Introducing the Taoism def. of Ghost

[Mak_Tin_Si]

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Mak Tin Si

Edited January 8, 2009 by Mak_Tin_Si

[Taomeow]

Care to elaborate on the 鬼佬 entities?

[Mak_Tin_Si]

福生無量天尊

 

 

 

Care to elaborate on the 鬼佬 entities?

[YMWong]

In Taoism, the definition of ghost is basically "the hidden and unseen negative energy".

 

I don't think so.

There is nothing inherently 'negative' about a ghost which is just a moment in the process of transformation.

 

YM

[dragonfire]

I would have to disagree. Ghosts are YIN in nature. They have no Yang. Funeral attitudes or feelings have nothing to do with negative energy or YIN. The chinese have many superstitions. Some are valid, but most are just supersititions.

 

When people die, it depends on the culture that either accepts death as a good thing or death as a bad thing. It can be tears of joy, or tears of sadness depending on the culture. I've seen cultures who jump in joy and celebrate during a funeral and have a big party afterwards.

 

I would have to say the mood would be dictated on the griever/widow. If the person is joyful and smiling, the others will follow, but if the griever is obviously in grief, the mood will be blue.

[r.w.smith]

Spot on Dragonfire.

[Ya Mu]

Funerals in the West are for the most part negative. Haven't you felt the negative energy given off by the intense religious funerals? Especially by the powerful and "righteous" fundamental/baptist/other preachers who use the funeral as an opportunity to "save" someone by putting FEAR into them? I have felt this many times and no longer go to funerals.

 

Earthbound entities do exist and can be quite negative. They don't become earthbound because they are joyous and enlightened. They become earthbound due to things like GUILT, FEAR, ADDICTIONS, SORROW, IGNORANCE, and DOGMA. This book refers to this subject of earth bound spirits and what advanced qigong practitioners can do to help.

[Mak_Tin_Si]

As requested from the moderator of TaoBum, I have moved to this forum : http://www.daoismworld.com right now.

 

So if you want to talk to me or ask me anything about Taoism, please feel free to go over to this forum and enjoy the new forum. New members for discussion are also welcomed.

 

http://www.daoismworld.com

 

Mak Tin Si

Edited January 8, 2009 by Mak_Tin_Si

[Riyue]

 

 

In Taoism, the definition of ghost is basically "the hidden and unseen negative energy". This means that ghost can be in any form. It is just a term for negative energy that you cannot see.

ddj 42: 萬物負陰 而抱陽 , 沖氣以為和.

ddj 25: 道法自然 .

cannot see that yin can be separated from yang... seems to me as if here happened a mistake in daojiao inventing a separated yin soul...?

[wudangquan]

It's exactly the seperateness of yin and yang or at least the distinction of the two that allows this universe to exist.

 

Co-existing doesn't necessarily mean spatially co-locating I think. At least it doesn't have to.

 

As far as ghosts . . . It's not my business.

[Riyue]

It's exactly the seperateness of yin and yang or at least the distinction of the two that allows this universe to exist.

 

Co-existing doesn't necessarily mean spatially co-locating I think. At least it doesn't have to.

 

As far as ghosts . . . It's not my business.

thats my way of thinking:

Probably it is just a case of definition and understanding of "separation"

heaven and earth build a polarity - they are "separated" - if you like this word- but cannot be thought as being isolated from each other... the world would stop to exist...

practising taijiquan - if energy sinks to earth what is belonging to there and energy rises to above what is belonging to there - you are polarising your body to yin and yang - if you like you are separating them - but your body cannot exist if yin and yang are isolated (please dont remove your legs and your head) ...

-

i am afraid thats the idea of the yin-soul - having lost any yang...

[Taomeow]

There's no pure yin or pure yang in the world of the living OR in the world of the dead. Ghosts have some yin features -- coldness, quietude, hidden rather than explicit presence -- as well as some yang features -- lack of solidity, ephemeral dispersion, tending toward heaven, and occasionally aggressiveness. The simplified view of yin as 'dead' and yang as 'alive' is the outcome of millennia of anti-feminine bias, a taoist can be expected to know better than pursuing this line of pop taoist reasoning.

 

Many of the gui, hungry ghosts, are typically quite attached to the living and derive extra yang from them; in addition there's hot fiery ghosts, hot-tempered and physically hot, albeit these are rare. An example of a predominantly yin ghost would be a Sitting Ghost, a really horrible entity; one of these might sit on a living person, getting progressively heavier, and cause depression, or in severe cases, cardiac arrest. An example of a yang ghost is an angry, unburied soldier stirring up new wars in search of revenge.

 

Lay people are typically advised to steer clear of ghosts, but removing hauntings and possessions used to be a taoist priest's important function in the community. Fakes and incompetents were not tolerated and were usually driven away. Some of the "wandering taoists" went a-wandering ISO ghost-busting business, their chief professional craft.

 

Please nobody tell me we're dealing with six thousand years of superstitions here... nope, only the last one hundred and fifty have been superstitious along the lines of fundamentalist atheism, a new business venture that has plenty of time to fall on its face ahead of it.

[gendao]

I think not all Yin gui are "evil," but all evil spirits are Yin gui by definition. "Yin gui" being redundant.

 

In traditional Chinese lore, people are thus advised to be more careful about going out at night (Yin time) when Yin gui abound, and especially when weakened right after sex. Actually safest to sleep at night and stay in right after sex.

 

People are more vulnerable to and usually get possessed during heavily Yang-deficient scenarios...(not that possession is common - but that's just when it usually happens).

Edited November 17, 2008 by vortex

[Seth Ananda]

There's no pure yin or pure yang in the world of the living OR in the world of the dead. Ghosts have some yin features -- coldness, quietude, hidden rather than explicit presence -- as well as some yang features -- lack of solidity, ephemeral dispersion, tending toward heaven, and occasionally aggressiveness. The simplified view of yin as 'dead' and yang as 'alive' is the outcome of millennia of anti-feminine bias, a taoist can be expected to know better than pursuing this line of pop taoist reasoning.

 

Many of the gui, hungry ghosts, are typically quite attached to the living and derive extra yang from them; in addition there's hot fiery ghosts, hot-tempered and physically hot, albeit these are rare. An example of a predominantly yin ghost would be a Sitting Ghost, a really horrible entity; one of these might sit on a living person, getting progressively heavier, and cause depression, or in severe cases, cardiac arrest. An example of a yang ghost is an angry, unburied soldier stirring up new wars in search of revenge.

 

Lay people are typically advised to steer clear of ghosts, but removing hauntings and possessions used to be a taoist priest's important function in the community. Fakes and incompetents were not tolerated and were usually driven away. Some of the "wandering taoists" went a-wandering ISO ghost-busting business, their chief professional craft.

 

Please nobody tell me we're dealing with six thousand years of superstitions here... nope, only the last one hundred and fifty have been superstitious along the lines of fundamentalist atheism, a new business venture that has plenty of time to fall on its face ahead of it.

 

What she said.

Seth.

[gossamer7]

Dear Taomeow,

 

Well said!

 

 

Peace, gossamer

 

 

 

There's no pure yin or pure yang in the world of the living OR in the world of the dead. Ghosts have some yin features -- coldness, quietude, hidden rather than explicit presence -- as well as some yang features -- lack of solidity, ephemeral dispersion, tending toward heaven, and occasionally aggressiveness. The simplified view of yin as 'dead' and yang as 'alive' is the outcome of millennia of anti-feminine bias, a taoist can be expected to know better than pursuing this line of pop taoist reasoning.

 

Many of the gui, hungry ghosts, are typically quite attached to the living and derive extra yang from them; in addition there's hot fiery ghosts, hot-tempered and physically hot, albeit these are rare. An example of a predominantly yin ghost would be a Sitting Ghost, a really horrible entity; one of these might sit on a living person, getting progressively heavier, and cause depression, or in severe cases, cardiac arrest. An example of a yang ghost is an angry, unburied soldier stirring up new wars in search of revenge.

 

Lay people are typically advised to steer clear of ghosts, but removing hauntings and possessions used to be a taoist priest's important function in the community. Fakes and incompetents were not tolerated and were usually driven away. Some of the "wandering taoists" went a-wandering ISO ghost-busting business, their chief professional craft.

 

Please nobody tell me we're dealing with six thousand years of superstitions here... nope, only the last one hundred and fifty have been superstitious along the lines of fundamentalist atheism, a new business venture that has plenty of time to fall on its face ahead of it.

[Spirit Ape]

John Chang uses Yin Qi to manifest Ghost or spirits why cant it be possible?

[Riyue]

 

 

Ghost in the western sounds superstitious or something that is only in movies or stories. But in Chinese, the word Ghost actually means something very meaningful which is very scientific.

 

hi

Can it be, that you are trying to point to this:

In 修真圖 xiuzhentu seven gui3 are mentioned:

鬼斗 、 鬼勾 、 鬼雚 、鬼行 、 鬼畢 、 鬼甫、鬼票

they correspond to the seven stars of the big dipper representing a special 氣 / 炁

they all belong to nature...

魂 and 魄 represent yang and yin - if we understand it according to 老子 : 萬物負陰而抱陽 , 沖氣以為和- they belong to nature...

the terms 鬼 神 魂 魄 try to describe natural phenomena - they have nothing to do with western terms ghost, deity, soul - pointing more to superstition 迷信

?

Edited November 18, 2008 by Riyue

[Mak_Tin_Si]

As requested from the moderator of TaoBum, I have moved to this forum : http://www.daoismworld.com right now.

 

So if you want to talk to me or ask me anything about Taoism, please feel free to go over to this forum and enjoy the new forum. New members for discussion are also welcomed.

 

http://www.daoismworld.com

 

Mak Tin Si

Edited January 8, 2009 by Mak_Tin_Si

[Riyue]

thank you for this reply...

道蒞天下 - 其鬼不神 ..... 德交歸焉

ddj 60