My kitten is not a kitten

[Taomeow]

Who to call and who not to call a taoist, the recurrent itch of online forums, the chronic scratching of the surface of the "naming" issue that leaves everybody irritated and seems incurable... where is it coming from? Why is it important for the afflicted to transmit the disorder?

 

I am not aware of anyone who calls himself or herself a "taoist." Seriously, the debunkers debunk a nonexistent adversary. People usually talk about what they are into, but the inference that talking about being into things taoist is the same as calling oneself a taoist is made over and over again, resulting in mighty pointless debates. Personally, I talk about practicing taoist arts and sciences, about cultivating taoist skills, and it's the truth because I do practice and I do cultivate --

 

then, with the predictability though thank god not the frequency of the sunrise, along comes someone adamant to prove to me I'm not a taoist. Wow, what a revelation. What else is new? I'm not a kongo drum either, I'm not a trilobite, I'm not the statue of liberty. I have never called myself a kongo drum just because I play it on occasion, I have never called myself a trilobite just because its genetic material is part of my DNA, I have never called myself the statue of liberty just because I occasionally stand in zhang zhuang. I have never called myself a taoist just because I do taijiquan, qigong, taoist meditation, TCM, Xuan Kong feng shui, Chinese astrology, calligraphy, rapid ink painting, talismanic sorcery, I Ching divination, and read some taoist books. I have called myself a practitioner of the arts and sciences of taoism. I have called myself a cultivator of the taoist treasures. I have called myself these true names because they are not names. They are descriptions of the things I do. To my knowledge, with the exception of a few of those who don't do any of these or similarly taoism-derived practices and therefore haven't lost their culturally conditioned interest in being called something definitive, no one else is likewise interested in calling himself or herself a "taoist."

 

I got my new kitten three months ago when he was two months old. He fit in my palm then. He doesn't anymore, he has grown to three times the size in as many months and keeps growing. His fur has undergone many subtle changes, his behavior keeps evolving, his voice is different, our relationship is gaining its own history (relationships are made of mutually shared memories of being together for extended periods of time), and I'm already having trouble calling him a "kitten," he is not the same animal that was clearly a "kitten" three months ago, I can already see a "cat" in him, he's almost big enough, and a day will come when no one will think "kitten" when looking at my "cat." What happened? Where did the kitten go when the cat came?

 

Well, there was never any kitten as opposed to cat to begin with, they are one and the same animal, you can't oppose them. Moreover, the kitten keeps "kittening" whether you call him a kitten or not, and in fact doesn't call himself that, and in fact is not aware that's what he's labeled. Does it change even one whisker of his? No it doesn't.

 

Is a practitioner of the taoist arts and sciences a "kitten," and a practitioner who has been ordained, a "cat?" Maybe -- if she will be ordained in the future. She's still one and the same animal. Will she ever be in a place where everybody would know to call her a "cat," a "taoist"? Maybe. Does it change the kind of animal she is? Even one whisker? No it doesn't.

 

Which is why the last of my concerns is what label to slap on myself to account for what I practice. And the first? To practice.

[Stigweard]

My Mother still calls me "Her little boy" even though I am two feet taller than her.

 

Well written by the way.

[daoseeker]

breathtaking approach! Let's get down on our feet and just practice. One can find his master for a day even in an Internet forum.

Deep love and gratitude

[Apech]

Yes, thank you for this - very well expressed.

 

[seadog]

Surely its the heart that matters.

What good are lineages and practices if your heart is not true

Intations and robes are nothing but window dressing,if your heart is not true.

All the shaking and bakeing are only games if your heart is not true.

[YMWong]

I got my new kitten three months ago[...]

 

Nice story TM but let me ask you: if you were sick and needed a heart surgery would you care to know if the surgeon opening your chest is a guy who has spent at least 10 years on higher studies, has done further experience in a proper hospital and has all credentials to do the operation ?

 

It is important, of course, that he is a GOOD doctor but that's only AFTER the above requirements are met.

 

This of course does not rule out the possibility that one seriously interested in the medical field, having read lots of things and been involved in the field might know quite a bit about medicine.

But, at least in my opinion, he is not a Medical Doctor and I would never-ever let him open my chest if I knew he did not get the proper (academic and experiential) training.

 

Would you ?

 

YM

[Spectrum]

Little

Ones

Play Fight

Imagine

In Battle

Field Reality

Hungry Tigers

Grazing Gazelles

o7w7m4lb2ok

Where does the lion lay with the lamb?

Edited September 28, 2008 by Spectrum

[Spirit Ape]

There is no spoon!

[三江源]

This subject is what I think we used to call 'mind wank.'

[Stigweard]

This subject is what I think we used to call 'mind wank.'

 

LOL ... is that similar to a 'brain fart'.

[.broken.]

Little

Ones

Play Fight

Imagine

In Battle

Field Reality

Hungry Tigers

Grazing Gazelles

 

Where does the lion lay with the lamb?

My previous cultivation method.

 

Storm

Silence

Fluidity

Crashing

Encircled

Oneness

 

Yours with respect,

James

[Spectrum]

James -

 

Sounds like the movement and dynamism of water.

Would be interested in hearing more of your reflections.

Warm Regards - Dave

 

My previous cultivation method.

 

Storm

Silence

Fluidity

Crashing

Encircled

Oneness

Edited October 1, 2008 by Spectrum