Icedude

The thing about taoism is that it teaches you that a lot of things aren't real - that things like virtues and sins, laws and morals, are relative constructs. ...and when you learn that your virtues aren't real virtues, you gain an understanding that makes it impossible to pour your heart and soul into opposition. As a real taoist you eventually become more than human. You cease to value the world, at least as you've learned to value it. You learn to see things as they are, and this is enlightenment.

A lot of people don't seem to get this. They think that taoism is about validating that everything they do is "right", and they don't realize that that makes everybody else "right" too. Instead they practice worship of their own virtues, just like Confucius did, and then you end up with personal confucianism instead.

...so no, taoists aren't "just normal people".

Am I a woman? I'm not sure.

Don't be silly. You're a cat.

Ladies and gentlemen, our psychic here predicts I am a woman.

I had better stop bullying you, just in case it makes me cry again.

Lord, seriously, you make no sense.

Sure, don't lower yourself, it might wind you up. Oh wait...

Look, there's a way to deal with faults, and lashing out at other people and searching for faults in them, isn't it. That's just distracting yourself in order to ignore them. I am not looking for any kind of student, so I'm not going to take you on. You can most likely fix these things on your own.

To paragraph 1, fine, yes. Of course. You still haven't addressed the fact that I was saying you have come in and laid down insults as opposed to being polite about such an entrance. I don't disagree with what you say neccessarily. What if I walked into a Christian church one day and yelled out in the middle of the ceremony "you're doing it all wrong!" and decided to roll on with a lecture. How well would that go down.

 

To paragraph 2.The thread is over and done with? Ok, I apologise for logging in too late. I didn't realise that it was over and done with and that was your call. I have stuff to do with my life, so I can't be on this website ALL the time.

 

To paragraph 3. First of all, I didn't "try to claim"...I "did claim". Second, what tactics? What on earth are you talking about? And tricking mods? Dude, you are paranoid or exaggerating. One of the two. I'm not upset...I have met people like you on forums before and it usually ends up in tears for other members, so I'm figuring out whether your posts are even serious or not.

 

For someone who's supposedly enlightened, you don't seem very smart. Otherwise you would have got this diploma you speak of in your other thread without spending a dozen pages finding reasons NOT to take advice given to you.

 

So that is my take. Perhaps if you want to talk more, we should carry on in DMs? That way, you can continue to talk to me like the teacher that you think that you are, and I will happily be open to whatever it is you want to say.

 

And also, to your Tao Te Ching comment, I am glad you know so much about me to stick this little comment in. Bravo.

Ah, the tyranny of eloquence...

At this point I am convinced that you are a woman pretending to be a man, because this is not how a man behaves. A man does not focus on "suitable" things, nor does he focus on being "popular", and he certainly isn't preaching politeness at your extreme level. This is why I come across as impolite to you: I was born this way. I was born to handle critique, I've been called all kinds of shit that a woman has the priviliege to stay clear of, and I've learned to "man up". I can't rise/lower myself to your impractical expectations, especially when you are inventing your expectations because you're simply butthurt and don't want to admit it.

I can play your game too: "Why are you accusing me of being insensitive and stupid? You are such a meanie, and I'm going to go somewhere to cry now."

Just go away.

He did the exactly same thing at another site and was banned... he doesn't realize that sometimes the messenger is shot for a reason .... maybe he also missed the movie "300"

 

He thinks he is a ghost-buster but he palls in comparison

 

Sigourney Weaver used to be male back in the day?

"Diplomas, I've got three of 'em. They're back in my house."

"That is so-o sexy, can I take a look at them?"

"Sure baby. By the way, what turns you on more.. Rinzai or Soto?"

 

 

don't look at me like that. i'm just rewriting someone else's story.

Exactly: Women want a man with diplomas, not one who's just "having visions".

"Wait! I had another vision! I see you and me and your sister, in bed with... ...is that a tiger mutant?"

"Oh, that's just 'Buddha'. He's completely harmless, and shares my affection for hot zen masters like yourself."

I get it, but is it really necessary to open a thread like this in Taoist discussion? Talk about taking jabs. I see where he's coming from and I have no problem with mockery but this particular thread is unprovoked.

 

You too have opened some interesting and challenging threads but at least you have been respectful in asking genuine questions rather than just coming through and throwing your opinions around at the first instance.

Is it really necessary? Yes.

Either I'm doing silly shadow boxing for your amusement, or I'm striking nerves that should be struck for the sake of self-improvement.

I very much count myself as a taoist. I've also seen how gravely taoists in general can fail to understand the very obvious core of taoism. You can try to convey positive messages to them, and they'll look at them and think that they're just alternative busy-work. If you instead give them a friendly jab in the stomach, they'll take more note of it.

I am not looking to beat up taoists for my amusement, but I've seen the alternative up close. It took years for my friend the wu wei master to stop reaching for his cola with his "mind powers". "Beating them up" a bit is preferable to them for example gaining health problems due to obesity.

...but at this point, why do you even care? The thread is over and done with, isn't it? It was pretty much a "one post joke". Is it an eyesore to you? Does one topic of critique soil the serenity of the entire sub-forum?

You've tried to claim that it "doesn't belong", that it makes me "unpopular", and that it's "taking jabs". These are dishonest tactics, Rara. These are tactics trying to exploit the forum environment we're in: Attempts at tricking mods, attempts as bullying me, and an appeal to tranquility. How on earth can you have become so upset with this topic? If this topic disturbed you, then consider this a wake-up call instead. Re-read the Tao Te Ching and understand what it is really trying to convey.

I have never understood people who claim that you shouldn't sleep until you wake up not feeling tired. Some even claim that sleeping more will make you feel even more tired.

Sleep is about cleansing your brain of biochemical waste products. It all depends on how much waste you'd like to have in your brain, and how well you would like to function while awake as an effect of that.

If you think that you have more important things to do than clean your brain and avoid health riscs, then it must be important to you. If it's a matter of life and death, I suggest that you don't sleep at all.

The classic ad hominem. Primitive but very often effective.

If you doubt me, you're free to explain how you would differ from a typical paranoid schizophrenic. I'm listening.

Do Zen gardener's have diploma's ?

無

Common ... people ?

Yes, common, unenlightened people "who does it for money".

No diploma, he had a vision.

Women must be unusually clever people, because if I walked up to a woman in a bar, I would imagine the conversation to go something like this:

"Hi, babe. You know, I'm an enlightened zen master."

"Really? I happen to be the only woman in town who's really into zen masters. Do you have some kind of diploma to back that up?"

"No, but I had a vision."

"A vision?"

"Yes, and I can sell you these healing papers for only $200."

"Good bye."

On his blog, he refers to himself as

 

Professional means he "Makes Money being a Taoist master"

 

he must have a diploma

Just you wait 'til I get my diploma. I'll make your heads spin.

I guess I have my own personal firm ideas about rock gardens being primarily rocks and sand because they are "permanent", beyond the lifespans of flowers and humans. Man, I thought I knew rock gardens.

@icedude

 

Just an FYI I haven't ever claimed to know anything about anything. But if you feel my words are worthy of study who am I to stop you?

Well, that just makes your zen even more wonderous, if you can teach without even knowing what you're teaching.

@icedude

 

He gets it man, he gets it.

 

/sarcasm

Don't get me wrong: I'd love to attend one of your classes to recieve your scorn zen.

I have yet to discover anything which is not spiritual, nor any thing which is more or less spiritual than any other.

In fact... spirituality is for me the most effortless of things... which is not in itself, innately a thing.

Spirituality is for master Juni to quickly scale rock walls with hands and feet, wade barefeet through snow, and jump pools of boiling lava. You can learn much from master Juni.

Class has assembled, and TheExaltedRonin strides in before turning to look at the students.

"Look at you!", he frowns. "...sitting there, claiming you know anything about taoism practice. What do you know?! Have you ever read the Tao Te Ching? ...huh? What about Tao For Pooh? Chuang Tzu, anyone? Nobody? ... Such ignorant hypocrites, you are. I pity you. I mean here you are, in an actual taoist class, and yet you know absolutely nothing but semantics! All you know is how to bicker amongst yourselves! I am so very disappointed in you. ... Class dismissed."

I feel for you, man. The ability to reason is a treasure that I wouldn't want to part with. I'd probably end up just like you, resorting to scare tactics so that people will stay and listen to me, "warning" them so that they'll value me. I wish I could help you get your bearings, but I don't think I can. Maybe anti-psychotics would work for you.

I've been trying to drink more tea lately and less alcohol. I come from a long line of Irish alcoholics and it's something I've struggled with my entire adult life. Recently I decided I was going to quit for 100 days and . . . . it hasn't been going so well. I'm almost to day 50 and I've logged maybe 10 days without drinking.

 

Yesterday I decided my biggest problem is my friends and family. I was hanging out with a friend yesterday and mentioned that I wasn't drinking and he basically called me a pussy.

 

I think, for most of the people I know, being drunk is the greatest feeling they can achieve for under $20. Of course, none of them practice standing meditation.

Often the addiction itself is not the biggest obstacle. It is friends and family. Hopefully you can convince your friend that drinking and dukkha is "being a pussy", and you can convey the idea that there are greater feelings than drinking. It won't be as easy as telling him he's a pussy, and it may take some understanding for why he chooses to drink himself. Maybe some other friend, or his father, told him that he was a pussy if he didn't drink.

In a dream Kyozan went to Maitreya's Pure Land and sat in the third seat. A monk there beat the gavel and said, "Today the one in the third seat will give a sermon." Kyozan arose, hit the gavel and said,"The truth of Mahayana is beyond any verbal expression! Listen, listen!"

I'm a heavy tea drinker.

I used to enjoy Liptons Green Gunpowder tea, because it had a very strong spiritual effect on me, but they stopped selling that tea.

Why you no help taoist master achieve awakening, Lipton?!

Never mind that this guy has a small dick.

To a newbie like me, talk of censorship at this forum is naturally disturbing.

I'd like to know if and why posts or topics got removed from this forum.

Edit:

>When I first started every other tread was by him and promoting his teaching.

Oh, so it was for spamming.

Edit 2:

I am amazed by this guy. This guy could write a book on how to cultivate a small dick.

9:33 - "We actually have a temple." Mind blown. I guess that makes The Tao Bums bigger than a temple.
This guy acts as if he's a little kid sitting in an expensive pyjama, crying to his mom.
He's never been banned from a site before? He's never been laughed at before? He's never been criticized before? I've never seen a guy dig himself into a hole so fast.

That is a fair point. I'm sure you can appreciate that the way you deliver stuff makes it sound like you are ignorant though. Just a heads up.

Everyone who delivers stuff is ignorant of something, else they wouldn't be delivering stuff. I am not hiding that I am a fool in this regard.