Rara

Sorry, just went to edit my post and ended up quoting it instead. Ignore this!

I might as well carry on here from my Mair 5:4 post as I just so happened to stumble upon this next! Yes, there's a lot of repetition in this book and I realise that it is a great way to inject the philosophy into people - I guess just like holy books and preachers do. You could go to church every Sunday and receive a bunch of the same information week in and week out, just worded slightly differently - but with the repetition and belief, the religion's Way would become embedded in you. I'm using "you" generally. I obviously don't mean you MH I've noticed that for me - to maintain Taoist practice, I should keep reading TTC and ZZ regularly. And when I've finished my current reading of ZZ, go back to TTC and just repeat the cycle. Even if I just manage to read a page in a day, that's a page-worth of a repeated point going back into my brain.

Is there more to the moral of this section other than the point that the "ultimate man" is highlighted for being worthy to rule over those that appear to be worthy to rule? I see that a lot of ideas are repeated/recycled in The Chuang Tzu so I want to check if you all find this too, or whether I may be missing something subtle...

Would you say the mind-muscle connection is a similar practice? For example, these days if I train, say pushups or planks, I focus a lot on breath and an visualising the muscles at work. With that, I feel them "pump" and I would say that results are more visible now than ever. When I was younger, I would go to the gym more, do more and be one of those types... training for vanity, just because. But I would show up when I didn't really want to be there and would even lower weights and reps in order to just say "hey, I showed up at least". It was a fashion statement more than a decebt exercise plan. Funny, I put on 10 lbs of fat that year. These days I do much, much less...in fact, I will barely touch a weight. But when I exercise, it will be 45 mins, 4 strength exercises max, done well, slowly and how I described above. I'm convinced that it's the mindset that is doing the work...the body just follows like a shadow.

Confucius playing the "man of wisdom" on the outside, for show yet has little substance. The toeless dude has attained Tao and therefore does not moan...his "negative" past is just perception. Confucius also learns something here. He's quite astounded. PS Been away from this study for a while. However, I've started reading the Zhuangzi again, Burton Watson's. All is so much clearer now

I want to share the following as right now, it has been very useful. I also invite you all to share your current practices, afterall, things change and I never find that my practices last forever. Something will happen where it becomes necessary to change or mix up what I am doing. That is why I put "regular" in brackets, because for some, daily ritual in itself can cause stress as it takes the spontaneity/flow out of the moment. Or disrupt the "natural order of things", if you will. Because I woke up with excruciating back pain a couple of weeks ago, I had to see the doctor and on examination, the only thing he identified was extreme tension. No injury. That's a relief, I'm only 29. He advised gentle stretches and movements - I had previously spent a couple of years doing resisitance training in the gym and driving a lot. Funnily enough, when I lightened the whole schedule of everything, that's when my back locked out. Literally two weeks was all it took for my body to say "what's going on?!" I cannot explain such a bizarre phenomenon. Most people put their back out lifting things. I put my back out reducing all that. I can only think that my body/muscles were perhaps a bit shocked and failed to adapt. I tried to unwind gradually but I guess it wasn't enough. So anyway, here is my almost-daily practice which I find to be helping with life in general: Wing Chun Forms: The first two as I had only really started learning the third before I left the class. Done at a moderate pace with focus on breathing and mobility of the spine. I haven't practiced the "hard" style of this martial art for 2 years. The school I went to closed and the instructor was going through child-custody battles and losing his job etc etc. I decided to leave fighting behind as I now see it as a wrong Way to counter those "attacking" you. Fighting is not Tao, or my Way should I say? But I do feel the forms still provide health benefits - but I have no intention of using these mechanisms in any form of combat, even if that is what they were designed for. I will probably take Tai Chi classes instead some time soon. The WC forms are a good place holder though and take their ideas from Tai Chi anyway. Gentle yoga/stretches: Thanks to my fiancée - I now know the ones that are particularly beneficial for my weird back. Downward dog/upward dog and table. And that one that makes you look like a seal. I love the way she describes these - takes all seriousness out of it. Who cares what their name is?! Haha. Household "chores": By that I mean, usual daily activity. I have never felt more content doing dishes, cooking and eating food, making and drinking tea. Done again in a relaxed, flowing manner, I feel more in-tune with myself. I can feel my heart and belly as I type this, it's quite a sensation. Life is slowing down, yet from waking up around 7am, it can become 7pm and I won't have even left the house (I work from home mainly now) If that is the case, it doesn't bother me any more. I used to get cabin fever, but now I know that was just a by-product of "wanting". "I wanna go here. I wanna go there" My mind screamed. "I wanna eat this, I wanna get home quick" it moaned. "I don't wanna spend that much, do we really have to?" it whined. So I spilled the mind on the floor and left it there to evaporate Amazing what a good bit of back pain can make you realize. So please, share your current practices. I may find another cool thing to try!

I apologise if that's how it came across - but my intention was sincere. I am well versed in karmic law/reincarnation etc from my time with (Kadampa) Buddhists and various other readings etc. Don't get me wrong, I too have "suffered" greatly and that's what led me there in the first place. Trying to find answers, and trying to learn why these things were happening to me. You started this thread because something clearly isn't working, right? For me, delving deeper into these things made things worse. I threw karma against the wall, "changed" (you did say transform - I said change) my methods in daily life and found the answer was more simple than I wanted it to be. But it worked. You can do the dishes or chop wood - these are merely metaphors. And who says it's easy? Such mastery of this practice, I am nowhere near! But this is the base of Taoist practice ... lose yourself in this simplicity and problems will fade away. A Taoist will see karma as a burden that is not necessary. To put down the burden would be the way to change it. But you don't have to do this, it's your choice to take alternate advice of course! I just have to say that the method worked for me, was less stressful and confusing and wish for the same relief for you. All the best with it either way.

Crikey! Will store this idea in my back pocket, thank you I went to acupuncture for a little while and it did do some good. Speaking of strenthening, I appear to be 100% now so I may break myself gently into pushups and planks again. Continue the stretches as well, of course.

Yep, easy to get just too busy to maintain a routine. In moments like that, I don't force myself to do anything, but it's always good to get "back on the wagon" once the busy moments have passed Funny, I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday and remembered a phrase I read once about "kung-fu your kitchen" (basically to use meditative kung fu form during cleaning) And yes. 2 or so hours on the sofa watching TV at night is definitely a ritual for me hehe.

Have you found that your practice is helping you in such hectic days? I work in events and have found that although "trying" to incorporate calm mind in this environment, the unpredictable always will creep up on me! Sometimes I'm just so tired that I end up flapping. Although I think I am better these days - would just be nice to keep that cool in the more stressful situations. But generally I feel I do quite well. I guess practice makes perfect, right? Will get there in the end...

Doing the dishes works for me!

What's wrong with your karma? If you want to change it, you could just not do what you're currently doing

I had a salt-water nasal spray once, but that didn't really help. I'll have a look at your methods though

Good then. Diamond pushups are a part of my .... routine? I do them twice a week on average

I can relate to this - I get a lot of dust and animal allergies and once, I went to the hospital and to make things even more annoying, they told me that I have narrow nasal passages. So there's nothing much I can do! No wonder they kept saying in Kung Fu "you breathe so heavily - and you tense up easily" The doctors suggested washing clothes above 60°C to kill allergens. I've also tried dropping dairy etc but there were no significant changes to be quite honest. I can't speak for neti - in fact, I've never heard of it so will give that a google! +1 To orshavskiy though. One thing that does always work is being active. Moving around a lot, even if just washing up with some "gusto" can help. Doing light exercises, gentle jogs, martial arts, weight lifting. All those things say to my body "you need to breathe so I'm going to allow it" Hope you find the right tool for you.

Cool. Might give it a go

Nice.

Pos. I'm now questioning my interpretation on this based on my translation, as your idea here is quite different.

Ah!

Hi Wu Ming Jen. I would like to interpret it this way. Do you have a source that "straw dog" refers to the nothing higher, nothing lower? And also, what about the tampling on them once they have no further use?

Absolutely. And the Chuang Tzu also had the odd parable on everything having its use. It doesn't seem right that Lao Tzu would have talked about the sage in this way, considering the general tone of the TTC. It wouldn't surprise me if this section was heavily adulterated.

"In the T'ien yün chapter in the Chuang Tzu", it is said that straw dogs were treated with the greatest deference before they were used as an offering, only to be discarded and trampled upon as soon as they had served their purpose" - D.C Lau The best way I can describe this is that nature has its way with all things. The sage imitates nature and thus has this approach with people. Seems a bit off, doesn't it? Then again, utilizing things that are only needed to be utilized to serve their purpose and then move on, is big Taoist princinple. So perhaps this shouldn't be taken too literally (otherwise I can portray the sage as a fascist dictator which is quite inconsistent with the rest of TTC!)

In some moment of disturbance in my life 4-5 years ago I found myself lighting up toys as I walked past them, waking screaming in the middle of the night and the door simultaneously flying open, shelves coming down in shops when I pointed at them. Just sayin'...if that was chi it was certainly not under control.

There's a lot of debating and arguing among "Taoists" too...especially on forums hehe.

There's great stories, parables if you will, on carefree wandering as well as skill mastery. Different style to TTC but a great read. I'm currently on my 3rd reading. Burton Watson translation...more expensive for some reason but very good.