Too old for Taoism ?

[Fenjo]

Hi. I'm totally new to Tao but it seems to me it is something that talks to senses, and you need to be quite open minded for this. I am 40 years old and from working in a pressured environment I've put myself on the defense and it seems to me I can't go back. Do you think it is possible to come down at the age of 40 and really open my mind again ? I've heard it is better to start as a teenager, I've done a search on Google and it seems more and more teenagers are turning to Tao http://www.teenbar.net/showthread.php?985-Interested-in-Taoism

[laughingblade]

It's never too late.

 

Start now. There's no better time.

 

More practically: I'm 51 and I've done various practises over 30+ years. I find when I take a break I need a while to get back to experiencing real benefits, but they are there to be had. I think it's a matter of simple practises, not rushing, and allowing thoughts to settle, body to relax, channels to open...

 

I'd recommend Tai Chi, basic Qigong(8 pieces of brocade, 6 healing sounds, inner smile kinda thing), standing. Microcosmic orbit is often put forward as a first step, but you might want to leave it a little while.

 

If all else confuses, then can I recommend The Barefoot Doctor (Stephen Russel) book Handbook for the Urban Warrior? Simple and inspiring.

 

Rich

Edited July 12, 2012 by laughingblade

[Marblehead]

I was over 40 before I read my first copy of the Tao Te Ching. But then, I was already following the Taoist path, more or less, before I read the book. Taoism is about how we walk, not how many books we have read.

[ChiDragon]

I was over 40 before I read my first copy of the Tao Te Ching.

 

oops....

I need to borrow your words again......

[Apech]

Older the better ... like fine wine ....

[Thunder_Gooch]

Hi. I'm totally new to Tao but it seems to me it is something that talks to senses, and you need to be quite open minded for this. I am 40 years old and from working in a pressured environment I've put myself on the defense and it seems to me I can't go back. Do you think it is possible to come down at the age of 40 and really open my mind again ? I've heard it is better to start as a teenager, I've done a search on Google and it seems more and more teenagers are turning to Tao http://www.teenbar.net/showthread.php?985-Interested-in-Taoism

 

What are you goals for practice, and what schools/systems are you interested in?

[Taomeow]

Sun Bu-er (孫不二), one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, lived c. 1119–1182 C.E. in the Shandong province. She was a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy woman, married with three children. At the age of 51 she took up the study of taoism and became a disciple of Wang Chongyang. At 57, having married off all her children, she announced that her worldly and family obligations were completed and she would devote the rest of her life exclusively to cultivation. She left her home and traveled to the city of Luoyang where after twelve years of practice, at Fengxiangu cave, she attained the Tao and became an Immortal. She had several disciples, founding the Purity and Tranquility School, and wrote many poems.

[Mal]

When I read your topic Fenjo I though you might be 90yrs old and even then basically if you are still breathing that's really all you need.

 

I've heard it is better to start as a teenager

 

Perhaps it is, perhaps it's better to be born an Eagle rather than a human, but that's not what happened for you.

 

So here is a more inspiring quote for you from the Tao of Physics

During the sixth century B.C., the two sides of Chinese philosophy developed into two distinct philosophical schools, Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the philosophy of social organization, of common sense and practical knowledge. It provided Chinese society with a system of education and with strict conventions of social etiquette. One of its main purposes was to form an ethical basis for the traditional Chinese family system with its complex structure and its rituals of ancestor worship. Taoism, on the other hand, was concerned primarily with the observation of nature and the discovery of its Way, or Tao. Human happiness, according to the Taoists, is achieved when men follow the natural order, acting spontaneously and trusting their intuitive knowledge.

These two trends of thought represent opposite poles in Chinese philosophy, but in China they were always seen as poles of one and the same human nature, and thus as complementary. Confucianism was generally emphasized in the education of children who had to learn the rules and conventions necessary for life in society, whereas Taoism used to be pursued by older people in order to regain and develop the original spontaneity which had been destroyed by social conventions.

[doc benway]

Hi. I'm totally new to Tao but it seems to me it is something that talks to senses, and you need to be quite open minded for this. I am 40 years old and from working in a pressured environment I've put myself on the defense and it seems to me I can't go back. Do you think it is possible to come down at the age of 40 and really open my mind again ? I've heard it is better to start as a teenager, I've done a search on Google and it seems more and more teenagers are turning to Tao http://www.teenbar.net/showthread.php?985-Interested-in-Taoism

For me, cultivating the Dao means nothing more or less than being fully human.

I don't think its ever too late for that.

Good luck on your path and welcome to the forum.

[Capt.Brian Alford]

I've always been on the path of the Great Way but I didn't know it until I was 62 yrs.old,now that I can look back over the last 6 years (I'm 68 yrs old)I can see so clearly! I like to think of the Tao te ching as my operators manual because it's the key to opening up that path to it true potential! So yes age has nothing to do with reading a manual

[Disabled Not Broken]

No Age Limit - Dao is retro-active

Edited July 14, 2012 by Disabled Not Broken

[chi 2012]

This thread got me to thinking how strange the mind is - mine in particular. One of my friends in elementary school started taking karate when he was 6. When I was around 9 or 10 I had an interest in taking karate too. But then I told myself that it would take me way too long to catch up to the skills of my friend. So i didn't take karate - because I told myself I was too old. Even though I was only 9 or 10 years old.

[Marblehead]

Even though I was only 9 or 10 years old.

Isn't it amazing how much living life we talk ourselves out of because we are too old or some other meaningless reason?

[Mal]

[Marblehead]

[GreytoWhite]

Definitely not too old and probably more fit than when I started. I started at the age of 24 a year after a minor stroke. Chen taiji single hand positive silk reeling exercises whilst seated was my first lesson because I didn't have the strength to stand for extended periods. It's a journey that's for sure, you're definitely not too old to start.

[Aaron]

I've heard that in the East it's commonplace for people to start to practice philosophy, such as Buddhism and Taoism after they've retired, so you're actually getting involved while you're still quite young.

 

Don't let age deter you from anything. I don't care how old I am, it doesn't define what I can do. Do you what you want to do. Carpe Diam and all that.

 

Aaron

[deci belle]

[mYTHmAKER]

Every action you have ever taken has led you to where you are now making this the perfect time

to explore Taoism.