Rara

So I guess the booze will mess it all up then?

Actually, that was always God"s call. According to the bible anyways...

So is attempting futile? How do we know which war will finally do it? At what point do we decide to say "Damn...I ain't fighting today. Let those power hungry arseholes finish it for our own good"?

So...next question... Is drinking tea habitually a bad thing? I get us being fanatics as Taoists but if we drink it all day every day, is that not just the same as having an eating disorder or being an alcoholic? Ok, so the physical difference is quite vast when you look at the effects on people. I'd rather be addicted to tea than alcohol. But still, is this something to be wary of? Like watching too much TV etc? Taoist poet Li Po claimed to drink a lot of wine. He didn't seem to care. So maybe you can't have too much of one thing (provided you're in control...not IT) Hmmmm *strokes non-existent white, sage-type beard*

Point taken I was about to say that it's funny because in the past, all has been fine in humanity. That or doomsday has been prevented a lot throughout history (has been similar destruction in holy books, granted, but I'm talking about as far as we can trace with reliable modern records) Then I see this rapid advance in technology and think...jeez. Man has the power to wipe out man...so gotta stay vigilant. These texts did foresee the "bad guys" winning though...in this form. Only for the "good guys" to ascend. So...are we powerful enough to stop the apocalypse?

Power to the people! Haha... Yes, it is proven that with enough fighting for one thing can make a change. I still sign petitions and write to my MP on topics I feel strongly behind and know there is a decent campaign going.

How important is this sort of practice though? I always thought the universe was doing fine, regardless of human intervention...

Makes sense. Feels like I've hit a stalemate in meditation. And it IS just mood-altering.I become calmer and "more sage-like" for a temporary period and end up getting more and more gentle... Then I do lack energy a lot and have "come downs" from meditation. This thread and what you just said in this quote could well be gold!

I had not thought of doing this. Thanks!

I'm slowly seeing some things that could be contradictory in Chuang Tzu. Deciphering it is a hard task! The vibe I get is that he opted out of a lot of worldly affairs due to realising that history has proven that humanity and ego goes round in circles. Some would call this apathy, right? I think the important thing to recognise is that Chuang Tzu was just a dude...as am I, as am you. And if he sat at this table with us, and we were not star struck and treated him like any other on this forum, we would realise that our philosophies would differ quite a bit! Generally speaking, I wouldn't try and change a politician's way of thinking. Why else would they become a politician if they didn't want to have their own way? Anyone can pretend/dupe the public into believing they are fit for the job. So why would MH continue to fight that? Surely you would agree that would be stupid? Or a waste of energy, more importantly...

RE The army and emotions... ...game of life... So... ...game of war... I am currently being trained to not say sorry if I hurt my sparring partners in wing chun. The guy on the street will want to hurt me, so I need to learn that I need to play the game too. Just learning when to switch off is important.

Yes! Now THAT right there is Karma

MH's next life will simply be a ghost coming back to haunt anyone that has taken his freedom in this lifetime. Watch out congress!

Odd, my post from my mobile vanished and mobile site just became the normal site! Anyway, what I said was... Exactly why I left the thread. My decision was already made regardless. No one else's concern, just like I don't interfere with other people's decisions

Well that's just it, I don't ever stop! You're currently witnessing me post on this forum by phone, exclusively. I'm done with my laptop unless it's absolutely necessary My house is a hotel...I'm all about getting out here there and everywhere! I should stop flogging myself in that case. As for peanut butter, I love the stuff. In fact, I just had some on a pancake for lunch. Energy food. I make flapjacks out of it too with oats, honey, and protein powder. Then again, we have somewhere in the region of a 45 year age gap, don't we? So I'm sure one day I won't be able to keep it up. I might have me a third cup of tea then!

@BKA Yeah I see. That whole pray for your enemies type of thing... @gatito...well, maybe not. But some of the drivel and nonsense I have to endure haha... No I do understand. I'm in a silly mood today, so ignore me if I start popping bad jokes.

I was pondering the other day. Is it really possible to just not flip out when under relentless torture? I've tried practicing tolerance and compassion for everyone and really, all that does is make me a bit of a walk-over right? Is there not a moment when we just have to go ape on someone because they are just p***ing us off?! (Yeah, my definition of torture is having somebody talk at me for hours on end about their opinions in the world and politics. This week, here in England, according to one source, most of our problems stem from Eastern Europeans coming over and either bumming off the state or earning money and sending it back home/not paying taxes. Lol) Sorry about that rant. But yes, even in more drastic circumstances of actual torture, capture etc. Is compassion really all that important? Why not just wind up the prison guard to the point where he shoots ya? Go out with a bang, as they say. That would be more liberating imo.

Please elaborate...I think I understand but I do tend to get tangled in words...

This is comforting to read. This means that I actually have an unlimited capacity for chocolate! Good times!

Cool! Does anybody here limit how much they drink on a daily basis? I try and stick to 2 cups max (of anything containing caffeine)...

So I guess more people have a bit of this within them than I give credit for. E.G I was thinking, my mum is probably the "least Taoist" person...so I thought. I could list a thousand reasons...but she still does have those moments of being at home and gardening, for example, and doing it of course to be useful yet create beauty and enjoy it. Just taking that time away from the news and petty dramas of life... Is this what you mean?

Now what I wanna know is if we're so out of touch with the Tao (in general, humanity that is for thousands of years) , how do "we" (Taoists) end up as a minority? Chuang Tzu basically tells us that we live in an unbalanced world. Looks like the only salvation is to ignore it completely (within reason) and just listen to our souls?

Oh sure, I canned that pursuit for knowledge long ago. But I ditched that for a "quest for spiritual truth" and as the years have gone on, I have learnt that I went in with the same mentality. I didn't end up any wiser, just on the same road and hitting a dead end. Just because my mentality was the same. Chasing without seeing what was there in front of my eyes... So in addition to everything that was said in this thread, I also feel that the same applies. I can read all the philosophy books in the world, but without my life at home and remaining in the here and now, those books are useless to me. They are a good pointer, but at the same time, it is up to me to look within and simply just live. I too like cooking and cleaning Heaven, earth and man...hmmm, interesting. The latter don't seem too difficult to get to grips with but heaven...this is hard for me to interpret as it's quite a loose phrase (like enlightenment) So I can see that Leih Tzu needed to complete the final and most difficult part in this story, and come back home Great chapter anyway. As you can see, I am relating to a certain protagonist.

This was very refreshing. I see many of us on TTB chasing knowledge and enlightenment like there is some big secret. This chapter made me want to burn all my books and sell my laptop lol

Yes! My mum claims that I have a defeatest attitude re government, police etc. I say it's wisdom. Some can be spoken to on a reasonable level, sure, but they will make it obvious that they are open minded enough from the start!