awake Posted June 14, 2009 By means of the message that "cannot be described"? Useful, perhaps, but ironic in its existence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Iyoiyo Posted June 14, 2009 You might say that, but I don't think the site is here to send a message, people won't find it unless they're looking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Screwtape Posted June 14, 2009 I don't see any irony. The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao, true, but within it, as Lao Tzu also said, there is image and essence. There are countless processes and interactions which can be understood, and myriad arts and practices based on that understanding that can be talked about, passed on, refined and so on. It's like how it is better to ride a bicycle than to talk about riding one, but how you can talk about which bicycle to buy, which accessories to add, which cycle paths are the most scenic, shared experiences . . . Richard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
11:33 Posted June 14, 2009 Irony is the juicy goodness of life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
松永道 Posted June 14, 2009 The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao... Read on.. 无名天地之始，有名万物之母 wu ming tian di zhi shi, you ming wan wu zhi mu nameless, the genesis of heaven and earth; named, the mother of ten thousand things 此两者，同出而异名，同为之玄 ci liang zhe, tong chu er yi ming, tong wei zhi xuan The two [named and unnamed], concurrently arise but have differed names, both are called profound It is ironic and it isn't. Paradox is at the heart of Dao. To talk or not talk. To be confused or to understand. These are both Dao. There is nothing un-Dao about Taobums, nor is there anything Dao about it. Buddhists often deride Daoists for their binary philosophy of Yin and Yang, though originally, they share the same foundation. You are correct, the Dao that can be described isn't the eternal Dao.. BUT the Dao that can be described is ALSO the eternal Dao. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
