Marblehead

Yeah, it's an old joke.  I posted it as I remembered it so it may differ from the original.

Okay, another of the same.

A monk went to Wal-Mart and bought a vacuum cleaner.  He got it back to the monastery, opened the box and the only thing in the box was the vacuum machine.  He took it back to Wal-Mart and wanted to return it as there were no attachments.  Wal-Mart told the monk that he wasn't supposed to have any attachments.

I set mine.  Take one extra mouse click but all works well.

Oh!, it's alive and well.  One day it will take us all down the road to chaos.

Okay, I'll try.

A monk goes to a pizza place and orders a pizza.  The pizza is finished and the cashier says "That will be $7.50.  The monk offers a ten dollar bill and the cashier gives the monk the pizza.  The monk asks "Where's my change?"  The cashier says "Change is within."

1 minute ago, s1va said:

 

Not sure what Dwai explained as first step.  But, if you say no effort is needed, things happen on their own, I don't agree with such fatalistic view.  I would rather be invested and put forth effort.

I have to agree with this within limits.  Recalling wu wei, yes, that is effortless flow.  But in the real world and especially at our work place we do need to concentrate on what needs be done.  And this requires conscious effort.

Just now, Everything said:

Haven't I been doing that? 

 

You just reminded me that I like to do that. 

Well, yes, you have been doing that very well here.  I doubt you are earning any income for it though.

Yeah, I already picked up on the thought that you enjoy doing it.

You ought to be writing short stories.

Just now, Spotless said:

make you more accident prone.

Tell me about it.  I have been married three times.

I have often thought that I had no brain function at all because all my blood went to my penis.

Elon is no longer CEO.  He's been replaced by a woman.  (I forgot her name.)

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

The three treasures can also be translated as...

Exactly.  Although I prefer Conservative over Economy.  For me it better defines the concept.

Constant is a long time.  Almost as long as eternity.  I don't think I can last that long.

Well, I guess Satan has rights too.

I agree with all seven points above.  I would call that "wu wei" or sometimes "living spontaneously".

I remain seated with my mouth shut while gently breathing through my nose.

On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 5:58 PM, dawei said:

So it is that a sage wears sackcloth, keeping pure jade harbored deep.

In real life I am very good at practicing this.

Sit down and shut up.

Sure, another association with The Art Of War but also an association to the Three Treasures.

Strong-headed aggressiveness is most times self-defeating.

Better to take a defensive position, build on it and defend it well.

Yes, associating this chapter with The Art Of War is valid, I think.  I don't recall having done that myself but it seems to be valid in my mind.

And I would agree, it centers on the concept of non-contention and non-aggressiveness.

Yeah, who wooda thought?

Well, I still prefer "Humility".

And while most of our members would question it, I do try to practice humility.

The Christians need ten commandments.  Lao Tzu covered it with three words of guidance.

10 minutes ago, Cheshire Cat said:

 

Maybe it's some horror from the war or memories of being abused. Sounds good to forget those things, but I feel that it's empowering to keep them and develop detachment.

 

 

Yes, I could argue that either way.

Some things we need remember so that there is no chance it ever happens again.

But on the other hand, if it is something that nothing can be done about it may be best to just forget.

Well, what can I say?  I just didn't want to be first to respond to this last set of chapters.

Sure, it is true that the natural flow of streams is into rivers and of the rivers into the seas.

This defines water seeking its lower point.

But what of man?  Is there a definable natural flow?

Sure, Lao Tzu defined it with his "Three Treasures".

But can we go further?  I think we need stop here because even the "Three Treasures" are not absolute.

So even though I will not argue against what is said regarding man in the above chapter, I don't believe it can be used to actually say that a certain path is against any individual's seeking of their own balance.

And they lived happily ever after.

1 minute ago, liminal_luke said:

 

I can imagine.  Normally I opt just to embed my Youtube videos for all to see, but this time, out of deference to your female-pole-dancer- prefering ways, I decided to go with the link instead. 

Well, I did look  at it.  Yes, athletic oriented.  I was never able to do that kind of stuff.

I used to be able to jump rope.  Never saw a conclusion I wanted to jump.

3 minutes ago, liminal_luke said:

beautifully athletic male pole dancing.  Although strictly PG, it probably isn`t really appropriate for Dao Bums.  Neither is Trump Talk.

I got kicked out of a night club once because I had went there, there was no door guard, I walked right in, and what do you know!, it was lady's night and the boys were on stage doing their thing.  Just as I realized what was going on the door guard came up to me and said that I wasn't supposed to be in there.  I responded, "No shit." and left.