at

[三江源]

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Edited April 9, 2016 by 三江源

[Unconditioned]

how do you, if at all, construe this phrase within the context of your taoist practise?

 

I'm not sure I fully understand the question but I'll have a go at it. Darkness is the absence of everything; there is no light, there is no THING in darkness, it is completely empty. It is the base on which everything else is constructed. It is the source of everything else - below everything internal and external - is darkness, the purest unconditioned source.

 

The short version: darkness itself is the Tao, the unmanifest.

 

Please be careful not to color the word 'darkness' with bad, wrong, evil, etc. Those are conditioned influences, see it for what it is without judgment. The word is only a label that I choose to use as a practice and analogy to bring my being 'in harmony' with the Tao.

 

... one of these days I'll figure out how to convey my thoughts in understandable english, for now this will have to do!

[三江源]

forces of darkness

 

being something active, in this instance.

[Unconditioned]

forces of darkness

 

being something active, in this instance.

 

Yes - I should've been more explict in my post. The Tao is always active! From nothing comes something. From formless manifests form. The force of darkness is THE force that sets everything into motion.

 

If you're referring more to a 'dark art' then I can't help you there as that has nothing to do with my Taoist practice.

[三江源]

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Edited April 9, 2016 by 三江源

[Wayfarer64]

darkness is ignorance, the manifestation of ignorance into action gives it force

[Aetherous]

Without the dark night of the soul, how can the soul recognize the bright day? How can you have compassion for others without knowing intimately the darkness which causes their suffering?

[Teddy]

Force of darkness would be like force of emptyness. ie. yin energy ...maybe?

[witch]

I'm a witch, not a taoist. I embrace darkness, turn away from the light, and actively seek "endarkenment."

[Teddy]

I'm a witch, not a taoist. I embrace darkness, turn away from the light, and actively seek "endarkenment."

 

Do you worship Godess(s) but not Gods? -Turning away from light is just as unbalanced as only worshipping Gods and not Goddesses. Why do you turn away from light? Are you afraid of it? I look for heaven above AND below (metaphore by the way)

[witch]

Well, first off I think the forces of darkness are simply focused on the wrong things. Just like big corporations should be focused on recycling garbage and transforming energy, so I think the more esoteric forces of darkness need to focus more on balance and transforming and rebirth rather than hoarding and growing. They are important and useful! And an earthy mundane example--maggot wound healing

 

http://www.healthaffairs.uci.edu/som/patho...man/home_pg.htm

 

Second, I'm trying to keep a figure eight with my energy circulation, bring the energy back down from my head, and I think dark forces are useful for that. I can get it up to my head no problem now.

 

I'm just saying dark forces could use a little love!

[.broken.]

I do not consider myself Daoist, yet having studied a broad overview of religion I thought I should give my opinion.

 

Darkness is basically an extreme. We know darkness exists because light exists. If light didn't exist then we would no nothing but darkness and as such have no name for it - it would just be the permanent state of things.

 

Regarding witchcraft and darkness, my understanding is that it would be the same as how many religions view light. It's just the other side of the coin.

 

Now, the forces of darkness would seem to indicate the other end of the spectrum to forces of light. Recognising that I have a Christian influence in both my upbringing and culture, and having a inclination toward good deeds, I would interpret forces of darkness to be a different way of generating energy. Instead of feeding off the good deeds that one's self perpetrates, one feeds off the bad deeds of others. The forces of darkness could be seen as what thrives where there is an absence of good deeds. That which sustains the existence of the various egos and obscures the Truth.

 

I realise that good and bad are as relative as light and dark. I shall try and explain my interpretation another way. Many religions and spritiual practices dedicate much time and effort to developing one's own energetic components, be it by meditation, devotion or selfless deeds. This I would consider to be forces of light. On the other hand you get those who hide in the shadows, feigning ignorance to blend in and feed off the energies of others. Leading their 'victims' to paths that benefit themselves. Ultimately selfish acts of cultivation.

 

Both valid paths, imo.

 

"Vampires" would be an example - beings that devour the energy of others for their own use (whether knowingly or not).

 

Yours humbly,

James

[Unconditioned]

mm, yes, thankyou Unconditioned. Why did I ask this question... I was thinking about becoming beings of light and turning away from the darkness.. come to think of it I doubt this is daoist, actually.

 

Darkness as in alcohol abuse, ego inflation,bullying, obsession, lack of love, lack of basic human respect, depression, paranoia.

 

To me darkness is psychological.

As one's practise becomes deeper one turns more naturally toward the light, and this includes, as someone mentioned on the board today, losing interest in addictive substances. It includes old patterns of sexual stuckness evolving into heart centred sexuality, it involves more space in the mind and less knee jerk reactivity.

 

It involves a natural desire to focus on the uplifting and the beautiful and a natural desire to help and give.

All that is 'light' and 'god is light'.... so what is darkness?

 

I know that some people here know a good deal about what they call 'entities', and think of them as potential predators.

 

I think of such things as sicknesses that light can banish.

 

Just pondering.. not the clearest of questions, it's true, so feel free, everyone, to just add your own thoughts. I'm interested.

 

Ah I see what your definition is now.

 

I would call that a deep form of ignorance. From ignorance in consciousness, arise the ego, then ignorant actions manifest, they become habits, they become a method of trying to achieve some form of happiness through pleasure. Ignorance is that a person is not yet conscious of what they really are (i.e, their true Self)

 

I believe that the 'light' is the Tao working in you as you deepen your practice. It isn't something that is forced or requires dicipline or sacrifice. It is a natural process.

 

As you become more aware of what life is, what is real and what is not, of your body and your mind, of your relationship with physical/non-physical, etc. the light works in you. It takes no effort except for the effort of being still, calming thoughts, so that it can reveal its nature that is always present and always active.

 

As far as entities and predators, I've yet to encounter them so I can only say that I think of those to be more mental afflictions than anything else. Everything that we sense with our perceptions is an interpretation of the mind. If we can strengthen the awareness of our mind we'll see the nature of all things - including entities.

 

With love and respect.

[hagar]

Metaphor or not, we all know that we haven't experienced any darkness.

 

In dealing with life, afflictions do arise. For some many, for some few.

I truly doubt that the one's facing daunting challenges and fails have more darkness in them.

 

Adolf Hitler, when he rested by his mother's breast as an infant was engulfed in cosmic peace.

There is no original sin, no evil, no primal destructive force. These are all explanations formed by the discriminating mind. All actions done with "negative" intent" is surrounded by this vast silence. There is so much space, so much stillness that if you realized how insignificant pain is, you would smile.

 

From my experience, all the wrong-doing of your entire life can be transformed in a split second if you can realize what it is.

[Yoda]

external dark forces + inner love = groovy alchemy.

 

Of course reaching for your 9 can be fun too. (But you are *British*... just love them in that case. )

[rex]

Evil must have an object so it exists only in duality.

[Stigweard]

how do you, if at all, construe this phrase within the context of your taoist practise?

 

 

This is a challenging question, thank you for asking it. My initial response is to say "Dark Energy" is destructive energy, but destruction and creation are the Yin and Yang of natural evolution. There are times when destruction can be beneficial (I love compost) and times when creation can be harmful (rampant creation of cancer cells for example), and of course vice versa.

 

When thinking of it further I percieve that both destruction and creation only become life-oppressing when they become an extreme. So perhaps 'extremeness' is darkness?

 

Within myself I see the 'Dark Forces' as the parts of myself that have become locked away in painful memories. The little boy who got lost and trapped on a cliff face crying for his mommy only to have mommy spank him publicly when he was rescued. The little boy whose friends wouldn't let him hold onto the inflated tire in the water and because of that nearly drowning. The little boy who couldn't understand why mommy was abandoning him as she was going through a nervous breakdown.

 

So perhaps 'Darkness' are the parts within ourselves that have rejected the healing flow of life and become calcified and locked within emotional pain. And when we act from that pain we tend to act with extremeness, we tend to act inappropriately.

 

So is 'Darkness' extreme behaviour brought about by a consciousness that is trapped within pain?

[rodgerj]

Edited August 30, 2009 by rodgerj

[froggie]

It is my [sometimes misunderstood] idea that one can be a reflection of other's intents, although one does not have to identify with another's (negative) [towards own bigger self] intent.

And also to practise inner calmness (and other things), so as to not waste one's energy, at least, in the greater plan of things; unnecessarily. - but still actively do whatever you want, regardlessly, ofcourse.

 

Or like Bruce Lee said: to be like water, so you can become any form that it is poured into. (but still with your own conciousness and intent(ions)

[Bum Grasshopper]

My "Taoist" take on "forces of darkness"

 

If there can be light, there must be darkness.

 

After dark is when many predators hunt, so it is a time when prey (including humans) are cautious. Healthy, cautious prey live to reproduce, sick careless prey fall victim to the predators. Humans being spiritual beings converted the unseen predators as ghosts, gods, or spirits to survive. Such tribes survived to reproduce.

 

Good for the predators. Bad for the prey.

 

"Forces of lightness" would include cognitive ability to gather and farm. This thins out the predator's hunting ground.

 

Good for prey, bad for predators.

 

Just the other side of the coin.

 

Only humans will hunt and kill relentlessly their fears of being prey. The slaughter of sharks are an example, triggered by a movie.

 

Bad for predators and prey.

 

So we must stay healthy and cautious as to not fall prey to the forces of dark.

 

We must stay cautious to our Spirits as we may fall prey to the forces of light and dark.

[Wayfarer64]

To keep things in a Taoist context I'll add that there are many instances when darkness lends calm and rest to our lives. It has no true negative value unless it is perpetrated as if it were "light". It is in itself a perfect state as is light, but it can become a negative when allowed to take an active role. The yin as it were to lightness' yang...

 

The several interpretations we offer may illuminate its aspects, ironic as a word maybe... but often language does not allow us to make things more clear, or be a light in our darkness, unless we use our "cats' eyes" to gain vantage...

 

I had a Kung Fu master who could adjust his eyes to darkness at once, as a cat can...any state of insight and being seems possible sometimes...but that takes years of training I'm told...

[rain]

there you are - so there I am.

 

 

[三江源]

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Edited April 9, 2016 by 三江源

[宁]

I'm a witch, not a taoist. I embrace darkness, turn away from the light, and actively seek "endarkenment."

 

ironically or not, this is the most daoist post i read on this topic, witch...

 

we forgot that darkness is the mother of light...

 

the womb, the wu-wei, the primordial, is darkness. also, for a daoist, dark and light are not morally judged, they are just-so.

 

great answer, witch!

 

L1

 

PS: forces of darkness... i think the expression has a mixture of judeo-christian education i it... of course i might be wrong

[.broken.]

hmmm. this sounds a bit worrying.. could you expand on this a bit, .broken.?

 

I believe this is what Gnostics teach. Personally, it is simply an interpretation of the situation which I do not believe in but it was the first thing that sprang to mind when you asked. Beings that leech others of their energy exist, apparently, and it is how they further themselves and sustain their existence.

 

Not really much more to it... or maybe there is and I just don't know enough to tell you more

 

Yours humbly,

James