There is only one road towards Tao

[exorcist_1699]

There is only one road towards Tao: it is the road of Yin and Yang, the road of Pre-heaven, the road capable of stopping aging at this moment and leading you towards eternity . Others are trivial .

 

Some seems helps you healing minor diseases, some makes you have a peaceful mind, some lets you get flashing light in your eyes.... thousands of them , all are small, narrow paths leading you away from the main road yet unfortunately most people prefer to follow .

Edited May 21, 2009 by exorcist_1699

[宁]

welcome to the greater familiy then: Christians believe that there is only one way, and that is Jesus Christ. Muslims say it's Allah and Mohammed. Buddhists... well maybe you know better... They all argue about being the only way.

 

I thought Daoism wasn't about general presumptions, but it is a specific and specifying path.

It doesn't matter what the others do or how they do it.

What matters is what you do with what you have in front of you.

The Chinese are very practical people, aren't they?

That's why mystical thinking was made up, probably for westerners like us.

I'm pretty convinced that if we are to ever understand Daoism, it must be thru practical thinking.

And that means just starting from where you are, who you are, and what you have and can do.

What is the use of dreaming about a "real" Daoism hidden in the mountains of China?

Only day-dreamers may find it interesting. But not for practical people.

Dao is the source of everything, and it manifests it's power and knowledge even OUTSIDE of China.

That's pretty hard to swallow for most Chinese

We are still barbarians to them. They call us "pieces of meat without spirit".

I'm just happy not every Chinese thinks this way, but it's a common thinking amoung them.

 

Get my point?

[Deepbluesea]

There is only one road towards Tao: it is the road of Yin and Yang, the road of Pre-heaven, the road capable of stopping aging at this moment and leading you towards eternity . Others are trivial .

 

Some seems helps you healing minor diseases, some makes you have a peaceful mind, some lets you get flashing light in your eyes.... thousands of them , all are small, narrow paths leading you away from the main road yet unfortunately most people prefer to follow .

 

That flies in the face of what a great man (my father) told me. "When you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." Your road might be the road for you and I wish you luck. It might be the right road for me and I am ignoring it or I am already on it unknowingly. Since we are tapping away at keyboards instead of walking, it would seem that we are not on a road at all.

[Taiji Bum]

There is only one road towards Tao: it is the road of Yin and Yang, the road of Pre-heaven, the road capable of stopping aging at this moment and leading you towards eternity . Others are trivial .

 

Some seems helps you healing minor diseases, some makes you have a peaceful mind, some lets you get flashing light in your eyes.... thousands of them , all are small, narrow paths leading you away from the main road yet unfortunately most people prefer to follow .

Flashing lights are called confirmatory signs. They're like the sign posts along the way to your goal. Its like having a map to the next town and on the map is says you will pass tree apple trees and a large rock on the left after walking for 45 minutes.... then you will pass a lake with a small island and a dock on your right an hour after that..... then you will pass a yellow house with horses on your left 2 hours after that...... thats what the flashing lights are (and the Secret of the Golden Flower is the map and immortality is the town I am refering to). If you start on your journey to the next town with the map and you dont see the sign posts your on the wrong path and your not likely to get to the next town.

[bailey]

The road towards Tao???

 

How could there even be a road? Where isn't Tao? Look under your feet! Where is Tao that we're not already?

 

The basic belief that a road is necessary, or even possible, might be the greatest underlying error - from which all dogmas flow.

[WhiteTiger]

welcome to the greater familiy then: Christians believe that there is only one way, and that is Jesus Christ. Muslims say it's Allah and Mohammed. Buddhists... well maybe you know better... They all argue about being the only way.

 

I thought Daoism wasn't about general presumptions, but it is a specific and specifying path.

It doesn't matter what the others do or how they do it.

What matters is what you do with what you have in front of you.

The Chinese are very practical people, aren't they?

That's why mystical thinking was made up, probably for westerners like us.

I'm pretty convinced that if we are to ever understand Daoism, it must be thru practical thinking.

And that means just starting from where you are, who you are, and what you have and can do.

What is the use of dreaming about a "real" Daoism hidden in the mountains of China?

Only day-dreamers may find it interesting. But not for practical people.

Dao is the source of everything, and it manifests it's power and knowledge even OUTSIDE of China.

That's pretty hard to swallow for most Chinese

We are still barbarians to them. They call us "pieces of meat without spirit".

I'm just happy not every Chinese thinks this way, but it's a common thinking amoung them.

 

Get my point?

 

I like your idea Little1, although to many generalizations for my taste.

 

"That's why mystical thinking was made up, probably for the westerners like us."

This mystical thinking I think is a kind of deeper subject to touch upon. One which I know leads a big hole of studying and understanding while I just have not done so to be able to explain.

 

Anyway this post isn't meant to make you look bad and I only picked your post specifically because it came across with a lot dictating presumptions at least it seemed to me. There are many GREAT THINGS you do say in your post. For example, "It doesn't matter what the others do or how they do it." "What matters is what you do with what you have in front of you." "Dao is the source of everything, and it manifests it's power and knowledge" I especially like the last one!

 

"The Chinese are very practical people, aren't they?"

 

I don't think we can say all Chinese are practical people. But the ones that really have a foundation in Taoism (and Taoism influenced Buddhism, Confucianism as well as other religions found in Asia and it is after all apart of everyday natural assuming that we are abiding by the laws of nature. So In my meek interpretation it has to be evident in the family, although that may speak more about Taoist nature and life aside from the popular or known distinctions of the Monastic life, Priest like life, and hermits life of a Taoists)

[宁]

I like your idea Little1, although to many generalizations for my taste.

 

"That's why mystical thinking was made up, probably for the westerners like us."

This mystical thinking I think is a kind of deeper subject to touch upon. One which I know leads a big hole of studying and understanding while I just have not done so to be able to explain.

 

Anyway this post isn't meant to make you look bad and I only picked your post specifically because it came across with a lot dictating presumptions at least it seemed to me. There are many GREAT THINGS you do say in your post. For example, "It doesn't matter what the others do or how they do it." "What matters is what you do with what you have in front of you." "Dao is the source of everything, and it manifests it's power and knowledge" I especially like the last one!

 

"The Chinese are very practical people, aren't they?"

 

I don't think we can say all Chinese are practical people. But the ones that really have a foundation in Taoism (and Taoism influenced Buddhism, Confucianism as well as other religions found in Asia and it is after all apart of everyday natural assuming that we are abiding by the laws of nature. So In my meek interpretation it has to be evident in the family, although that may speak more about Taoist nature and life aside from the popular or known distinctions of the Monastic life, Priest like life, and hermits life of a Taoists)

 

 

Hello White Tiger,

 

thank you for your reply. I didn't mean to be correct to the point hehe

Of course it's room enough for any interpretation, so go ahead make your points

There are many on this forum that i've learned from these years... I'm merely returning the favour, beating around the bush...

 

[WhiteTiger]

Hello White Tiger,

 

thank you for your reply. I didn't mean to be correct to the point hehe

Of course it's room enough for any interpretation, so go ahead make your points

There are many on this forum that i've learned from these years... I'm merely returning the favour, beating around the bush...

 

 

Your right... your words could easily been just something people could have thought on... my obvious mistake.

 

My sincere apologize...

[tigger1]

Okay wow, maybe I'm in the wrong place. "There is only one road to Tao"??

Are you suggesting that Tao is a place to reach? like some spiritual plaetu.

 

"Tao" Let me see.

In the simplest terms I can think of: Tao is like life giving water or essence (holy spirit).

It is in everything and made everything.

It does nothing but leaves nothing undone.

There is no road to Tao.

There are ways to "connect" or "feel" the Tao

All one has to do is listen

[exorcist_1699]

Do I adopt a sectarian attitude against other ways that similarly can lead to Taoist eternity ? Or, in spiritual area, because of its invisible and indefinite character , any emphasize of a single road is inappropriate ?

 

 

In order to attain Tao, if you are not satisfied with those philosophical gossips, if you really want to have

your life grasped in　your hands , then capable of arousing pre-heavenly qi is something inescapable . However, our present yin-mind ( 識神) definitely can't succeed the job , nor do other ways allow us :

 

Viewing the moon arouse your sex drive ; visualization of anything in any forms only expands the power of your yin-mind; Asking " who am I " most likely leads you to reasoning and static-voidness ...

 

Does Zen's self-negating , self-estrangement leads us to an enlightened mind, then help us initializing pre-heavenly qi ? Considering most of the people are drown in this too- much-sex world, it unlikely can.

 

In fact, our post-heavenly way of breathing fills our body with yin-qi ,unsettling our mind. Different emotions (anger, fear, sorrow..) also disturb qi of our organs ,leading only to a fluctuating spirit ; without the counteraction and restraint from yang-qi from other end .. hardly can we succeed... Here lies my "dogmatic" condemnation on other ways' possibility from Taoist practical point of view...

[宁]

Your right... your words could easily been just something people could have thought on... my obvious mistake.

 

My sincere apologize...

 

Oh no problem...

The way I see it, all that come here are not passed the main gate of the Dao, they still have thoughts and doubts, that's why they come here, no matter how modern or traditional their training is. And it's natural, you know, we're betting with our lives on things untouchable.

 

We are a blind community (no subtle vision opened), and those that are not that blind, are seeing things a bit foggy. For the others, that have no doubts about things, because they can see, it must be really amusing. It doesn't really matter the colour of the cat, but it matters if it can catch the mouse or not

 

L1