Marblehead Posted October 8, 2017 The Yellow Emperor was wandering north of Redwater when he ascended the heights of K'unlun {{These mountains are the seat of the Queen Mother of the West and the axis of the world in Chinese cosmology and mythology.}} and gazed toward the south. As he was returning home, he lost his pearl of mystery. Knowledge was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it. Spidersight was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it. Trenchancy was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it, whereupon Amorphous was sent and he found it. "Extraordinary!" said the Yellow Emperor. "In the end, it was Amorphous who was able to find it." 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taoist Texts Posted October 9, 2017 6 hours ago, Marblehead said: gazed toward the south. why south specifically? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted October 9, 2017 6 hours ago, Taoist Texts said: why south specifically? That has to do with cosmology (which I don't keep up with), something about the North being celestial home, to the West is desert. to the East is the ocean; nothing to see there. So we look South to see the rest of China. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taoist Texts Posted October 9, 2017 Thanks Marbles, that was right on the money and helped me to understand this recensed passage. The original story was that a mythical king goes to the other-world, which is in the north. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_King_Mu,_Son_of_Heaven To get there he has to ford a river which separates this world from the other one ( a Hades of sorts). Once there he visits with the queen of the other-world, the Queen Mother of the West. She invites him to stay, but after a while he longs to go back home, thats why he keeps staring to south where he came from. Xiwangmu lets him go and gifts him a pearl, obviously a token of eternal life. On its way back he loses the pearl in the waters while crossing the Red River again. Once home he retrieves the pearl by Purposeless-ness (same as non-action). Which is the only point ZZ wants to make , of course: the non-action gets things done. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrpasserby Posted October 9, 2017 9 hours ago, Marblehead said: That has to do with cosmology (which I don't keep up with), something about the North being celestial home, to the West is desert. to the East is the ocean; nothing to see there. So we look South to see the rest of China. Interesting information Marblehead, in my experience North West is where the dead run to when they can't function within the higher planes. East is where the functional spirit bodies of those who have gained a higher existence go. South is where treasures/information/experiences from the past are located. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladyniguma Posted October 13, 2017 (edited) Edited December 10, 2017 by ladyniguma 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
