Mair 6:2

[rene]

I recall we both like 'efficacious' but Power just seems.. well...more powerful a statement

We do. And, there is nothing more powerful than 100% efficacy.

 

TM's story of mouse-Te always comes to mind: Attacked by a cat, rather than trying to become a karate cat-chopping powerful "super-mouse" - it uses its mouse-Te to efficaciously run, survive. Mouse being mouse. No greater virtue. (-:

[Rara]

Hello all. I'm very late to this one, but I just wanted to throw something into the mix.

 

I see that a few of you touched upon this concept on the previous page, but...

 

In my Giles translation in the compilation book "Tao - The Way", the following is put under the subcategory of "Immortality of the Soul"

 

"To have attained to the human form must be always a source of joy. And then, to undergo countless transitions, with only the infinite to look forward to, what incomparable bliss is that! Therefore it is that the truly wise rejoice in that which can never be lost, but endures always."

 

I don't know about you, but this speaks to me about an eternal soul. Thus, life after death and "countless transitions" being reincarnation? And human form being one of these reincarnations.

 

With the words translated differently by others though, it's not as explicit. This is on my mind because I've been looking at more of the "folk" or "spititual" Taoist beliefs (that existed pre TTC) and this idea of reincarnation or transformation seems to be one.

 

Do you think this is what is meant? Or do you think there is more metaphor than literal meaning to this?

[Marblehead]

How did I know you were going to speak to this the way you have?  Hehehe.

 

Yes, many would read that as an immortal soul and a transformation from one body to the next.

 

I don't, of course.  But then, considering Chuang Tzu's butterfly story it would be easy to say that he was talking about the soul being Chuang Tzu and then being a butterfly.

 

 

[Rara]

6 hours ago, Marblehead said:

How did I know you were going to speak to this the way you have?  Hehehe.

 

Yes, many would read that as an immortal soul and a transformation from one body to the next.

 

I don't, of course.  But then, considering Chuang Tzu's butterfly story it would be easy to say that he was talking about the soul being Chuang Tzu and then being a butterfly.

 

 

 

I almost did this deliberately to provoke the response that you just gave

 

I actually don't think of the butterfly dream of having the significance (or reincarnation) that this part does. I feel that is more to do with perception and understanding life as an illusion based on your mind's experience.

 

This book keeps adding layers upon layers on my own mind. Time to fast

Edited March 26, 2018 by Rara

[Marblehead]

1 hour ago, Rara said:

 

This book keeps adding layers upon layers on my own mind. Time to fast

Yes, there is a lot of depth in the Chuang Tzu - even in the outer and miscellaneous chapters.

 

But we should be careful when speaking of this concept above.  He speaks to the concept in other places and those places more fully clarify his understandings about transitions.