentences, threw them aside and kept digging in the left over bath waters? And kept asking what is the Tao. Even to castigate Chuangtzu for not being a real Taoist as his writings never contained and invoke Tao. For all I know, LaoTzu was only a Pretender as he certaining talked of the Tao , even if his first couple of sentences denied everything he wrote subsequently. When the Tao is beyond immeasurable and beyond infinite, even to think of the Tao and its concept, you cannot but defined the Tao, the Undefinable Tao , within the concept of what you think is the Tao. Likewise, the Name that you try to give to that Name. Imprisoned the real Name into the representation you made in your mind of that Name. The Name so vast and primordial all squeezed into a tiny container of the Name? Perhaps that came from the great East and West divide. The West, be it Chrisitianity, Judaism or Islam, demanded the concept of God. And the East? Godless or the refusal to accept the concept of God. But I have so say Judaism tried to limit the damage by evoking unpronouncable JHWH. Which failed as that became Jehovah, and yet another name. But again, if God is that infinite and everywhere, by giving the thought of God, are people then differentiating anything outside their thought of what God is is then not God? Is God that limited ? That God must exist only within that name, or concept, of GOD? Or the limitation came from the very thinking of the concept God. So those that want to talk of God, tell me then, where is your God. And why do you wish to limit your God by talking of Him , and of his Name. My first posting into here came as a hit on a very old webpage I did about 10 years ago, and based on earlier writings I did on BBS before the Internet. I reproduce that here, what was said by Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng. http://www.shanlung....taonirvana.html aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ENLIGHTENMENT From: khamba2 - Date: Wed, Jun 2 1999 12:00 am Groups: alt.philosophy.taoism Paul Humphries <[email protected]> wrote: >Hi! >I feel a bit skeptical about enlightenment at the moment, so wish to ask >some questions to anyone who has any ideas.. >When a person reaches the state of pure, total enlightment and absolute >truth, what does this mean? Is it that they are now learning openly to >the greatest of their potential? What sort of knowledge of reality >emerges? What abilities does this give the person? How many truely >enlightened masters exist, do you think? How do they live? Would they >have any preferences in taste in music? >Cheers! Sorry that I am answering with this is an old letter. I do hope the words of Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng can answer a bit of your question even if he did not mention his preferences for music be it classical, hard rock or heavy metal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------­---- I have mourned that many of my books stayed back in my home town while I was wandering ,working and staying elsewhere. But a selection of John Blofeld's books followed me. I thought I quote one of my favorite portion from his book 'Taoism, The Secret and Sublime' which may help others understand and decide for themselves if Taoism is a philosophy or a religion. I myself, never did feel that either path is important. He was talking to this Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng. (now using also his format and capitalizations..) -------------------------------------------------------- Having heard from me of Sir Edwin Arnold's lovely expression for entering Nirvana, 'the dew-drop slips into the shining sea', he exclaimed with delight, but added: 'And yet it does not capture the whole. Since the Tao is all and nothing lies outside it, since its multiplicity and unity are identical, when a finite being sheds the illusion of separate existence, he is not lost in the Tao. By casting off his imaginary limitations, he becomes immeasurable. Plunge the finite into the infinite and, though only one remains, the finite, far from being diminished, takes on the stature of infinity. Such perception will bring you face to face with the true secret cherished by all the accomplished sages. The mind of one who returns to the Source thereby BECOMES the Source. Your own mind is DESTINED TO BECOME THE UNIVERSE ITSELF!' The Taoistic Idiot aka Shanlung 山 龍 Mountain Dragon http://shanlung.com/

道可道非常道 (pinyin: dào kĕ dào fēi cháng dào) The Tao that you think is the Tao, is not the Tao 名可名非常名 (pinyin: míng kĕ míng fēi cháng míng) The Name that you think is the Name, is not the Name In addition to above, but not so stated in Tao Te Ching as Laotze was so economical with words, will be 德可德非常德 (pinyin: de kĕ de fēi cháng de) The De that you think is the De, is not the De 名可名非常名 (pinyin: míng kĕ míng fēi cháng míng) The Name that you think is the Name, is not the Name So folks here and all over having been admonished never to try to investigate or analyse into the Dao, decided to go all out to analyse the De. I am not sure that can be profitably done even if we all are trying to do just that. There are some aspects that just cannot be viewed directly. Those can best be seen from the corner of the eye. But do excuse this ramblings of an Idiot and not let me stop any of the fun of analysing the De or even the Tao. For perhaps Laotze and Chuangtze and Yang tze were all old fogies and their minds cannot match the minds of modern age which can and will find the Tao and the De and nail that donw once and for all when they failed so miserably a few thousand years ago. Idiotic Taoist now wondering about the Tao and the De and if those two words are any relation to what Laotze was talking about.

That I do know. Words and ideas being transmogrified appeared to be an in-thing especially with New Age Taoism or Whatever is the current flavour. One thing that carried from the early days of Laotze is the creation of straw dogs or straw man which seemed to be eternal in its uses to booster any arguments. Idiotic Taoist

Surely no need to get too excited or even excited over this. As if anyone need to loose their cool as to whatever way that pleases them in getting into any language or to wring their hands over how difficult it is to get into any language. Perceptions can differ vastly.

To each their form of enjoyment!