Five-element theory and Lao & Chuang

[Limahong]

On 6/2/2018 at 12:10 AM, Wu Ming Jen said:

“Water, fire, metal, wood, earth, and grains are called the six natural resources (or treasures) (liu fu).”  The character fu is used for the treasures of nature; the natural resources for life. 

 

Hi Wu Ming Jen,

 

The association of the five elements with Nature is Google-abundant - for example:

 

 

Also is there a human dimension to the above association in living every moment as reflected thus...?

 

 

Is each of the above elemental balance - a Taoistic balance as depicted thus...?

 

 

Is each of the above myriad balances/interactions - a personal responsibility/accountability?

 

If so, can Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu ~ RIP?

 

Thank you for guiding us.

 

- LimA

[ernobe]

On 5/24/2018 at 2:24 PM, Mudfoot said:

And if you by the five elements mean wuxing, I believe taomeow did an excellent post on the correlations between the trigrams and the wuxing some time ago. 

 

 

I recently joined the forum to find out more about these correlations.   Where is Taomeows' post? 

[rideforever]

I have the sense that a great sage may speak about many things, the 5 elements for instance, and so people imagine that by hooking onto those things they can enter the state of the sage.   But it may not work like that, that's why it is important to read about the history of the teacher himself, his life and journey ... tells a very interesting story with key moments, characters and experiences.   What is it that he actually did to arrive ?   Not what comes out of his mouth now.

 

In the TTC, the first lines admonish intellectual understanding.   Then he talks about many observations of nature how it works ... the darkness within darkness.   How does it work ?   Don't just walk past as you are rushing to 5 element practice .... would you not like to look and see ... what does it mean ?   When the wind blows through the tree, what can be understood ?   What can be felt ?   Is it teaching you all the time ... as you watch don't you have an inspiriation of the meaning behind ?  

 

Laozi feels .... what is behind ... the mystery of the darkness within darkness.  

 

He observes, and insight comes, and then the feeling of an origin or the underlying thing.   The Tao that is small but from which all springs forth.

 

If we are to enter into the same state as him, maybe we should do what he appears to be doing.

 

When I do 5 elements qigong, I would like to have this in mind.

 

If there was something else very important to say, Laozi would probably have said it.   Like he said, the Tao is very small.

[Phoenix3]

When metal overcomes/destroys wood, what element is the result?

[ernobe]

1 hour ago, Phoenix3 said:

When metal overcomes/destroys wood, what element is the result?

 

It just means that it is the nature of wood to be overcome by metal, and the resultant element is metal.  It is also its nature to resist being overcome by metal, so it stands and the metal is "injured".  Which one remains depends on which is stronger.  So much for the cycle of destruction.  For generation something similar happens: water produces wood and the result is wood, or wood exhausts water and the result is water, because what we mean by "exhaust" is that it was "exhausting" it, not using it all up to its limit.  In this case which one remains depends on which we had a more unlimited (or inexhaustable) supply of.

[Taoist Texts]