New to Dao and want some more info

[CuriousMonkey]

Hi,

 

I've been interested in chinese culture. And some time ago I discovered daoism. Now, I don't practise it myself, but I am curious what it TRULY is about. I read some stuff online, but it always ended up in some guy trying to sell me a book for at least 100 bucks. I've seen that this site has some experts in this topic. So I hope I can ask people on this site some questions what daoism realy is about and not just what movies portray them to be. I hope it's not too much to ask.

 

Thanks in advance

[thelerner]

Greetings Mr. Curious.  Because its an exotic foreign practice you'll run into alot of stereotyping.  Might happen in China too.  I'm reading a book by one of Wang LiPing serious students.  It speaks on how one of the foundational skills is 4 hours sitting in meditation.  To do that well can take years and that's considered getting the basics down.  Here, we have people of all levels.. so you'll get answers good, bad & ugly.  Thats not all bad because an authentic master generally won't give internet newbies much time, if any at all.   

 

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[silent thunder]

Welcome to the Bums @CuriousMonkey...

 

You ask a question that I've lovingly, (and grudgingly at times) asked and re-asked countless times for the last three decades.

 

I've yet to find the one answer to it... rather recently and unexpectedly, I've come to appreciate dancing in the raw answerlessness of it.

 

Hope you find many good conversations here.

[Bindi]

Daoism for me is coming to understand Yin and Yang within, a line in the Dao De Jing is “Know the white, keep to the black”. Figure that out and the rest follows, over time. 

[doc benway]

5 hours ago, CuriousMonkey said:

Hi,

 

I've been interested in chinese culture. And some time ago I discovered daoism. Now, I don't practise it myself, but I am curious what it TRULY is about. I read some stuff online, but it always ended up in some guy trying to sell me a book for at least 100 bucks. I've seen that this site has some experts in this topic. So I hope I can ask people on this site some questions what daoism realy is about and not just what movies portray them to be. I hope it's not too much to ask.

 

Thanks in advance

For my teacher, being a Daoist meant practicing meditation as outlined by his master. He was very devoted. He discouraged any reading or studying and felt that any time spent trying to grasp at the Dao through books or media was wasted time. For him it was all about the meditation. Consequently, practice is the primary focus for me but I will freely admit that conceptual understanding also has its place and may be more important for some than for others. I think my teacher recognized that, as Westerners, we were more naturally focused on the concepts and the meaning and less prone to simply follow our teachers’ instructions with complete devotion. That’s something that seems to come more naturally in Asian cultures.