Marblehead

I guess we have worn this topic out. And isn't it beautiful? No one has come in and disagreed with us.

Be well!

While I will admit that this is a fantastic accomplishment I just cannot foresee any event in real life where I would need to balance my body on one finger. But I guess it is a valid venture learning this for someone who has little else to do in their life.

Be well!

I think the real problem started when some of the reptiles evolved into chickens.

I am sure that there are some who make this place a home-away-from-home.

I really don't see a problem with that.

But we do need be cautious of those really big monitor lizards - they can be really mean.

Be well!

Boy! I'm glad we Taoists don't have all these delusional problems. We exist! And so does the chicken and so does the egg.

I, the chicken nor the egg are a figment of somebody's imagination.

And BTW, "I" have "eggs" in the fridge and "chicken" in the freezer. They really are there folks!

I think that to suggest that we really don't exist is going just a bit too far, regardless of one's philosophy or religion.

Be well!

Hey Vortex! I'm not going to touch that last post of yours. Hehehe.

Be well!

Hi Froggie,

Thanks for the memories. I used to eat that all the time when I was stationed in Germany during the early 1960s. (I don't eat mammal meat anymore so it is not on my menu now-a-days.)

Be well!

So, has anyone killed the chicken yet so we can eat supper tonight?

Be well!

Hi Zedd,

Yeah, it really doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty of water. If you are thirsty, drink the watter.

I am so glad that I got turned off when I started reading into Taoist religion. That would have taken me right back to where I was when I started my journey.

I rarely speak of seeking as it, in my experience, clouds the reality that I am supposed to be paying attention to. Even seeking to clear and clense our mind often presents a blockage for that which we seek. (Another of those paradoxes.)

The journey continues.

Be well!

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. It is good to know that there are studies like this on-going.

Be well!

Hi Zedd,

That was an interesting read. Yes, you did ramble a bit but still.

Of course, I consider myself a Taoist so my views are already slanted. Hehehe.

I find the most attractive aspect of Taoism (philosophical) is that there are no Commandments. We are given a road map (the Tao Te Ching) and are told which roads might be the best but it is up to us to decide which routes we are going to travel. (Kinda' like when you contact AAA to get travel tips.)

Be well!

Hey z00se!

Have you been smoking again?

Be well!

Hi Biff,

Welcome!

May you enjoy your time here.

Be well!

Fair points Josh.

But I'm still a philosophical Taoist, so there!

Be well!

Hi 666,

Welcome!

May you enjoy your time here.

I see nothing to look at.

Be well!

Uh, an egg and a chicken are just 2 phases of the same thing. Therefore, the same thing cannot come before or after itself..

 

At the same time this organism evolved more complex features ("adult chicken"), it also evolved a more sophisticated and complex sexual reproduction strategy that involved genetic recombination and an external incubation unit (egg).

 

But at first, there was probably a time when this organism was a far simpler blob of cells that did not resemble a grown chicken whatsoever nor use eggs in reproduction.

Well, your last paragraph is not questionable. I totally agree. The first paragraph I have to let slide, Hehehe.

Are you sure about the evolution process stated in paragraph two? Only a couple days ago I saw the 'real' wild chicken that lives in China and Malaysia. What a majestic bird that is - the Red Jungle Fowl. Seems to me the chicken has devolved.

Also, it is now being suggested that the domesticated chicken isn't a pure descendant of the Red of China but it has genes from the Gray Jungle Fowl of India.

So apparently there was some cross-breeding some thousands of years ago. The Grays and Reds haven't changed much, if at all, over the thousands of years. It is the half-breeds that have changed.

So using this data I arrive at the conclusion that the egg came first.

PS Except for remembering the info on TV my info comes from Wikipedia.

Be well!

They both evolved simultaneously.

 

This is like asking, "Which came first...the embryo/fetus/baby or the adult (human)?"

Next?

Good try. Hehehe. Eggs don't evolve, sorry, eggs are laid by the evolved chicken.

(Please don't ask me to qualify that statement.)

Be well!

He feels there is some non-phenomenal entity beyond the concept of entity that makes entity possible. He believes in an uncaused cause.

That sounds to me like someone is trying to sneak an Intelligent Designer (God) into the equation. The last sentence would look good in the Tao-Te Ching; just another of his many paradoxes.

Be well!

This Marblehead is exactly the type of unconscious re-birthing or recycling that the Buddha spoke and taught us liberation from.

See? I told you we would find many areas of agreement.

All the best!

Likewise!

Oh boy... the subtlety is lost. I'll speak on Dwai's post later. There is neither no self- or is there a Self. Which is what shunyata (emptiness) means in Buddhism. Of course relatively there is a self. Just not ultimately, unless one has the ultimate realization that there is no ultimate than one has the ultimate realization that all is interconnected but not uniform so has realized the true sacrifice that is the true bliss. Complete self offering to the endless cycling of samsaric beings while being free from clinging to all aspects, no-self, self, etc. Then one has an eternal self purpose, but it's free from an substantialization. One does not consider that all phenomena is one non-phenomenaly. Even that one is considered a phenomena and a clinging to view, thus samsaric in Buddhism.

 

The difference is so subtle that it's beyond the semantics. It really is.

 

Hindu cosmology still see's the beginning of a cosmic eon as being caused by an identifiable, a creative source that is beyond concept, but still existent. This re-absorbs the believers of this into a blissful oneness that is merely the potentiality for the next cosmic eon. Thus is not liberation from re-cycling.

Hi Vajrahridaya,

Would you care to say that again in American English? Hehehe. Just joking.

Okay. Let me first state that I have never wasted time pretending that I am a cloud pretending that I am Elvis. I love "my" reality too much to bother with stuff like that.

However, in response to your post:

You know, I almost agree with you even though you used some funny words for my brain.

Your last paragraph is very Taoist. The "indetifiable" in my mind is Tzujan. (Tzujan is a verb, not a noun.)

Of course relatively there is a self. Just not ultimately,

Agree. All conditions are temporal. Only change is eternal. Not even oneness is eternal because it is constantly manifesting into parts (parts appearing to be separate but they are not because they are parts of the "All").

So, for the time being, I am Marblehead but I, just as all else, will return to the Oneness and more than likely be reused in the manifestation of some other "thing".

Be well!

Well, I just a little earlier voiced my opinion on this subject but I will take the time to repeat myself.

Drugs and alcohol are not good for anyone. They cause a person to loose control of their brain, lose of control causes a person to do stupid and careless things. Stupidity is personal and causes little harm except to one's self. Carelessness all too often causes harm to others.

Yes, there are some things a person can use that causes little harm. But why get an artificial high when you can look into yourself and get a true natural high without using anything to induce the high?

Yes Josh, a person can abuse and misuse food as well. That is why there are so many obese perple in the US.

Be healthy and clear-minded!

Be well!

Hi Oceanside,

Welcome!

Actually, I've found a lot of really nice folks here. Sure, some of us haven't mellowed our ego yet but that's all part of life.

May you enjoy your time here.

Be well!

aww you guys live so close, you should make a play date

Maybe it will happen one day. We'll see.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Be well!

When someone makes a statement "There is no self", the logic is self-contradictory. Because in order to say there is no self, you have to first accept that there IS a self.

And besides, who is it that is saying there is no self?

Be well!

Okay. Just to make sure that my opinion is stated on the subject of drugs and alcohol: keep them out of your life!!!!!

They ain't no good!!!!!!!

I realize that not everyone will follow my recommendation but I assure you that I will.

Be well!

Hi BGROUND2,

Welcome!

May you enjoy your time here.

Be well!

Nice post z00se.

Indeed, we can have our ideals. But after we open our eyes we need deal with the physical reality we have been placed in.

Yes, it would be nice if everyone would share the land. But then, if you don't make that land productive someone will buy it from you, they will make it productive, you will spend the money you got for it then you will be left with nothing.

I agree, Nature can be a real bitch sometimes. But most time she is a caring, loving, nurturing sweetheart.

Be well!

LOL! Trip. I'm in St. Pete.

I'm in the First Coast area.

Hi Josh,

It cannot, Darwins theory states only the following:

Organisms live and die and reproduce.

Traits are passed on from one generation to the next, those traits that are no passed on cannot end up in the next generation.

That is it, if you believe in the above you believe Darwin.

That was the point to my question. Evolution takes time - lots of time. (Well, generally speaking, the shorter the life span of the species the faster the evolution may be.)

Be well!