Is "Hell" a part of Taoism?

[nac]

I couldn't have said that better myself. And look! That came from someone who thinks he is still a Buddhist. Hehehe.

I've never believed in evil. Like the Buddha, I think it's a sacred duty of all sentient beings to minimize the suffering of others whenever the opportunity presents itself. Ignoring this moral obligation doesn't make people evil, merely deluded as to the causes of happiness and dissatisfaction, not to mention their own nature. Come to think of it, my biggest problem with religious Taoism is probably animal sacrifice to the Taoist gods. (or is that folk Taoism? ) Moral dualism is a close second though.

Edited October 15, 2009 by nac

[Yoda]

Nac,

 

In religious Taoism evil is a "good beings doing bad things" like the Monkey King going crazy in the Journey to the West. And religious Taoists are in the don't-kill-even-a-mosquito camp.

 

Your pal,

Yoda

[nac]

Nac,

 

In religious Taoism evil is a "good beings doing bad things" like the Monkey King going crazy in the Journey to the West. And religious Taoists are in the don't-kill-even-a-mosquito camp.

 

Your pal,

Yoda

Awesome!

 

I'm not averse to words like "evil" as long as we're clear on the definitions of our terms.

[Marblehead]

Awesome!

 

I'm not averse to words like "evil" as long as we're clear on the definitions of our terms.

 

 

Nice exchange there Nac and Yoda!!!

 

Peace & Love!

[Zenshiite]

Nac,

 

In religious Taoism evil is a "good beings doing bad things" like the Monkey King going crazy in the Journey to the West. And religious Taoists are in the don't-kill-even-a-mosquito camp.

 

Your pal,

Yoda

 

I think that's a fairly good description of pretty much ever religion, at the core of it. With the exception of Christianity, at least in my experience, which says we are quite literally born into sin. Islam, for instance, says that mankind has a tendency to be forgetful of Reality and only needs to remember(dhikr).

 

Also, religious Taoists conceive of "metaphysical evil" as actually being deviated chi don't they? In the process of the ten thousand things coming to be something got tweaked somehow and some chi got a little messed up and that's how demons and what not came to be.

[nac]

metaphysical evil

It usually means Evil as a "side" or alignment fundamentally opposed to Good, like in Abrahamic and old Persian religions. If you're not "for good", then you're "for evil".

[Marblehead]

It usually means Evil as a "side" or alignment fundamentally opposed to Good, like in Abrahamic and old Persian religions. If you're not "for good", then you're "for evil".

 

That will always be true until one reaches the state of being 'beyond good and evil'.

 

Peace & Love!

[Pietro]

some wisdom from a friend of mine.

 

This is coming from the yiddish wisdom:

"it is an evil thing to say that someone is evil"

 

which goes well with:

We are neither good or evil, but we can make good or evil actions.

 

My friend had 3 kids, and told me the biggest change she made respect to how she was brought up was to never ever say that they were evil, but to say that they did something bad.

 

Actually some people might be unable to feel love, which makes them more prone to do evil. Like a person who has a physical inability.- Those persons are rare.

 

In general if someone oppose us the most common things that happen is hexagram 6: conflict.

[Marblehead]

some wisdom from a friend of mine.

 

This is coming from the yiddish wisdom:

"it is an evil thing to say that someone is evil"

 

which goes well with:

We are neither good or evil, but we can make good or evil actions.

 

 

Hi Pietro,

 

Very nice.

 

I will admit that I do sometimes attach the deed to the doer therefore creating: Evil deed = evil doer.

 

I realize that this is not a proper attachment but is my way of explaining why someone will sometimes do very evil things.

 

As you pointed out there are some people with mental disabilities who cannot distinguish between good and evil. These people need to be cared for before they have the opportunity to do anything evil.

 

And I agree, if a person is called a bad person often enough they will believe that they really are bad people so they no longer need to justify their bad behavior.

 

Peace & Love!

Edited October 19, 2009 by Marblehead

[nac]

I doubt any sentient being is really "for" Good or Evil, irrespective of what they profess to believe. This is often used a means to prettify Us vs. Them conflicts.

 

Originally, Jews didn't believe in a good & evil conflict. Later Abrahamic religions borrowed it from Zoroastrian beliefs.

Edited October 19, 2009 by nac

[Pietro]

 

I will admit that I do sometimes attach the deed to the doer therefore creating: Evil deed = evil doer.

 

Yes, it i very common.

For example when you say something funny, you need to be careful as you go from:

"this guy said something funny"

to

"this guy is funny"

to

"this guy is a clown"

 

As I write this I recall all my friends and all the judgments I make on them (this guy is funny, this is wise, this is ... and so on).

 

How would life be if I start judging the actions and not the people... in general.

[Marblehead]

How would life be if I start judging the actions and not the people... in general.

 

Indeed. But first off, it would be difficult because our brain doesn't work that way. Our brain likes to categorize and compartmentalize all it encounters. The fewer categories the easier the brain functions.

 

Funny comments from this person creates, in the mind, a funny person - only one category needed; individual person and funny comments separately require two categories - the brain is caused to work more. That's more work at the same pay - brain don't like that.

 

However, when Chuang Tzu speaks of the 'pure man' he suggests that it is possible to do just what you wondered about. Wouldn't that be something like experiencing without attachment?

 

Peace & Love!

[Apech]

Yes, it i very common.

For example when you say something funny, you need to be careful as you go from:

"this guy said something funny"

to

"this guy is funny"

to

"this guy is a clown"

 

As I write this I recall all my friends and all the judgments I make on them (this guy is funny, this is wise, this is ... and so on).

 

How would life be if I start judging the actions and not the people... in general.

 

Funny ... how?

 

s4jz00Eelbk

[Marblehead]

Funny ... how?

 

 

Yeah. That was a good scene. I knew some real people like that when I was attached to a Special Forces unit during one of my duty assignments.

 

Peace & Love!