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Daoism

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bleedingheartcommie

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So i read a bit of the daodejing and i must admit that it is very interesting. I agree with a lot of the points and had sort of come to similar conclusions on my own. I find this happening a lot when i read about the eastern religions. Why do you think it is that the Eastern religions seem much more logical and fulfilling to me? Do you think doaism could ever make a comeback? Are there any doaists out there?
 
daoism can thrive more then buddhism because it officially does not fit the mold of a religion

I would be willing to bet men would gravitate towards it more because it still has the comforting comparible polar duality, that has to acount for something other then the obvious of why there are 3 times as many female buddhist as males in north america and I think my sexistness finds that hard to fathom without some circumstances of distraction.

christians allow women to become buddhist becuase they still figure women to be dosile enough to be controled by a christian man.
 
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Taoist/Aspiring Yogi/Zen Buddhist here.


I think that eastern "religion" connects with many people because of its practicality. Hebrew-Christian thought comes down to living your life for another being, to prevent yourself from suffering in an afterlife.

Taoist/Buddhist thought is to live your life for yourself to prevent suffering in your present life.

I choose to follow the latter, because I believe that we are not promised anything in life, especially and afterlife. Call me faithless, but I believe the purpose of life is to live, not spend it preparing for somehing that may or may not happpen.

The Christian God does not really make sense to me. He creates us for us to worship him? If we don't worship him, we go to hell. If anything that seems like the self-centeredness that we would go to hell for in the first place.

Tao on the other hand is benign. It feeds everything, yet is not controlling. It is the void that everything comes from and returns to, yet offers no judgement, no rules.

You go into a field and marvel at the flowers, and how much beauty they have. We should marvel at the dirt, that which the flowers came from.

Unfortunately, being either American or Western European is a handicap to following Taoism. We are raised to dissect everything, put things into groups, believe in things only if we can understand them, and use reason instead of intuition.

I can tell you right now that the more reason you try and use to understand the Tao, the less you will. Less is more. Knowledge is and always will be subject to human error. However, the Tao produces human nature, and the minute you stop dissecting the Tao, and start experiencing it, is the minute you will actaully grasp on to is.

Another Taoist paradox. The more you let go to the idea of it, the more it will stick to you.

Read Lao-Tzu, Chaung-Tzu, and Lieh-Tzu for some good insight into it. Also Alan Watts has written many books on the subject, and is good for starting to reverse the way our Western minds think.

With a western mind, the Tao will always elude us. Being a Taoist or Buddhist means changing the way you think, and percieve. Its hard enough for a society that was raised to think in that way. But for us(westerners) to do it, is even harder. I can tell you that I know close to nothing. To go into Taoism and expect some sort of knowledge or results, is self defeating. Think of Taoism is the lack of knowledge, and the purity of experience.

Also, check out Tai Chi, Aikido, and Yoga if you are looking for some physical ways to increase your understanding.
 
doesn't taoism have 7 commandments? in it's mainstream eastern following atleast, I know it is not a religion and thus it can't be bound by the additions of others, but is it not the popular concesus?

excellent intro by the way.
 
Excellent Post SF!

Bhodipavlovian - no commandments, no rules - if there were, it would not be Tao.


For the westerner to attain, he must lose all to be at one - breaking free from the pre-programming of your personal, inherent, paradigm, being able to look at all things without any prejudice of any sort - some say it is impossible, they still function from the mind - those who attain are aware that the mind is only a function of the Tao.

But, speaking of it, like we are, is useless as we know it - to being merely as a finger pointing toward the moon - it is not the finger you should focus on.


Love & Light
 
no, Taoism has no commandments
not even one...
i think you're really getting it mixed up with something else
and Taoism definitely is the one religion/philosophy (it has no gods, obviously) that has no duality
there is one Tao
I mean, I think it also uses Yin and Yang, so it is in a way, a paradox. Reality is both dualistic and united, depening on your viewpoint. ;)

That's really what I think Taoism boils down to. Everything is relative. It is the theory of relativity said in nonscientific terms, before Einstein said it in a scientific way. I have found them to mean the same thing, really (for myself, anyhow).

To the original poster, I would consider myself either "Taoist" or just "spiritually atheistic". I mean...I always look for unity in everything. I guess you could call me "Unitarian" (hehe) but of course this would have nothing to do with Christianity.

Tao = God = Jiva = Brahman = Atman = Ren...etc...
People are all just trying to find unity.
I this Taoism is by far the best explanation I've ever read.

I had a really hardcore trip about a year ago, and by coincidence I read some Tao Te Ching at a friend's place soon after, and realized that I completely understood what it meant for the first time, effortlessly. Since then it's really been the only book I read.

:) Peace...if you wanna chat about Taoism or anything, feel free to gimme an IM anytime and I guarantee I'd love to discuss any aspect of it (or things having to do with it) that you feel like talking about, it's pretty much the coolest thing I've ever found in my whole life.
 
The best book ever is by Osho, it's called Tao: The Pathless Path ......and pick up anything else by Osho!
 
I don't think real Tao has anything to do with any particular practice, or alchemy, or whatever.

Tao has nothing to do with any particular action, or even thought.

I don't really think people who make "Taoist exercises" are really "Taoist" at all...at least, the Tao that I know...exercises...they may be very good and useful but I would not see any reason to call them "Taoist".

I hope I don't sound too egoistic, but I really would love it if more people understood Tao, I think it's a really great thing. I'm just trying to explain what I know of it.
 
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i read The Tao of Pooh and i felt i was beginning to understand taoism but i think i've since forgotten it. i remember it was almost like buddhism from a different perspective.
 
TAOISM owns the story of the man who found an entire village and then lost it, - so to speak, right?

I guess I have a predjudice that even though tao is void of dieties, it's polarism reminds me of the diety worshipping religions, and it dictates the perminance of a negative force, where as buddhism dictates enlightenment is obtainable to all, which sounds like the saving ploy of western deity worship. They however, have unsavabels and even fallen gods. It is too bad that judaio christianity has many time spaning levels to choose from , where as the western world seems to only get the tail end of eastern philosophy, even in this age of globalization.

I feel like we are philosphers of an eastern version of mormanism, to bad I can not even learn spanish.
 
If you have any confusion as to what taoism is about click and read the link on my first post... It is what the entire religion is based around.

Leg (or any taoist)... i recently read a link from red evil that discribes the different ages and stages of the soul. http://www.michaelteachings.com/soul_ages.html

sfter reading this would you consider yourself an old soul... and could this be why taoism is so attractive to you?
 
bleedingheartcommie said:
I thought in daoism everything on earth was a god? no?
Click to expand...


A westerner may interpret it in that way -


Tao, has no god, or gods.

Tao, has no commmandments or rules.

Tao, is that which underlies all things in existence.

Tao, is also all of the things in existence.

Tao, is paradoxical.

Tao, is irrational and illogical.

Tao, is - always has been and will always be.

Tao, cannot be 'explained'.

Tao, is beyond your minds ability to comprehend it.


My feelings on Taoist alchemists were that they truly weren't Taoist, if they were, then what was the point?


Just as all religions/philosophies/ways of life transpire across the perceivence of time, they become inevitably altered by those who come after that which manifested its understandings in this world, and may not have full awareness of its implications, or its true meanings -

In other words, people who come after, change it from what it originally was.


Osho is definitely recommended reading - I was going to bring this up, its a great book!


Bhodipavlovian - its 'polarism' is about the fact that it is only a perception, but that unity is the truth -

The yin/yang is a symbol which is multi layered in its comprehension -

Polar opposites, each containing the other within themselves, set into everlasting motion from the interplay of their polarities thereby acting & functioning as one single unity - the symbol is viewed as being static, but it is implied that it is moving in infinite circular motion.


Leg - the Tao of physics, need I say more? ;)


The closest I can straight-forwardly speak it in words is -

Taoism is attuning yourself to the rhythm of the universe and living your life accordingly.




Love & Light


P.S. - now go out there and find out for YOURSELF!
 
see... the problem with Taoist exercises, like homeopathic medicine and some martial arts, is that they seem to go against the philosophy itsself. Engaging in a practice today, in hopes of shaping a better tommorrow.

Personally I practice Yoga because it helps me enter a meditative state, now. The does not promise any better future. Follow it and you wont have to worry about the future.
 
commie, that site didn't really seem that great to me at the moment...
I mean...of course being an old soul seems much more attractive to me than being a younger soul :-P

but I don't really care/believe in/about souls...

i am attracted to tao because it helps me with my life
(not any different than a christian being attracted to jesus)
 
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silver fucked - I think yoga is more about the confines of ones wholistic existance's result, where as tao and buddhism help lay down meaning full idealism and perceptional, cognative fluidity, thus making for more pure inputs for yoga to plug into.

Positive idealism rules in lew of mass paranioa and perceptions are connected

LAO TZO- I like how the Dharma wheel has three symbols in motion, do you remember the difference with that third (Y#ng) ? I thought it was suposed to represent present tense but I am not sure.
 
the best description of the tao is the way nature unfolds, the way everything happens. but remember , you can't know the tao, but you can be it.
 
look for a pattern of coincidences - check out "das energi" by somone, and then illusions by richard bach

get higher
 
Well the reason eastern religion may apeal to u is it's lack of metaphor. and no judaisim is not livign for the sake of heaven. we don't beleive in heavern and hell, just the world to come. ur not human, u experience the void outside of god, then breaking the cycle when deserved is reintegration (same as budhisim/ hinduism). Daoist used to beleive they could trancend, it's where they got the jesus story from.. that paul... The daosit have stories of great spiritual leaders disapearing from their rooms during meditation and their clothes were left behind.

DAO means the way or the path.
Daoism uses the basic principle that words cannot express the unity of the one.

I like the idea of the one forms himself in Yin and Yang (heaven/ earth, Male/ female, Passive/ agressive. Sun/moon,)
The mandate of heaven for chineese rulers is also another dao concept that for the most part kept them in check (xcept the haun dynasty rulers & others)

I liek the ideas of SPONTINAITY. they give great value to the mindstate of a baby and child. a baby is connected to reality adults tend to disconect and isolate themselves.

IMAGINE A TREE.. guess what .. it does not exist.. there cannot be a tree seperate from the earth, the rain, the sun. A tree is an event not an object, reality is an event, you and i are as well.
Daosim is about the interaction of "heaven, and earth"
Earth is a reflection of heaven to them.

Speaking about dao is not the true dao. TRUE DAO CANNOT BE EXPRESSED IN WORDS.

I am ENERGY.
I AM DAO.
I AM
I

-Lao Tzo was once aproached by a great student of Confucious, With all the morality given to him by the book of the mean he still could not find dao. It's intresting how the moral code religion (confucisim) took precedent in china over Daoism.

Before judaisim i was all about daoisim. but then i realised the concepts are the exact same when u study it. i haven;t found one discrepency between judaism, budhism, and daosim (hindu too if not for the all the damn deity's, subtracts from the idea of the one)

and by the way dao has deitys just cause ur contemporary english novels abotu it don't mention it. in Ancient china their were many such as "THE QUEEN MOTHER OF THE WEST" an example fo a trancedental woman of the time (well godess not woman.. i guess). why do good religions get ruined by deitys?
 
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