SirPalomides Posted November 27, 2019 50 minutes ago, Taomeow said: As I always say (repeating after the I Ching), to and fro goes the way. I've read Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin, by the most renowned and influential teacher of Japanese Zen Buddhism (and author of many koans, including the famous "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" which I always thought of as an indirect hint at Houtian-Xiantian dynamics, i.e. taoist to the core), and apparently zen was killing him (physically -- his devotion to practice undermined his health and brought him to the brink of death) until he met a taoist recluse who healed him, taught him taoist meditation and restored his vitality, which Hakuin promptly used to revitalize the stagnating, lethargic Rinzai practice and make it into one of the three definitive zen schools. He mentions that he practiced taoist meditation for the rest of his life as instructed by his teacher, but kept it to himself. That's fascinating. I knew that Taoism had some degree of influence in Japan but I didn't think there was much specific Taoist presence there. Is Taoism in Japan organized at all, or is it more a matter of solitary practitioners and syncretists of other traditions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Desmonddf Posted November 27, 2019 17 hours ago, Walker said: Maybe that's what Desmond experienced when he tried his experiment? I dunno. Quite possible. 7 hours ago, Rara said: Like, neo-pagans and witches? It's a plague that infects the general public of those groups. I do know a few who don't fall into that category, though. Reconstuctionism works, but you have to put the work into it to get to that level. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walker Posted November 28, 2019 15 hours ago, Taomeow said: As I always say (repeating after the I Ching), to and fro goes the way. I've read Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin, by the most renowned and influential teacher of Japanese Zen Buddhism (and author of many koans, including the famous "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" which I always thought of as an indirect hint at Houtian-Xiantian dynamics, i.e. taoist to the core), and apparently zen was killing him (physically -- his devotion to practice undermined his health and brought him to the brink of death) until he met a taoist recluse who healed him, taught him taoist meditation and restored his vitality, which Hakuin promptly used to revitalize the stagnating, lethargic Rinzai practice and make it into one of the three definitive zen schools. He mentions that he practiced taoist meditation for the rest of his life as instructed by his teacher, but kept it to himself. Indeed, Buddhists and Daoists have long been helping each other out and cross-pollinating in all sorts of ways. You can find subtitled video on YouTube of this Rinzai monk of most pleasant mien, Shodo Harada Roshi, offering meditation instructions that are undeniably Daoist--all dantian and ren du meridians. They've got a very pleasant temple near Seattle, worth a visit if you're in the area. Anyway, Thank Xiwangmu that Hakuin met his Daoist teacher! Thank Pervasive Fragrance Buddha that Zhang Boduan met Xuedou Hongxian! They all benefited! We all benefit! 14 hours ago, liminal_luke said: I´m thinking of dropping by. What kind of crumpets? Oh, just typical crumpets, syrup courtesy of Queen Mother of the West's peaches of immortality, and a batter possibly infused with a secret ingredient known by many names, "Buddha" perhaps being one of them. (Gotta keep the baldies and topknots equally happy, you see...) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted November 28, 2019 On 11/26/2019 at 10:33 PM, Walker said: I think (I might be wrong) some Daoists with registers do have the power to invoke certain parts of the pantheon Actually, yes, thanks for the reminder. I just encountered Vajrapani in another thread and realized that his Japanese Buddhist version, Fudo, transitioned into taoism as a fierce, wrathful protector and is invoked on occasion, much like one would hire a bodyguard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted November 28, 2019 On 11/27/2019 at 9:01 AM, SirPalomides said: That's fascinating. I knew that Taoism had some degree of influence in Japan but I didn't think there was much specific Taoist presence there. Is Taoism in Japan organized at all, or is it more a matter of solitary practitioners and syncretists of other traditions? There's some "organized" taoism in Japan, probably not a lot -- I'd address the question to Livia Kohn, a taoist scholar who takes taoist-minded Westerners on tours to Japan with some regularity. But more importantly, taoism was a huge influence on all of Japanese culture since as early as the 7th century. There were periods in Japan's history when China was viewed by the rulers as the civilized land of advanced culture, in contrast to the "primitive" ways of the natives, and getting a Chinese education, including a taoist one, was tantamount to qualifying as a member of the refined, educated, aristocratic class. A lot of it eventually started "trickling down" to the humbler social circles. Nearly all of early taoism can be found in Japanese culture today if you dig below the surface, but of course it was modified and intermixed with the indigenous Shinto and imported Buddhism (incidentally Buddhism was imported to Japan also from China, as Chan (zen) Buddhism which some say simply means "Buddhism from China," though I'm sure there's a different translation, which I forget.) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
exorcist_1699 Posted December 5, 2019 (edited) After thousands years of arguments and interactions among those Buddhist and Daoist practitioners in deep caves and on mountain tops, some theoretical integration does come out from the Daoists ,and it looks something easy and effective, at least to some people . I try to simplify some aspect of it related as follows: Integrate Daoist jing-qi- shen framework with Zen's abrupt , emptied Mind ( not other Buddhist emptied minds) gives you a good combination of those good components from these systems. As Daoist way of accumulating jing and qi makes attaining that series of emptied mind =>Mind easy and natural , people no longer need to deliberately search for it ( a deliberate search definitely fails and blocks you ); conversely , the attained emptied mind=>Mind helps you understand what the trap of attaching to jing and qi means and helps you releasing from it . In fact , attachment to them is the main reason why people's practice stagnant and the reason why big troubles arisen. In a word, combining Daoist jing-qi-shen framework with the Zen's emptied Mind gives you some kind of benign / positive interaction that benefits your practice most . Edited December 5, 2019 by exorcist_1699 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taoxingzhi Posted December 21, 2019 On 21.11.2019 at 10:14 PM, silent thunder said: Water flows through the valley without effort, skill, training, seeking or striving. Coming to rest in the muck, slew and refuse ignored by the mind full... What is there to 'achieve'? What in life is to be changed, altered, mended by human mind based interferrence?... What of life and reality is broken that we with our limited conscious interactions are to set right? Easiest path of all... the one impossibility seems that dao never separates from essential core, nor outward physical expression, by even a hair's width, for a millisecond ever. as i experience it lately This improved my day considerably. Thanks for sharing. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
