Hello, how Dao you Dao?

[~riverflow]

Hello everyone,

 

My name is Josh and I've been practicing Buddhism on my own for roughly a year now, with a particular affinity for Soto Zen (especially through the writings of Dogen), though I don't necessarily restrict myself to just Zen tradition (Nagarjuna, for example, interests me very much, and also the Hua-Yen school of Chinese Buddhism, which was a kind of precursor to Chan/Zen).

 

My first exposure to the Daodejing however was back in the mid-1990s and has always been a source of inspiration, and it was through Daoism that I came to Zen Buddhism. While its an over-simplification, Zen Buddhism is, in a lot of ways, Buddhism influenced by Daoist thought, and for centuries, many Zen Buddhists have openly borrowed from Daoist philosophy.

 

I've recently revived my interest an old incomplete version of the Daodejing I have worked off and on again for about a decade, though looking at it from a specifically Buddhist perspective, particularly in light of sunyata ("emptiness"). There have been many instances where "dao" and "Buddha nature" were used interchangeably by Chan/Zen masters in the past. So I think there is a lot of common ground to investigate, and cross-fertilisation, which explains why I am here now. At least from a Daoist perspective, my interpretations might seem a bit off the beaten path (no pun intended!) since I tend to approach the Daodejing as a way of investigating my Buddhist practice and study.

 

I'm not sure how much I may be able to participate or contribute to the forum just yet, but I am hoping for some occasional dialogue and seeing some different perspectives on the Daodejing and Daoism in general.

 

I currently live in Arkansas, but I have plans to emigrate to New Zealand in the next few years (where my girlfriend is from and lives). I'm a musician, though my *paying* job is working in ER registration at the hospital I live next to. I write haiku, not just for aesthetic enjoyment, but see it as a kind of "spiritual" exercise.

 

Anyway, that's just a little bit about me. :-)

 

peace,

~josh, aka ~riverflow

[Marblehead]

Hi Josh!

 

Yeah, I think you will find some things of interest here at TaoBums.

 

Hehehe. You will also find some things that might cause confusion. But we are about that too.

[~riverflow]

You will also find some things that might cause confusion. But we are about that too.

 

Oh, good, then I can add to the confusion!

[konchog uma]

Oh, good, then I can add to the confusion!

 

the confusion here

is a vast ocean

you would add to it small drops