The Tao Of Nietzsche

[zerostao]

Agree. I think that both Fred and Chuang were thinkers and whenever possible would reflect upon the conditions before making a decision to act or not.

very existential of them, dont you think? that is why i asked about wu wei being totally compatable with existentialism on the other thread,

[Marblehead]

very existential of them, dont you think? that is why i asked about wu wei being totally compatable with existentialism on the other thread,

I wish I could think (on that subject).

 

I am reading Camus right now and he insisted that he was not an existentialist. I know Nietzsche has been accussed of having been one. (He was accussed of being a lot of other things too. Hehehe.)

 

I suppose that if you had someone who could talk with you about that subject you could likely set a good argument.

[zerostao]

i think the quote from fred that i posted 18 sept. kinda reveals that he certainly is.

camus is an interesting fellow. his idea about anyone desiring clarity and meaning in this world as

being totally absurd or sth like that. anyways this post modern world we are in

as dickens would say, is the best of times and/or the worse of times.

for those of us luckiest enuff to have found a bit of Tao in our life, well we are lucky, i reckon.

i agree with camus' view about being able to claim being truly and fully existentialist is problematic due to other

various forces we contend with find harmony with. however for playing in these lower dimensions, the best we can try , i thinks, is the existential way.

[Stosh]

Im just starting, the Birth of Tragedy, is the Apollonian Dionyson division

supposed to reflect other 'world views' than of the greek artist?

Stosh

[GrandmasterP]

Existentialism is far too much like hard work to be Taoistic.

Certainly in it's Gaulois 'n rough red wine French manifestations of the mid last century.

Those existentialists were experience junkies. They just had to be up and about experiencing all sorts of stuff and people then interminably writing about it. Camus wrote teh Outsider as an existentialist text then ends it with that...

Surrendered myself to the sublime indifference of the universe

and in that one sentence skewers existentialist busy-ness. And, one could posit; turns Taoist in doing so.

Existentialists are forever up and doing and getting their own or someone else's kit off. Quite exhausting....

Taoists on the other hand... we pretty much say...'What the hey, let it slide... chill'.

Two quite different approaches.

[zerostao]

Existentialism is far too much like hard work to be Taoistic.

Certainly in it's Gaulois 'n rough red wine French manifestations of the mid last century.

Those existentialists were experience junkies. They just had to be up and about experiencing all sorts of stuff and people then interminably writing about it. Camus wrote teh Outsider as an existentialist text then ends it with that...

Surrendered myself to the sublime indifference of the universe

and in that one sentence skewers existentialist busy-ness. And, one could posit; turns Taoist in doing so.

Existentialists are forever up and doing and getting their own or someone else's kit off. Quite exhausting....

Taoists on the other hand... we pretty much say...'What the hey, let it slide... chill'.

Two quite different approaches.

yup i am an experience junkie who experiences Tao. existentialists like action like you say and they also appreciate the value of non- action. knowing when to choose one or teh other is both existentialist and Taoist.higher art knowing when to when and when not to.looks like same approach from this neck of the woods.

[Marblehead]

I apologize for mentioning Camus. Hehehe.

[GrandmasterP]

Fair play. If existentialism is what does it for anyone, so be it.

It's all Tao

For my day job I teach philosophy of education and whilst we don't 'push' students towards any particular school of thought most of them end up plumping for Constructivism with a dash of Experiential teaching & learning praxes.

Horses for courses really, philosophy is a toolbox and philosophical approaches are tools within it.

So if a particular approach does the job you want it to, then it's the right tool for you.

[zerostao]

horses for courses sounds good. here we got courses for horses of courses.

always good to see new ideas views experiences, welcome to the tao bums gandmasterP

i hope to hear more about you qigong on the other threads.

it always good to touch base with grandmaster marblehead from time to time. just making some rounds.

i think this thread will be active.

 

I apologize for mentioning Camus. Hehehe.

yeah uh huh i am gonna mention soren

[GrandmasterP]

Kierkegaard bit the heads of whippets [according to Monty Python].

Thank you for the welcome. It is good to be here.

Nothing much to contribute by way of cultivaton.

We teach 8 Strands... 5 Animal Sports... QiGong Ruler and that's about all. The rest is spooky stuff viewable via the website link to our centre on my Profile.

All are welcome, there is something on every day and most evenings.

[Marblehead]

We teach 8 Strands... 5 Animal Sports... QiGong Ruler and ...

Do y'all dance? Dance is the movements inspired by the soul.

[Marblehead]

Fred said: What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.

 

And Chuang replied: Because right and wrong appeared, the Way was injured, and because the Way was injured, love became complete. But do such things as completion and injury really exist, or do they not?

[GrandmasterP]

Dance! Were one to be King for a Day only two laws would be made.

1: Any man over the age of fifty caught dancing shall be heavily fined.

2: Citizens must at all times carry a bag of well rotted fruit. In order to throw it at buskers, street 'performers' and men over fifty caught dancing.

[Marblehead]

I was once having a conversation with someone who had and injured when my broken hip was still on the mend and he was firmly insistent at thinking that Chuang Tzu told us that we should dance.

 

I remimded him that he has an injured back and I have an injured hip. What a sight we two would be trying to dance in the streets.

 

PS Do I remember correctly that you too are over fifty?

[GrandmasterP]

I have seen 61 summers and 60 winters thus far. Last time I danced was to the Beatles.... live. It was not a pretty sight as Mrs GrandmasterP is wont to remind me.

One of the things that brought me into QiGong was starting out in a TaiChi class where the teacher insisted on playing bleddy awful New Age background 'music'. The QiGong class next door took place in dignified silence [apart from the occasional discreet fart] so I switched to that.

Been at it ever since and now teach in the self same centre I started out in.

[GrandmasterP]

Mrs GrandmasterP fractured her pelvis early last year via an accident. She cultivates.

Docs were amazed at the speed of her recovery to full mobility to the extent that physiotherapists were sent to learn a basic set with us and now use that as part of their practice in City General Hospital..

[Marblehead]

Well, my applause to the both of you. It is even more important when we get old than it is when we are young to keep our body and mind active.

 

Those of us who have worked hard all our life have every right to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

 

As I was going through life I think I missed a couple winters but that's okay as I never cared all that much for winters anyhow.

[GrandmasterP]

Me too. Five winters working in in India [nothing mystical, I was sent by the day job]. Bleddy hot is Karnataka and I missed snow.

On topic. I posted a Tony Parsons clip elsewhere on here. He's a top chap in the old philosophy stakes. Draws on Fred here and there but solidly Taoistic in his non-duality premises.

[Marblehead]

I couldn't remember so I went looking for Tony Parsons. I listened to "Intro Part 1", and a few minutes to the "Buddha at the Gas pump" interview.

 

I agree with your assessment although I didn't hear any direct association with Fred from what I listened to. For sure Taoist though.

[GrandmasterP]

He's also very funny 'live'. Nietzsche ref is in the Open Secret book. Not worth buying cos it's all on his website in the main.

www.urbanguru.com

should find that.

Tony & me have previous. Far too many years ago we lived in the same Ashram. Lot of water flowed down the Yangtze since those days though.

He's retired from the day job now but still toddles out once a month to lecture plus facilitate the occasional workshop. Doesn't charge much at all but gets decent attendances so a nice pension top up.

[zerostao]

when fred said god is dead what he meant was that humanity had lost its Spiritual connections.

he wasnt saying that god didnt exist, he was saying that becoz humanity had become so out of touch with spiritual realms, that it just didnt matter anymore for us if god existed or not.

when fred sought to dismiss the spiritual himself- zarathrustra sprang forth thru him and then fred went along as a dancer.

"no stranger to me is this wanderer"

"man is something to be surpassed"

"what have you done to surpass man?"

and later he speaks of reason " It is poverty and pollution and

wretched self-complacency!"

Edited September 23, 2012 by zerostao

[GrandmasterP]

Nope.

He meant... 'God is Dead'

not an uncommon response from those aware they are terminally ill.

[Marblehead]

Nope.

He meant... 'God is Dead'

not an uncommon response from those aware they are terminally ill.

But he said that "before" he contracted syphilis.

 

I have proposed that in saying that - "God is dead." - was meaning that it was his belief that Christians had killed the old Jewish God and he put most of that responsibility on Paul.

[GrandmasterP]

Really?

Cate p 395..

End ref to ...writing Death of God....

'Nietzsche was still bedridden..... he was filled with a 'black melancholy' END QUOTE [Nietzsche's own words black melancholy].....

The symptoms antedated the diagnosis as was always the case with ultimately tertiary syphilis or GPI.

Sorry M, this is my day job area.

[GrandmasterP]

Poor chap was ill, knew why and feared an empty death. Contextually the latter work may be read as one long agonised wail for his mom.

Others in similar circumstance seek the solace of religion. Fred is saying....

'If I can't have it, nor can you'.

Rather bleak but there it is. Never exactly Mr. Chuckles was Fred.