helpfuldemon Posted May 12, 2020 The Serpent of Wisdom walked me into a grove of trees. "This is a place of Wisdom" it said. "Tell me what I see" I replied. "It pointed to a tree with a rabbi sitting beneath it "That is the Tree of Life". Then it pointed to a tree with a magician sitting beneath it "That is the tree of Chaos and Order" "My kin sits beneath the tree of Knowledge" it pointed towards a rather well develped tree of great strength. Then it pointed over to a tree sitting a bit farther away from the others "That is the Bodhi Tree, it is the tree of Desire". I walked first up to the Tree of Life, because I was raised Christian and wanted to understand the Wisdom of the Rabbis. "Tell me what you know" I asked. The rabbi smiled and said "Life is about beauty and strength, and the Wisdom to attain what life holds for us and enjoy this place of wonder" Then I went to the Tree of Knowledge, apprehensive because of its rumored dangers. "What truth do you tell wise one?" I asked. The Serpent smiled and said "What is good? If it isnt good for all, it is flawed." It frowned and said "I dont understand the Rabbis with their opinions on beauty, how can suffering be beautiful unless it brings you to your knees begging for mercy? They think they know the good, but they only know what is good for them, go ask the magicians". I went to the magicians and asked "Why are the Rabbis wrong?" The magician sneered at the rabbi sitting happily "Because no one thing can satisfy all people. It is we who have learned from the Tree of Knowledge, ours is the greatest truth." "And what is the greatest truth?" I asked. "Chaos is necessary for the growth and appreciation of life. In it all things are renewed". I thanked the magician and turned to depart, but the serpent from the Tree of Knowledge came to me. "You have not learned the greatest secret. Do you not care about causing suffering? Go learn from the Buddha." I walked up to the Buddha, confident that I had attained enlightenment. The Buddha gazed at me with sympathy. "Do you feel empowered now?" He asked. I said "Yes, I see that in order for life to move about and grow, Chaos is a necessary element." He looked down and a tear fell from his eye. "An enlightened soul understands, suffering is an Evil, and in Chaos there is great suffering." I searched my heart and knew he spoke truth, I did not want to harm people. "Tell me what I must do wise man". "You must give up Desire". And so I decided to sit under his tree and consider what I had learned. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Welcomer Posted May 19, 2020 (edited) Welcome to the Tao Bums. A wonderful forum to learn, discuss and cultivate. Below are 3 important sections: Our Rules, The Insult Policy and our 3 Foundations. Before you join click on [Reveal hidden contents] give them a read. Most of it boils down to being respectful. No name calling or trolling. Post as if your mom's looking over your shoulder. Discussion and arguments are what the board is about. Keep it civil, don't get personal. Don't be a troll or one issue zealot. We're here for good conversation and make some friend along the way, to be a community. Jump right in, start threads asking questions, look for interesting threads and post your (relevant) thoughts. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Michael and the TDB team Read and review Our Rules: Our Insult Policy- Read it, Live it TheDaoBums' Three Foundations: Eclectic, Egalitarian, Civil. Welcome aboard. Interesting story. If it had a Taoist in it, perhaps it would end up like the Taoist fable/picture The 3 Vinegar Tasters- Three men are dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one man reacts with a sour expression, one reacts with a bitter expression, and one reacts with a sweet expression. The three men are Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi, respectively. Each man's expression represents the predominant attitude of his philosophy: Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules to correct the degeneration of people; Buddhism saw life as bitter, dominated by pain and suffering due to desires; and Taoism saw life as fundamentally perfect in its natural state. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_tasters) Edited May 19, 2020 by Welcomer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
helpfuldemon Posted June 13, 2020 Thanks for that bit. I am learning to see the sweet, already been through the sour and the bitter. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
helpfuldemon Posted June 13, 2020 What gets to me is the frailty of our condition, how truly vulnerable we are yet pretend not to be, leading into dangerous activity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted June 13, 2020 3 hours ago, helpfuldemon said: What gets to me is the frailty of our condition, how truly vulnerable we are yet pretend not to be, leading into dangerous activity. Yeah, safety and security are largely an illusion, needful ones that gets us through our days. & you know what? So far, so good. little blessings, fall like rain, but we tend to overlook them. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
helpfuldemon Posted June 14, 2020 Youre right. Something has to be watching over us, we should have destroyed ourselves by now (or been destroyed). 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted June 17, 2020 I think we have to work on being positive. Search out good news. Be thankful for what we have. Help others. Otherwise soul rot can creep in. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
