Taoisms
For quotes , pictures and all tao related. Since the activity feed does not show up.
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Four states in zen mind
Shoshin means “Beginner’s Mind” For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This doesn't mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there…
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The Empty Boat
“The Empty Boat He who rules men lives in confusion; He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow. Yao therefore desired Neither to influence others Nor to be influenced by them. The way to get clear of confusion And free of sorrow Is to live with Tao In the land of the great Void. If a man is crossing a river And an empty boat collides with his own skiff, Even though he be a bad-tempered man He will not become very angry. But if he sees a man in the boat, He will shout at him to steer…
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Chinese millenials becoming hermits..
Interesting and lovely video at Aeon website, about young Chinese people taking to the ancient ways. https://aeon.co/videos/why-some-chinese-millennials-are-taking-up-the-hermit-s-life-in-the-mountains I don't see how to embed the video. Worth checking out at the site. Summoning the Recluse. (Poem by Zuo Si, translated by John Frodsham) Zuo Si/Tso Ssu (d. circa 306) "Summoning the Recluse" I built my hut upon the Eastern mountains, Where nuts fall down and grow into hazel-trees. In front…
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'The Best' ~ Lao Tzu
The Best The best, like water, Benefit all and do not compete. They dwell in lowly spots that everyone else scorns. Putting others before themselves, They find themselves in the foremost place And come very near to the Tao. In their dwelling, they love the earth; In their heart, they love what is deep; In personal relationships, they love kindness; In their words, they love truth. In the world, they love peace. In personal affairs, they love what is right. In action, they love choosing the…
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Tao Te Ching
VERSE 1. The way you can go isn't the real way. The name you can say isn't the real name. Heaven and earth begin in the unnamed: name's the mother of the ten thousand things. So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden. ~ transl. Ursula le Guin. The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named…
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Ming Liu on Taoism
Ming Liu (1947 - April 2015) talks last year about what is Taoism...and medicine and body.. Ming Liu ~ http://www.biroco.com/yijing/Portrait_of_an_American_Daoist.pdf Paraphrased high-lights ~ ''Daoism from animistic shamanism, alchemy... (physically) weak people might be sensitive ( and thus worth preserving from crude medical interventions).....healthy must be adaptable, not just ''strong''.....we are constitutionally 'rhythmic' beings...constitution can even be ancestral...coming from…
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One of the more difficult concepts in Taoism is wu-wei, or acting without acting. What exactly does that mean? How can you "act" without "acting? Well, for the answer, all you really have to do is look around, and you'll see plenty of examples!
I'm sure you've all seen a book case. What does it do? It just stands against your wall. That's non acting. but it also holds your books, maybe a picture or two, and, in my case anyway, the junk mail I haven't gotten around to throwing out. That's acting.
You get dressed every day. Your clothes cover your body, keep you warm, and yet they aren't changed by doing that, nor do they change you. Acting without acting.
The moon goes through it's phases every month. It can affect the tides, bringing high tides when it's waxing and lower tides when it's waning. Besides doing what it does naturally, which is orbiting the earth, it acts to affect water levels without actually acting in any other way. It expends no other effort, yet things happen simply because it's there.
When you take a drink, the glass, bottle, can or cup you hold acts by holding whatever is poured into it, but it expends no effort to do so. The container doesn't change, nor does it change what's in it.
Wu-wei, then, means just doing things in the simplest, most natural and most effortless way. Just take a minute to see how you're doing something, and see if you can find a simpler, yet more effective way of doing it. If you just do that, you'll be on your way to behaving in a wu-wei manner.
Till next time, DAO AN!
There are 2 interpretations of this picture, which is called "The Vinegar Tasters". The three men standing around the vat are Buddha, Lao Tsu, and Confucius.
One interpretation is that, since there are 3 men and only one vat, the three religions are, in essence, one.
The second is that the vat of vinegar represents life. Confucius pronounces it sour, and in need of rules to correct the degenrative tendencies of humanity. Buddha pronounces it bitter due to the pain and suffering humanity experiences. Lao Tzu pronounces it sweet because he believed that life was fundamentally good in it's natural state.
To which of the three outlooks do you subscribe, and why? Or would you offer a fourth choice?
New interesting story I never heard. I think all are correct, so that may be the fourth choice. Just my opinion.
Thanks Brian.
"If you can understand the meaning through words, and get the message by contemplating diagrams, then you know the real dragon and tiger are not on paper...but in oneself." The Book Of Balance And Harmony- Translated by Thomas Cleary