Silent Answers

Bacon is my worst enemy and favourite lover ....as is anything from the BBQ....Thank god there's still chocolate. I stopped because I knew it was the right thing to do for me personally. Like you say later the soul is infinite, but it's been put inside of a vessel for a reason, and I don't want to end it's journey prematurely. If I get to a stage where I no longer need to eat, then I'd give up plants too. Since quitting meat (going cold turkey? ) I've felt cleaner and feel like my energy flows better. Maybe that's all placebo.

If you're looking for Taoist movies, look no further than 'My Dinner with Andrei' and 'Tracks'. These are essential watching.

I don't mean this to come across as rude... But I wouldn't put too much faith on what China's general population eats...whether it be now or thousands of years ago. The majority of today's Chinese population don't understand that being vegetarian is an option... People honestly think that you will die if you don't eat meat. There are vegetarians however and very very few veggie restaurants, mostly at temples. There's also the staple food -rice. Why is it a staple food? Because it was often the cheapest and most available thing the poor could get their hands on to fill themselves. Take a Cantonese favourite 稀饭，you may know it as congee. Basically it's rice juice...a common breakfast for many now...but exists only because there were times when people didn't have enough rice to share among the family. Similar examples can be made to western culture. We eat what we've been told to (like the influx of cereals pushed down our throats and especially encouraged for children) ..or when times are hard we eat whatever we can get our hands on. After a while those dishes turn into habit, becoming part of the culture. A few hundred years ago (even more recent in fact) Chinese people would rarely eat meat (out of necessity)... Now they hold banquets and waste vast amount of food that mainly consist of animal product. (Out of greed) Of course this doesn't relate to TCM herbs etc...but we shouldn't ignore the influence that historical events have on many modern beliefs.

A whole lot of people would be disappointed....and libraries would have a lot less books.

Seems like everyone has been experiencing a bit of negative pressure lately. I've just pulled through one of life's episodes of flatulence...feeling pretty good with how things turned out though...less gassy up in here now.

I'm not going to get involved with the blame game and which country has the most morons (although it is a good one because we all win!)...Howeverrrrrr... I did have a dream about giant black transdimentional spider-like things tearing up the world...about 3 months ago I guess. Still, I'm pretty sure that one was just a regular dream.

Just a note about FLG (can't type that word out here my end, just in case) It was banned in China and is seen as a terrorist group, with most of its followers now living in Taiwan or hongkong.. Many believe it to be a demonic cult with followers abandoning their families, completely changing character and quite a few suicides. I'm not sure of all the history and there's loads of propaganda on both sides. But I steer clear of them just to be sure

"That path can lead to mental illness and many shamans who have gone on trips live tormented lives as the drugs effects alters their mental abilities to anchor themselves to a sense of reality. I hear the supporters of this path immediately protest and why do they protest? Because they themselves have a need this way." It wasn't a protest, dear Mr. Hands...just a bit of clarity to define between the substances of nature and those of man.

Like others have already said, there are plenty of references to special/sacred mushrooms that grow in the mountains and were often eaten by the sages that lived there. I'm a huge supporter of them when used responsibly. The great thing about them is the complete lack of addiction. You get to experience what it's like to have no self at all, a state of bliss...yet there's absolutely no desire to turn to them often. They can be used as a tool to open your mind and give you something to aim for....or a refresher, for when we get a little off track and lost. Like Taomeow said...the term "drugs" when used to label wholly natural plants that require no processing, is completely wrong. They are treasures of nature, that we as humans share an energetic bond with.

In my experience, you've just got to let it go. If you squeeze the banks of a river tighter together to constrict the flow of water, it'll only rush away faster than before. When they've made their mistakes and realize it, then the time for advice will have arrived.

If I keep my mouth shut about an opinion I have, it'll be for either one of two reasons: 1. Even though I believe my opinion to be true, it will not at that moment benefit the person I'm hoping to help. or 2. I realise that I'm wrong/unequipped to answer/only serving myself. In your case, just go with the flow. As long as you understand and are satisfied with your own reasons for doing/non doing...that's as good as it's going to get. Just like everyone else, you'll always look back and disagree with some of your old thoughts. That's a sign of progress - the opposite (not disagreeing with past comments) could be a sign of foolishness ....or being truly enlightened. All that being said - this is another one of those pointless comments of mine, as I don't think you really needed anything to be explained

I'm nobody to provide a decisive answer...hence I mostly leave pointless comments that seem like they might contain wisdom, yet try not to pick sides. I regularly have to think a moment before leaving a comment... Sometimes I type out a huge post - only to delete the entire thing at the last line. Why do we make any comments at all? Mostly to satisfy our own burning desire to show that we have the answer...or to hope we may lead someone in the right direction. But even with the purest of intentions, its almost always in vane. Ignorance is bliss, but only to the selfish...In following the Taoist path, we seek to refine the mind to its purest state - That refinement is a process and one that I have not yet completed. Perhaps the best comments come in the form of a question HOWEVER, sometimes..... it's fun to indulge

My tongue has lodged a complaint against being repeatedly bitten.

It was...a rare sight haha. Almost turned ugly, me being the only foreigner there, in a part of the country that probably never gets foreign visitors. They get a bit excited about outsiders That Festival of Lights looks awesome too. You wouldn't get anything like that here in China real lanterns are banned in most parts of the country, as are fireworks strangely enough. You still get them in some villages but you'd never see anything as pretty or as organised as in those Google images. Thailand gets all the best stuff .

The most insane one I ever saw was in a rural village during Dragon Boat Festival where the whole village gathered out doors and on the tops of the buildings (there weren't many buildings) a good couple thousand people. The teen males were topless and walking around in a chain forming two dragons. It was a coming of age ceremony where the youth would show their bravery by taking blasts from bundles of firecrackers being thrown at them by the crowds of the opposing team.... We're talking millions of firecrackers... Turned the whole field red as if from a real battle. Kids were running around in there trying to show off how they could be strong as a dragon too, while the young adults were pumped up with so much adrenaline that they were almost lost in a rage (I think most of them were probably very intoxicated). There was plenty of blood and wounds... But nothing a few weeks healing couldn't fix. So yeah... That happened!

I'm pretty handy on Photoshop if I can help the community in anyway I've done some graphic design work before.

She did what?! I rarely get a cup of tea...

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.... I saw that when I was about 15...forgot all about that one! Great movie too.

I just saw an amazing Australian production called Tracks. This has just made it into my list of top movies. It tells of a young woman making her way across the Australian outback. She spends a few years learning how to train camels before she embarks on an amazing journey. I won't spoil it with details but this is a must watch for any Taoist.

I'd say that all depends on the person and their mood at the time. It's more unnatural to always be set in one mode of thought .

Busy streets can be a bit much. Being on stage too...it's like feedback...sensing everyone fixed on one point, you. Some people love that feeling of being in the spotlight.. It gives them power. I can never handle it.

I wet myself.

Even before there were physical senses, the stars still shone, the planet still span and things were very real.

I need to start watching history channel again haha.. I only caught a few episodes of the duck dynasty series GMP, I hope some day we'll have a chance to meet I think I'd enjoy just kicking back and listening to whatever you have to say.

But how are you so sure? There's two sides to every story. Denying something outright is ignorance. Even if you have experienced cultivation with and without hair, there's a chance you were doing it wrong. How about some facts and experience.