A Greased Scotsman

I've been reflecting on monasticism as practised by groups like the Celestial Masters and their spiritual successors and a thought occurs: the core belief of Daoism is that we should 'master' The Way by becoming like it - by taking no action that is contrary to nature.  Since humans are by nature social creatures, is isolating oneself from society for extended periods of time not an action which runs contrary to the Dao?

To be clear, I don't mean the caricature of the ragged Daoist master laughing contentedly, having recognised social mores as ultimately meaningless and thrown them off.  Such men can still live in society but not be part of it.  I mean those who become renunciants and physically remove themselves from human society.

I'm curious to see how other Daoists requite these seemingly exclusive concepts.

All things emerge from the Tao. The part of the Tao that can be discussed is the basis for all that exists and even that which has the potential to exist. Qi and Jing are more like refinement levels of energy and not necessarily localized as it can be "transmitted" and "received" from others, but jing is more often described as more physical body energy.

Okay cool, thank you.  So if qi and jing are more like refinement levels of energy, what animates the animate?  The Tao?  Do lifeforms possess inherent levels of qi and/or jing to start with (i.e. when they are born)?  Are there natural, unconscious processes which allow them to accumulate more or refine what they already possess?

Also, if jing is physical body energy, what is qi?

Hiya!

 

As Jeff has written already - Tao is a universal principle that gave birth to all things. I am going to illustrate it with the example from Tao Te Ching. The infamous verse from chapter 42 reads as follows:

"The Way gave birth to one.

One gave birth to two.

Two gave birth to three.

Three gave birth to all things."

 

So, here two are Shen and Qi, correspondingly. And they both gave birth to the three (or third) - Jing.

Hence, you yourself here can see the relationship between Tao and Jing.

 

Cheers,

Karina

Wow, thanks.  I didn't think the verse was intended to be taken quite so literally.  Is shen a term for spirit in this context?

Hey all, thought I'd create a new thread since I've been formally accepted here.  I'm just trying to expand my frame of reference.  I keep seeing references to Qi & Jing.  From what I can gather, these are types of life-force energies; presumably vital to Taoist thought.

I was wondering: what are the differences between qi and jing?  How does qi relate to the Tao?  My initial impression is that qi is a localised phenomenon (localised in lifeforms) whereas the Tao is non-localised (since it pervades everything).  Would this be accurate?

How does jing relate to the Tao?

Thanks to everyone who answers and helps alleviate my ignorance; I'll try to come up with other questions based on any answers I get.

Grease is the Word      Welcome

 

Welcome!

Thank you both!

Grease is the Word      Welcome

 

Hello everyone!

 

I'm an Irani-born, Italian raised, Bengladeshi lived, brown guy who is currently living in australia as an international student. Spirituality and the inner worlds have always been something of interest to me personally, and I really like Stuart Wilde's thought on daoism.

 

Recently I've taken up NoFap (Quitting pornography and masturbation for a while) and soon discovere the benefits of semen retention. I used to edge a lot before, thinking I would get the benefits of semen retention, but in my experience stopping porn etc. all together changed my life. However sometimes it's just hard to avoid wet dreams, and you feel like there is a lot of sexual build up.

 

So what I realized is that I need to do something about it. To cultivate my life nad manifest what I need. Use this energy to good use. I was thinking of taking up Zhan zhuang for a practice, but I cannot afford or get a teacher at the moment. So I ended up here. Any advice or tips would be highly appreciated!

Welcome to the community!  I'm new too

Could you tell me a bit more about NoFap please?  I can't find much on it that isn't Reddit.

Hello A Greased Scotsman, and welcome.

 

Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go.

 

Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started.

 

For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day.

 

Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you,

 

Marblehead and the TDB team

 

 

Hi Scotsman,

 

You would have a hellova time if you were trying to catch a greased pig.  There is a full study of the TTC available for you to read and make posts to if you so desire.  There are some Religious Taoist here so you should b able to find other members to talk with about that. 

 

You are welcome to jump right in ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forms to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started.

 

May you enjoy your time here.

 

Marblehead

Welcome to TDB. 

Thanks for the warm welcome, Marblehead & OldAngel.  I've come from a multi-faith forum where there are only a handful of Taoists, if that.  I wouldn't go near that sort of talk with me; it's a rather slippery subject  I'll have a look around and see if there's any threads that answer my questions before creating any of my own.

Hello all, I'm A Greased Scotsman.  I found my way here thanks to the Taoist WikiProject (I'm not a contributor, I just stumbled on it).

I'm a Scottish Pagan who has always held the words of Master Lao in high regard; I've recently become more & more drawn to the philosophical side of Taoism but I'd also like to learn about the history of religious Taoism starting with the Tianshi Tao.

Just trying to figure out how to alter my profile to say more about myself.  Watch this space!