Why Taoism is different

[Hua Dao]

Lin,

 

I also view the cultivation process as something that is a natural process, although there are things that can be done to help it and ease it along. The jing converts to qi which fills the lower dantian, but from my understanding after that the qi needs is blocked at the middle dantian which is where the conversion of qi to shen takes place, with shen residing in the upper dantian. What happens at the middle dantian is an issue with the heart/mind as you describe, but also in our school there also needs to be a build-up of qi throughout the whole body, which can be seen in the evidence of the opening up of the small capillaries.

 

"Since ancient times, Chinese doctors have known the importance of blood circulation. Indeed, the whole system of meridians (jingluo; major and branch vessels) was based on an attempt to map the blood vessels (see: Drawing a concept: jing), and to influence the circulation within them by using acupuncture, moxibustion, and herb therapies. A well-known saying regarding the circulation is: "The qi moves the blood; the blood carries the qi." Put another way, the qi and blood flow together through the vessels, including the major vessels (jing, mainly arteries) and the minor vessels (luo, mainly veins). Within this flow of qi and blood, one can distinguish two types of qi: the nutritive qi (yingqi) and the defensive qi (weiqi). The nutritive qi is said to flow within the vessels intermingled with the blood, while the defensive qi is said to flow at the surface of the vessels. The concept of microcirculation merely adds yet another dimension to the description, and refers primarily to the flow of blood through tiny vessels invisible to the naked eye, such as the capillaries."

 

The evidence of qi built up in the whole body is seen on the palms of the hands. After cultivation practice the hands are red and if you press on the palm a white spot appears momentarily. In the beginner the palm is mostly white with red splotchy patches, the intermediate level the palm is mostly red with pinpoints of white spots throughout the palm, the high level the palm is all red and not the usual bright red but a deep crimson that is like the color of a liver.

 

I was curious if you've seen this with the palms of the buddhist teachers you've met?

 

.

[林愛偉]

Lin,

 

I also view the cultivation process as something that is a natural process, although there are things that can be done to help it and ease it along. The jing converts to qi which fills the lower dantian, but from my understanding after that the qi needs is blocked at the middle dantian which is where the conversion of qi to shen takes place, with shen residing in the upper dantian. What happens at the middle dantian is an issue with the heart/mind as you describe, but also in our school there also needs to be a build-up of qi throughout the whole body, which can be seen in the evidence of the opening up of the small capillaries.

 

"Since ancient times, Chinese doctors have known the importance of blood circulation. Indeed, the whole system of meridians (jingluo; major and branch vessels) was based on an attempt to map the blood vessels (see: Drawing a concept: jing), and to influence the circulation within them by using acupuncture, moxibustion, and herb therapies. A well-known saying regarding the circulation is: "The qi moves the blood; the blood carries the qi." Put another way, the qi and blood flow together through the vessels, including the major vessels (jing, mainly arteries) and the minor vessels (luo, mainly veins). Within this flow of qi and blood, one can distinguish two types of qi: the nutritive qi (yingqi) and the defensive qi (weiqi). The nutritive qi is said to flow within the vessels intermingled with the blood, while the defensive qi is said to flow at the surface of the vessels. The concept of microcirculation merely adds yet another dimension to the description, and refers primarily to the flow of blood through tiny vessels invisible to the naked eye, such as the capillaries."

 

The evidence of qi built up in the whole body is seen on the palms of the hands. After cultivation practice the hands are red and if you press on the palm a white spot appears momentarily. In the beginner the palm is mostly white with red splotchy patches, the intermediate level the palm is mostly red with pinpoints of white spots throughout the palm, the high level the palm is all red and not the usual bright red but a deep crimson that is like the color of a liver.

 

I was curious if you've seen this with the palms of the buddhist teachers you've met?

 

.

 

There is no difference of this outcome in Daoist and Buddhist schools. Qi is Qi, and has its results generally.

The cultivation process is a cultivation process as long as there is a being cultivating. No cultivation, no process. If no one is cultivating their mind, there is nothing being done. One will not attain, and one will just remain an ordinary being.

 

:-)

 

Peace and Blessings,

Lin

[sean]

For that reason women will have a hard time understanding or even getting a feel of what loss of jing is. They will benefit from luowang meditation as it is calming the 'hun' spirit which will calm the liver in turn and result in less congestion and blood loss.

What is luowang meditation?

 

Thanks,

Sean

[Hua Dao]

What is luowang meditation?

 

Thanks,

Sean

 

That's a typo, that should be 'zuowang'.

[beancurdturtle]

If no one is cultivating their mind, there is nothing being done. One will not attain, and one will just remain an ordinary being.

I'm thinking about what it seems to me what you mean by "ordinary being."

 

As usual I'm not contending with your statement. Rather I'm expressing something similar from a different perspective. Let me know what you think if you wish.

 

The more ordinary we are, the closer we are to our right way of being. As a newborn we are ordinary for a couple reasons:

1. because we haven't differentiated ourselves from everything around us

2. because we haven't learned that our actions can result in changes to what is around us, and we are thus in a state of acceptance

As a newborn we haven't constructed all the dualist thoughts, opinions, preferences, habits, and such that separate us from being an integral ordinary being. And we are always ordinary underneath it all, we just cover it over with all the crap we learn.

 

I should stop the train of thought there about the experience of a newborn, because I'm really thinking about being ordinary. Let me just express what came to my mind about being an "ordinary being."

 

Seems to me, there's so much focus on becoming "enlightened," or a "master." So much attention on process and practice - like taoism vs. buddhism as you point out. It's like we've replaced materialistic and ego desires and objectives with cultivation desires and objectives. Hence the dualistic concept of "enlightened" and "ordinary."

 

As a result, we are driven by the same attainment and achievement framework we've created - something a newborn doesn't yet have - and we've only swapped out motivators and objectives - materialism for enlightenment. We end up with a stagnated cultivation (that we cling to and espouse) focused on the process of cultivation rather than the objective of becoming ordinary (or enlightened, integral, a master, or what have you).

 

It seems that in all the attention on what we will achieve with cultivation, what a special person we will be, and how our practice is the only way to get it done - we lose the fact that we are actually attempting to become integral, natural, at harmony, content, and even blissfully "ordinary."

[coyote]

For a possibly better understanding of women it should be noted that while 'jing' in men resides in the semen and is lost with ejaculation, the 'jing' in a women resides in the blood and is only lost once a month, while men can lose it any time they want. For that reason women will have a hard time understanding or even getting a feel of what loss of jing is. They will benefit from luowang meditation as it is calming the 'hun' spirit which will calm the liver in turn and result in less congestion and blood loss. The equalizer though is that after menopause women will start losing jing in the same manner as a man, which is the reason for so many health problems afterward.

 

How do women lose jing like men after menapause?

[Hua Dao]

How do women lose jing like men after menapause?

 

I never got the precise answer on that but one idea could be that they lose it everytime they have intercourse which more than likely means that the kidney's start functioning more like a man's which throughout a man's life the right kidney (yang) is the flame of the fire, which we generally shouldn't have a problem with although we can burn it out too fast, use up all the fuel and extinguish the flame. The problem men really have to worry about is left kidney becoming yin deficient and keeping the fluids in our body in order to control the yang flame. During and after menopause women start to heat up and start having a problem with fluids in the body controlling the flame, so the fluids lost during sex could be problematic. Basically they start drying up and suffer the same problems men have to deal with for our whole lives. Also when speaking of the kidneys it also includes the adrenal glands which sit atop the kidneys. So after menopause they aren't going to have that seemingly endless supply of cortisol and adrenaline hormones.

[exorcist_1699]

Instead of focusing on the abdomen area as men do , women are advised to concentrate ( slightly and skilfully , of course ) on the middle area of their breast so as to initiate qi .

 

In fact, comparing with men who are always interrupted by sex impulse ,a resolute woman is more likely to accomplish something great for she is relatively coy and sensitive to minor changes in her body . The main barrier obstructing from women achieving such a great enterprise is whether they have the insight and determination to overcome those social conventions .

Edited August 4, 2008 by exorcist_1699

[witch]

For a possibly better understanding of women it should be noted that while 'jing' in men resides in the semen and is lost with ejaculation, the 'jing' in a women resides in the blood and is only lost once a month, while men can lose it any time they want. For that reason women will have a hard time understanding or even getting a feel of what loss of jing is. They will benefit from luowang meditation as it is calming the 'hun' spirit which will calm the liver in turn and result in less congestion and blood loss. The equalizer though is that after menopause women will start losing jing in the same manner as a man, which is the reason for so many health problems afterward.

 

What about women who ejaculate? I think women can lose jing this way just the same as a man does.

[Patrick Brown]

What about women who ejaculate? I think women can lose jing this way just the same as a man does.

I think women that can ejaculate are pretty rare although perhaps it can be learned through self exploration?

 

The way I see it through proper cultivation ones orgasms just get harder, longer and more and more intense. One day last week my whole body wouldn't stop shaking for fifteen minutes after!

[wudangspirit]

Lin,

 

You are 100% correct. In "Modern" Taoism there is more emphasis on the physical practice. However, traditional teachings tell us there has to be complete balance on spiritual and physical. You have to keep your physical body strong in order to house a good spirit. You have to cultivate your spirit otherwise your body will leak yuan qi and die.

 

Taoism spends a great deal of time on cultivating spirit. The ideas of ego, true self, reality and detachment from desires and mundane post heaven pleasure. I think in my opinion, there should be more taught on these key elements. I know that true initiates into Taoism by Taoist priests do have these teachings. I think we should open those teaching up more.

 

Great comments!

 

Tao Bless amd Amituofu

 

Wudangspirit

 

Buddhism's Jing Qi Shen is simple:

 

Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom.

 

Precepts cultivate the Jing, store the yuan qi from wasting( wasting through day-dreaming,false thinking basically sexual indulgence to extremes, and controlling desires through understanding their origin.).

 

Samadhi transforms such jing to Qi, through concentration and cultivation of the mind and body; By the not wasting of one's essence, they will hav the strength and will to uphold the states through concentration. This will naturally transform one's mind: Jing, Qi.

 

Wisdom is the outcome of purifying the heart and mind through seeing that all desires, emotions and views are actually false (it would be seen as an outcome of attaining true wisdom), thus leading to a vibrant body, resulting in a long life, as well as attaining true spiritual wisdom, unaltered wisdom.

 

Peace and Blessings,

Lin

 

 

P.S.- Daoism, seen as different doesn't make you more Immortal, or having more abilities. In views of separation, ego arises, views of ego, a self, living beings, and a life span...thus leading to arrogance, anger, greed and ignorance.

 

Buddhism cultivates the Buddha in the Heart, which results in attaining Buddhahood, which is complete in wisdom, and spiritual abilities. And is definetly not what most people ASSUME it is.

 

Daoism cultivates the Dan Tian; to attain immortality and eventually attain enlightenment. The problem is, there is less focus on virtue and moral practice in "Modern" Daoism, and more focus on spiritual abilities and longevity, which doesn't lead one to enlightenment right away../actually it slows one down.

 

The fact is, if the mind is pure, everything is pure. Attaching to views only caises more afflictions. THat is not true cultivation of the Way.

 

All of the Qigong and Neigong and Spiritual abilities will do no good if one still has ignorance as their friend, greed as the father and anger as the mother. One will only remain ignorant, and stuck in their own conditions.

 

Basically, upholding the view of differences only causes more arguing in the long run, views of arrogance, and self, ego. Its not worth it. It doesn't make one a better cultivator.

 

Instead, look at the similarities, and how they actually speak very similar teachings to an extent. This way, more people will want to learn about them, and begin a proper foundation of Educational Cultivation.

If all people see is bickering about which is better, then they will only remain confused, and become arrogant fools.

 

If one can not tell, through wisdom mind, the differences of expedients as expedients, then they should not comment frivolously about expedients. It only creates more karma of the mouth and mind... not fun.

 

As such, living beings will only understand as much as they have the capacity for.

 

Peace,

Lin

 

*** I had added one word to the 3rd paragraph after the "P.S." I put it in quotations: "Modern"

 

 

Lin,

 

You are 100% correct. In "Modern" Taoism there is more emphasis on the physical practice. However, traditional teachings tell us there has to be complete balance on spiritual and physical. You have to keep your physical body strong in order to house a good spirit. You have to cultivate your spirit otherwise your body will leak yuan qi and die.

 

Taoism spends a great deal of time on cultivating spirit. The ideas of ego, true self, reality and detachment from desires and mundane post heaven pleasure. I think in my opinion, there should be more taught on these key elements. I know that true initiates into Taoism by Taoist priests do have these teachings. I think we should open those teaching up more.

 

Great comments!

 

Tao Bless amd Amituofu

 

Wudangspirit

 

Buddhism's Jing Qi Shen is simple:

 

Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom.

 

Precepts cultivate the Jing, store the yuan qi from wasting( wasting through day-dreaming,false thinking basically sexual indulgence to extremes, and controlling desires through understanding their origin.).

 

Samadhi transforms such jing to Qi, through concentration and cultivation of the mind and body; By the not wasting of one's essence, they will hav the strength and will to uphold the states through concentration. This will naturally transform one's mind: Jing, Qi.

 

Wisdom is the outcome of purifying the heart and mind through seeing that all desires, emotions and views are actually false (it would be seen as an outcome of attaining true wisdom), thus leading to a vibrant body, resulting in a long life, as well as attaining true spiritual wisdom, unaltered wisdom.

 

Peace and Blessings,

Lin

 

 

P.S.- Daoism, seen as different doesn't make you more Immortal, or having more abilities. In views of separation, ego arises, views of ego, a self, living beings, and a life span...thus leading to arrogance, anger, greed and ignorance.

 

Buddhism cultivates the Buddha in the Heart, which results in attaining Buddhahood, which is complete in wisdom, and spiritual abilities. And is definetly not what most people ASSUME it is.

 

Daoism cultivates the Dan Tian; to attain immortality and eventually attain enlightenment. The problem is, there is less focus on virtue and moral practice in "Modern" Daoism, and more focus on spiritual abilities and longevity, which doesn't lead one to enlightenment right away../actually it slows one down.

 

The fact is, if the mind is pure, everything is pure. Attaching to views only caises more afflictions. THat is not true cultivation of the Way.

 

All of the Qigong and Neigong and Spiritual abilities will do no good if one still has ignorance as their friend, greed as the father and anger as the mother. One will only remain ignorant, and stuck in their own conditions.

 

Basically, upholding the view of differences only causes more arguing in the long run, views of arrogance, and self, ego. Its not worth it. It doesn't make one a better cultivator.

 

Instead, look at the similarities, and how they actually speak very similar teachings to an extent. This way, more people will want to learn about them, and begin a proper foundation of Educational Cultivation.

If all people see is bickering about which is better, then they will only remain confused, and become arrogant fools.

 

If one can not tell, through wisdom mind, the differences of expedients as expedients, then they should not comment frivolously about expedients. It only creates more karma of the mouth and mind... not fun.

 

As such, living beings will only understand as much as they have the capacity for.

 

Peace,

Lin

 

*** I had added one word to the 3rd paragraph after the "P.S." I put it in quotations: "Modern"

[Hua Dao]

What about women who ejaculate? I think women can lose jing this way just the same as a man does.

 

First off as Patrick mentioned, how common is that?

 

Second the answer was in my post: 'the 'jing' in a women resides in the blood'. Maybe the ejaculating could lead to a yin defiency if done in excess but women should be more concerned with heavy menstruation and do something to fix it. From Cohen's book he describes a practice that female daoist nun's did which is rubbing their breasts every day which simulates breastfeeding, releasing the hormone prolactin which brings on a menopause type phase and infertility while they keep up the practice, which was done in order to conserve 'jing'.

[Patrick Brown]

[beancurdturtle]

First off as Patrick mentioned, how common is that?

Fairly common in my experience. My survey says about 10% have anything from noticable emmissions to 3 times or more what I can work up.

 

Then there was that very special woman. We put towels down instead of sheets - by her 6th orgasm or so, everything within 8 feet had been sprinkled or drenched.

 

Ah... Memories...

[coyote]

The Sexual Teachings of the White Tigress say that intercourse at any age drains the energy of women. I'm not sure that's true.

What do any Daoists say about the g-spot and female ejaculation? There is more about that in the Tantric tradition. I read that the ejaculate, amrita, is considered nutitious. I am wondering if this nectar can be used on a man's face like a tigress uses a man's cum on hers to nourish her skin and energy.

 

The White Tigress teachings also have a great ovary massage to reduce menstration, which i have also seen create rapid emotional changes in a woman. They also have breast massages that i think are more elaborate than the deer massages for different purposes: to enlarge or firm breasts, or as a hormonal tonic that also reduces menstration, the main drain on jing.

[exorcist_1699]

Both focusing on the abdomen and rubbing breast, if you do it incorrectly , will constantly arouse sex impulse , which not only bad for your cultivation , also make things worse .

 

For example ,regarding focusing on your abdomen, if you do it too zealously, can lead to repeated nocturnal release of jing , a symptom certainly bad for health ,not to speak of upgrading your cultivation.

Edited August 5, 2008 by exorcist_1699

[witch]

Less than ten percent of women can ejaculate

 

I would think that stimulating lactation hormones would be a VERY draining thing for a woman to do. Menstruation is nothing compared to the important nutrients a woman's body gives up to lactate. Menstruation is simple waste, milk is a valuable substance like semen.

 

Also lactation hormones decrease sexual desire, and I thought that having a strong sexual desire helped cultivation. I thought that was part of the reason to hold off on ejaculating--to build up sexual desire so it rises in the body.

[coyote]

Less than ten percent of women can ejaculate

 

I would think that stimulating lactation hormones would be a VERY draining thing for a woman to do. Menstruation is nothing compared to the important nutrients a woman's body gives up to lactate. Menstruation is simple waste, milk is a valuable substance like semen.

 

Also lactation hormones decrease sexual desire, and I thought that having a strong sexual desire helped cultivation. I thought that was part of the reason to hold off on ejaculating--to build up sexual desire so it rises in the body.

 

What is the reason for not being able to squirt: biology or lack of knowledgable partners? There is no way to know but to give every woman the opportunity. Steve Piccus created a system of massage for helping women release emotional issues that prevent them from ejaculating, then he has them ejaculate. This is called White Tiger Tantra--sounds like White Tigress.

 

Breast stimulation produces many hormone according to Chia and Hsi Lai. We are not talking about lactating. I have only heard of one story of lactating, something done rarely. The White Tigress in her 60's had Hsi Lai suck one her for a long time until a little came out and cured his eye problem. Bring on the healing mamas!

[witch]

Hmm. Well, let me put it this way. I follow Hathor, the cow goddess. I've had a couple somewhat recent liaisons with some excitable men who were a little rough with my breasts and that was enough to start the milk up again. And my menstruation is perfectly normal with regular cycles. Maybe I'm an outlier, heck, I'm probably an outlier, but I would have to have full on milk to stop menstruation.

 

Using lactation as birth control, for stopping menstruation, only works if the mother is feeding her baby nothing but breastmilk and nursing every several hours and I believe once in the middle of the night.

 

Only ten percent of women are physically capable of ejaculation. Less than half of all women are capable of vaginal orgasms, so a woman already has to be vaginally orgasmic, and then she must also have very strong PC muscles. With resistance training and going on my diet, I believe most women can acquire both vaginal orgasmic ability and even female ejaculation if they desire, but it really doesn't have much to do with the man or his technique.

[exorcist_1699]

Women's way of transforming extra blood, which generally is prepared to nourish a baby , into qi, the so-called slashing the red dragon , of course , is similar to men's way of transforming jing (sperm) into qi , both imply temporary suspense of biological reproductive process, so as to target at nourishing another new level , everlasting life in our bodies.

 

The fetus nourished by Taoist way , its power and characteristics , of course, will be different from the Buddhist one because it does get through a process of " refining " qi cum jing/blood , which Buddhism skips .

Edited August 7, 2008 by exorcist_1699

[exorcist_1699]

 

Also lactation hormones decrease sexual desire, and I thought that having a strong sexual desire helped cultivation. I thought that was part of the reason to hold off on ejaculating--to build up sexual desire so it rises in the body.

 

Witch said :"I thought that having a strong sexual desire helped cultivation. "

 

It is absolutely true. Without such a drive, we can't get the seed for our rebirth .Taoists likely will agree with this idea; Buddhists are unlikely . We rely on what is pseudo , in order to attain what is the real ; rely on the post-heaven , in order to attain the pre-heaven .

 

The point is how to "assimilate" the strong sexual desire so that it will not be harmful to us , and further transform it into some kind of Awakening .

Edited August 8, 2008 by exorcist_1699

[The Cloudwalking Owl]

I bow to fellow travellors on the Way:

 

So much discussion! Where is a new member to start?

 

First of all, I think that people posting on this list seem to all be coming from a very specific definition of "Daoism". I don't have a problem with that, as long as it is a conscious choice to limit yourself instead of a misunderstanding of how broad the cultural/religious tradition really is. I might also point out that it has occurred to me that people here might be confusing some key elements of Chinese society that would have inevitably crept into Daoist literature with Daoism itself.

 

If I might use an example from Biblical scholarship to make an analogy. (I like to use examples from other traditions because they tend to carry less emotional baggage.) Some fundamentalists seem to believe that belief in the message of Christ also implies that one needs to assume that demon possession exists---because the New Testament clearly describes demon possession. Another way of looking at this issue would be to think that the author of the New Testament took demon possession for granted and then used it as a plot device for explaining Jesus Christ. In this case modern believers can discard belief in demon possession and still be Christian.

 

In a same way, it might be argued that Yin-Yang, jing-qi-shen, etc, are cultural artifacts from a specific time in China. Some Daoist writers would simply have assumed their existence and used them when writing their texts.

 

With regard to the issue of whether Daoism is scientific or not, I think that at least one of you was getting close to the concept of "state specific science" as described by the psychologist Richard Ornstein. His point was that if one chooses to study the properties of a specific psychological state one must find subjects who are able to create these states at will (e.g. that small fraction of the population who can perform lucid dreaming at will.) And since, depending on the state being studied, only a small number of individuals are capable of entering these states, it is not "objective" in the sense of being reproducible by any member of the scientific community, so it needs to be consigned to a specific category of science---hence the term "state specific". I would suggest that just about any form of mystical practice conforms to this definition (unless it is a form of social conditioning.)

 

Ultimately, Daoism's "difference" is going to boil down to what particular type of Daoism one is referring to. My specific form is much more influenced by religious practice and categories of thought than most of you. I can see a great deal of similarity with other religions/philosophies---if I choose the right ones. Similarly, I can see huge differences if I choose some others.

 

You pays your money, you gets your choices---.

 

I bow to fellow travellors on the Way.

[Taomeow]

 

Only ten percent of women are physically capable of ejaculation. Less than half of all women are capable of vaginal orgasms, so a woman already has to be vaginally orgasmic, and then she must also have very strong PC muscles. With resistance training and going on my diet, I believe most women can acquire both vaginal orgasmic ability and even female ejaculation if they desire, but it really doesn't have much to do with the man or his technique.

Well, ejaculation in women is not about being capable, it's about the Wuxing phase they belong to. Only Water women ejaculate. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal women don't. Water women are roughly 20% of the population, and about half of them (like about half of women of any other phase) are sexually inhibited (for reasons entirely pathological, either physically or socially or both), so ten percent is probably accurate, but the figure could "ideally" reach 20% if ALL women were sexually competent, and never more than that, since women of other Wuxing phases are organized differently and their sexuality doesn't express itself the way Water does, it uses their own proprietary venues. E.g., healthy Wood women are masters of expansive whole-body orgasms -- because Wood qi expands. Healthy Fire women excite and are excited easily -- a spark is enough to start a fire. Healthy Earth women are slow to excite, slow to stop -- they keep going like the Energizer bunny. Healthy Metal women make the best courtesans, transforming jing into money! So we all have our proprietary tricks.

 

Now about menstruation -- our society's (I mean post-shamanic society globally, not Western specifically) attitude is described by a Native American woman shaman who also holds a Ph.D. in anthropology, Barbara Tedlock, as "culture at war with nature." Don't even go there, guys... and guys-educated gals. Moon-educated women might have a valid opinion as to what it's all about, but anyone whose cycles aren't in sync with the moon... or who, by virtue of being male, doesn't know menstruation to begin with... just forget it. (Australian aboriginal tribes practiced surgically creating a fake vagina on a man's penis and opening the wound with a thorn once a month -- that's the length they went to in order to try to understand menstruation. They were doing it for at least twenty thousand years, according to some accounts -- and still they don't get it! )

[Smile]

Moon-educated women might have a valid opinion as to what it's all about, but anyone whose cycles aren't in sync with the moon... or who, by virtue of being male, doesn't know menstruation to begin with... just forget it. (Australian aboriginal tribes practiced surgically creating a fake vagina on a man's penis and opening the wound with a thorn once a month -- that's the length they went to in order to try to understand menstruation. They were doing it for at least twenty thousand years, according to some accounts -- and still they don't get it! )

That's why we are being male so we don't have to get it.

[coyote]

We don't know what they meant by "trying to understand menstration" or what they actually got. In many cultures there are symbols of the "male wound," which mostly take place on the leg. As wound represented through a feminine symbol, it speaks to the loss of oneness in the separation from mother. As taking in the feminine, it can be interpreted as a form of alchemy to combine yin and yang and return the Dao, God, and the field of oneness. In any case, it's not just another example of men being stupid and "not getting it." On the contrary, it is us moderns who probably don't get it, as we are the ones with the gender identity crisis since we don't have as much meaningful gender role socialization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, ejaculation in women is not about being capable, it's about the Wuxing phase they belong to. Only Water women ejaculate. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal women don't. Water women are roughly 20% of the population, and about half of them (like about half of women of any other phase) are sexually inhibited (for reasons entirely pathological, either physically or socially or both), so ten percent is probably accurate, but the figure could "ideally" reach 20% if ALL women were sexually competent, and never more than that, since women of other Wuxing phases are organized differently and their sexuality doesn't express itself the way Water does, it uses their own proprietary venues. E.g., healthy Wood women are masters of expansive whole-body orgasms -- because Wood qi expands. Healthy Fire women excite and are excited easily -- a spark is enough to start a fire. Healthy Earth women are slow to excite, slow to stop -- they keep going like the Energizer bunny. Healthy Metal women make the best courtesans, transforming jing into money! So we all have our proprietary tricks.

 

Now about menstruation -- our society's (I mean post-shamanic society globally, not Western specifically) attitude is described by a Native American woman shaman who also holds a Ph.D. in anthropology, Barbara Tedlock, as "culture at war with nature." Don't even go there, guys... and guys-educated gals. Moon-educated women might have a valid opinion as to what it's all about, but anyone whose cycles aren't in sync with the moon... or who, by virtue of being male, doesn't know menstruation to begin with... just forget it. (Australian aboriginal tribes practiced surgically creating a fake vagina on a man's penis and opening the wound with a thorn once a month -- that's the length they went to in order to try to understand menstruation. They were doing it for at least twenty thousand years, according to some accounts -- and still they don't get it! )