lifeforce Posted May 24, 2015 From Bruce's newsletter: Hi folks, We are moving into the weekend and I wanted to talk to you a bit about the three paths of Taoism. They are the path of the warrior, the path of the healer and the path of the sage. Let me share with you more about each path... The Path of the Warrior is understanding what Qi (energy) is and learning how to use that power to overcome any obstacle, conflict or challenge...and at higher levels taming the destructive forces within the human condition. Now most assume the warrior path is just about warfare and bodily strength. The physical thing is really only the beginning of the journey on the path of the warrior.Fighting puts up a mirror that you can not avoid. It is very easy to be a legend in your own mind but when the stakes are serious you learn real lessons and competence. Warriors tend to do things in a more naked form. They look for being present to what is in front of them. The deeper training of the warrior is to see the energy below what's on the surface. What is your energy when you encounter anything and what is the energy of what you encounter. Do you know what the Qi of fear is? The unique quality of a warrior is to accept everything and to simultaneously learn how to destroy or eliminate anything in the way of their chosen path. The Path of the Healer is connecting with others and understanding what lies behind pain and dysfunction and getting past it. Deep underneath pain is emptiness, openness, light and life force. Healers learn methods to recycle and release this energy. The healer works with pain of others to get past the pain themselves. As healer you have to have the willingness to not to avoid the human condition. Any doctor or healer can go only so far if the vast range of human condition freaks them out. The unique quality of a healer is to accept what is there and then harmonize with it. Mastery in healing can only be attained with a highly developed capacity of loving-kindness. The Path of the Sage is becoming truly non-attached while becoming connected to the smooth and well balanced working of the whole. The sage ultimately has to go beyond all limitations. The Warrior and Healer only have to go beyond specific things. The sage transcends all situations until they realize all situations are the same. There is a false idea that the Sage has to be frail or passive...in actuality real meditation is for people who are strong not weak. You have to have great courage to face the demons within and to go beyond oneself to the greater whole. The unique quality of a Sage is to go beyond the ordinary to become one with everything. There are specific practices in Taoism to become enlightened by being a warrior, a healer and/or a sage. However the three paths are in reality one Way. In Taoism all paths end up at the same place. What path you may prefer or not prefer is hard to say. If you have an attraction to one part do that and forget the rest. There are a lot of paths and you are under no obligation to do all of them. Do what resonates with you and follow that energy. If two of them do it for you, then do the two and forget the third...or take what is useful in the third that will help the two. And if you have a natural attraction for all three paths in Taoism then you are being drawn into something that is truly whole but it also requires a greater level of energy, time and commitment. A hard question for many humans is, 'What do I truly want'. Not what 'should I want' but rather 'what do I want'. If you can answer that question then just decide and go for it - it helps greatly to have clarity on the path you are following. You have to trust yourself at some point--It doesn't matter what anyone else says. And once you make the choice you can change latter if you need to. That's why the major book in Taoism is the I Ching or The Book of Changes. One of the main points is it's the actual training that takes you to the transcendence, not just ideas of following a path. Training is the practical thing that gets you further down the road. Have a great weekend! Everything furthers, Bruce Frantzis Founder, Energy Arts From the above descriptions, I would definitely say I'm on the path of the Warrior. Any thoughts on this ? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Antares Posted May 24, 2015 From the above descriptions, I would definitely say I'm on the path of the Warrior. Any thoughts on this ? Yes, I have some thoughts on this. This is new agey stuff. That'all for now 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifeforce Posted May 24, 2015 Yes, I have some thoughts on this. This is new agey stuff. That'all for now Oh. then please elaborate. BKF, whether you like him or not, has walked the walk for decades now. I don't practice any of his systems of martial arts, qigong or meditation. I have my own practice which has served me well for over a decade. What I do like though about Bruce, are his thoughts on the Daoist way, and how it is applicable to the modern world. We don't live in ancient China. The Dao is for all people, of all times, and in all places. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idquest Posted May 24, 2015 I don't see this as newage staff. Different people have different goals. Even more, goals will change as life goes. BKF just tries to bring some structure to possible sets of goals. He didn't mention philosophical and religious niches btw, and some people will be unhappy with this. So what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocky Lionmouth Posted May 25, 2015 I'm a huge fan of copperplate script but damn that was difficult to read! I keep wondering "but what about the path of the artisan or the path of yourself?" I'm getting the new age vibe here too, mostly because it shines right back into both a "video game" perspective (choose your class and specialization) and it also sounds like classic self motivational speak, the basic idea might not be off but i find the package simplistic or tending towards the quick-fix genre, this hits my allergy buttons with deadly precision 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
opendao Posted May 25, 2015 I'm a huge fan of copperplate script but damn that was difficult to read! I keep wondering "but what about the path of the artisan or the path of yourself?" I'm getting the new age vibe here too, mostly because it shines right back into both a "video game" perspective (choose your class and specialization) and it also sounds like classic self motivational speak, the basic idea might not be off but i find the package simplistic or tending towards the quick-fix genre, this hits my allergy buttons with deadly precision I agree, it's very "castanedish" and RPGish. People love it though... In classics and alive Daoist masters, I recall nothing similar. One of the main principles is Wenwu, a balance between Martial and Cultural. I don't see such principle here. Another new-age thing is to treat Daoism as an art of "acceptance". Even in this short essay, I don't understand how "acceptance" can help people to achieve "What do they truly want"... The main motivation is NOT to accept things as they are, and move from struggling against the flow to the desired transcendent state. But I see such active position in Bruce's writings, it contradicts the idea of acceptance, so maybe he defines acceptance somehow different. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted May 25, 2015 The Path of the Good Person should be added. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
munky Posted May 26, 2015 In the end, people shouldn't be thinking of following a specific path with specific descriptions, or get mentally locked into a certain way. It will only be a limitation and you don't want. You can't reach Tao by following any path or trying to be something such as a warrior or sage. Though its certainly useful if a warrior in life, or a healer is just what you want to be. It's said there are 36 000 paths, but none of them lead to Tao. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
