Rara

Aka mindfulness, right? It takes some focus to get the job done. And discarding thoughts that enter the mind can only get it done more efficiently...just depends if you want to do it efficiently!

Thanks for clarifying on this tread. Last year, I was practicing for a while with the tip of my tongue on the actual roof of my mouth (pointing towards the centre of my brain) All that happened was discomfort and lots of saliva to keep gulping down! Plus the tongue kept slipping back to the position which you state here! You cannot practice mindfulness very easily with everything all twisted in weird directions, and tension in the jaw! I must add though, we do train wing chun with teeth bitten together. If we don't, if we get hit in the jaw, it will break. But I wouldn't in meditation...it's not as if there's a risk of jaw breaking when sat alone!

Happiness is a choice...your decision to make live what you want it to be.

I really dig the OP. Many questions that I have driven mad myself over. What helped me was, erm, f*** truth...it's not important in this context. Just enjoy life and don't harm. Sounds like you already have all this in you...but seeking is pointless. You're covering a beautiful sun with clouds. Still pretty and interesting, but a chance of rain!

Whatever we conclude won't be final. Just you wait until the "new research shows" headline comes out!

Actually, that was my brief generalisation. Don't make me grab my book!

Interesting. Martin Palmer (who did the foreward, translation and research in my copy of Zhuangzi) said that all chapters were written around the same time as Zhuangzi, hence its formalised structure. It was said that people took his philosophy and put it into a book from whatever material they had from the man (or people) himself. Don't quote me on this just yet, as I would need to re-read the foreward, but I'm almost certain that's what he said (he has done research of his own) Just let me know if you would like me to cite what he says...

I'm confused. I thought TTC was officially written down in Zhuangzi's lifetime. Despite Lao Tzu living from around 571 BCE, thought the text itself officially came much much later...

"And I, like, went to this retreat, right. And OMG, did you know, like, how many thoughts you have, like, all the time? It's actually really hard" Bless em. I have met a few...can't blame them for getting into it!

I wish to open this up. I realise this is different in other parts of the world (I'm in the UK) but still, there seems to be a problem here. "Dolphin Friendly" or "Dolphin Safe" labels on tins of tuna is a supposed way of telling the consumer that no dolphins are harmed in the catching of the fish. I have been doing some research and it implies that in the US, Australia and many other countries, the label only means there are regulations to adhere to, but it doesn't guarantee that dolphins are not killed. Here in the UK, the label is supposedly irrelevant as the type of tuna we get don't swim around dophins anyway. However, the method by which the fish are caught supposedly kills lots of other sea life like sharks. What are your thoughts on this? Tuna has always been a staple in my household but now I wonder if I can buy another can if sea life is dying unneccessarily. I was mainly concerned about the dolphins at first and was relieved to hear that they are not harmed when our tuna is caught. But with this new info about other sea life being killed, I still wonder. Please discuss, and if you have any more in depth knowledge on this topic, please share!

Sounds like clever maintenence. Leave it be, then when it annoys you, lose it! Anyway, back to Zhuangzi!

Correct me if I'm wrong...science did prove chi... Chi = energy, right? Physicists found ways to generate it...people can even generate electricity from their own bodies.

Wait, Zion? That must be what he meant.

Martial artists that use "chi" to hit their opponents...this is plastered all over Youtube. I'm not convinced. But at the moment, I do sunscribe to the cultivation of chi idea. Whether my experiences have been psychological or not, I don't think I will ever know. But I also subscribe to the idea that anything material is still mental. Created by a bigger mind (the Tao? Hermetic calls it "The All") yet also created (for it is perceived) by our own minds. So chi = mind. Mind over matter...

Do have a shiny bald head? I always wondered!

Yeah, so I wouldn't rule out that if ZZ hasn't mentioned LZ, he and his followers probably heard of the legend either way. Or maybe just the followers had via ZZ, hence their decision to mention him Or maybe ZZ just chose not to mention him in the inner chapters. Why should he refer to another man if he is writing his own Taoist book? TTC could have been his competition

Yeah. I always wondered what it was that made an "electrifying atmosphere" at a live event, like a rock concert or live sport. Just a feeling of excitement that happens to ripple through everyone in the room. It's as if energy can be shared (and drained) in a number of ways. Only thing is that physicists will always find it difficult of explain fully as I'm not convinced there is a way to do so. It's the same as trying to describe where to locate consciousness and thoughts. They cannot be seen, not if you open up a brain. But you can see the mechanism.

Haha, yes. Which now makes me think how much value there is in "Taoist" practices. I guess Lao Tzu did warn us in the opening chapter of TTC!

True, while at the same time, at least we have the ability to act upon what we "like". Unlike, say, plants. But things like money etc still can bring happiness even if they do bring along a lot of the worlds ills. Surely it depends on how you use the hand you are dealt with?

My version of Zhuangzi has Lao Tzu too and he is varified in footnotes. As I said though, who wrote these chapters in comparisson to the first 7? I doubt any of these met...just they are used as characters to argue the point of ZZ. Like "The Vinegar Tasters" painting. It isn't likely that Buddha, Lao Tzu and Confucious were all hanging out discussing their views!

I got this impression from Zhuangzi. There are many spiritual therapies to rid one of anger, but few people tell you that it's ok because it exists as a natural thing. A similar discussion is going on in that subforum too. I notice these days that any conversation I have on TTB always seems to lead to the same place.

Yes And I practice wing chun and have been softened through my journey looking at Religious Taoism and Buddhism. As you might have seen from my other thread, I'm slowly reverting back to a more natural me. I'm a nice dude anyway...but will fight (and kill) if need be. I doubt I will ever need to anyway haha

This has come into quite a few of my convos in TTB...including Stosh's sneezing threat on General Discussion. Training to be natural... Check his angle on the way we breathe. Very interesting discussion.

Hmmm...that he was perhaps just writing what was already spoken ideas of the Tao, passed on generation to generation.

Ditto. Lao Tzu is mentioned in the book many times...in later chapters, granted. So depends who wrote them and who told them about Lao Tzu I guess...