Sloppy Zhang Posted December 8, 2008 It's very amusing to see posts from those who have read a few translations of the classics and who then suddenly they think they have become an expert on Daoism. Of course these experts can't wait to enlighten the poor Chinese who has got it all wrong for the last few thousands years. Â I don't think it's that they've become an "expert" or that they want to enlighten people or they think they know what's right... Â It's more like... well here's how it went for me. Â When I first came on this board I really stayed in the topics about martial arts and stuff, because that is what I knew. I found a few translations of the Tao Te Ching and I read through it, very neat stuff. So I came back here and went into some Taoism threads... WHOA, tons and tons of stuff and I was like, "okay so there's more to it here..." Â I think it's kind of similar to in Christianity how there are groups that only go according to what's written in the Bible, as opposed to, say, Catholicism, which has lots of institutions in place that are not explicitly listed in the Bible. So someone who reads a few Daoist related texts sees all this other stuff associated with Daoism, and it can be... I dunno, confusing, perplexing, seem anti-daoist, all number of things. Â So I don't think that these people are trying to "enlighten" anyone or tell them how it "really is", instead I think they're just trying to say, "hey, take a step back and not get lost in all the pretty details you've made over the years, let's go back to a simpler idea." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer64 Posted December 8, 2008 yet another interesting thread!  My viewpoint is that the origins of Taoism stem from the ancient shamans and that the I Ching was the first codified "Chinese" attempt to adjust human behavior to a naturalistic WAY to comport ourselves that would be in harmony with the needs and ways of the world at large-  Harmony being the way and the objective, so that the doing becomes the being...  There were early ritualistic means to help get folks moving on the path of harmony, just as basic meditation may be thought of as a ritual  We continue to seek harmony and still devert our energies in attempts at being assured we are on the right path...  I am one who is fed-up with religion per-se... I see it as devisive and manipulative.  I hold natural laws as truth, human constructs as attempts to seek truth and that the world could not care less what anyone of us thinks- as long as we do not do evil or harm in the world we live...  For me the most basic truth is that I am a being of spirit having a human experience in a world that offers us each life beyond our spiritual selves, but that spirit has a place of honor and power in that world -which unites everything into a wholeness that is comprised of parts- only of itself (as it were)...  Maybe I should say universe rather than world but you get the drift - peace-Pat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unconditioned Posted December 8, 2008 Clothes cover the naked body. But they do not change it. Â Some wear red, blue, or purple But they do not change the body beneath. Â Some argue that one color is better than another But that does not change the body beneath. Â Some inquire into what the clothing is made of, where it came from, where it should go But that does not change the body beneath. Â Some inquire as to what is behind the clothing Some find out some do not. Â But what is underneath still remains. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
picnic Posted December 8, 2008 Harmony being the way and the objective, so that the doing becomes the being... That line is lovely and says a lot, much more in fact than any name Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
