C T

Yes M, all the conflicts of this world can be resolved if every single person learn to be totally mindful of the art of making tea, and how it can translate to all other areas of living life to the fullest! Excellent!

Bee well!

No one is saying any of these presumptions. The Axiom of "life is suffering" in Buddhism refers to the fact that even while you enjoy "life and beauty", if you have not awakened to your own infinitude, you have no idea what's coming around the bend and if you are ignorant to what will happen to you after you die, then this is considered a subtle form of suffering deep inside the unconscious mind of the being who has not illumined the unconscious.

 

It's a very deep understanding, not that one should not enjoy life, in fact... just the opposite, but not be ignorant of the inevitable and what's really going on behind the visible, and actually to make the invisible visible is the way to totally eradicate all levels of suffering because one is ignorant no more.

"Its the simple and serene things in life that is invisible to one who is not mindful. For example, drinking tea with mindfulness unfolds the beauty of this simple act, so joy and contentment becomes visible in this way. How often this is ignored, and before we know it, another day, another life, is gone. This is how ignorance perpetuates, in the overlooking of simple things".

It does not really have to be that deep, V.

Greetings..

 

Occasionally, i ask myself: Why do people that profess themselves as Taoists, spend so much time and effort with the concerns of other belief systems?.. it's an unusual relationship..

 

My brother is a Christian Minister, one of his qualities that i admire greatly, is.. he prefers little talk of scripture or faith, he says "i teach with the Life i live".. most of his sermons are stories that demonstrate the application of Christian principles.. as i contemplate the Taoist's application of principles, i find no cause to scrutinize the beliefs of others.. those beliefs are no less Tao than Tao itself.. i do scrutinize the application of peoples' beliefs, i sense that 'deeds are the signature of the soul' (no, i have no specific understanding of a 'soul' as an existent condition, the phrase conveys the message)..

 

Be well..

Very well observed, TJL. Salutations!

The Buddha said, "This is the path. Use your own life experience and do what I have done, and you too will find the way to liberation".

Thank you.

Eh, I know when someone is covering up.

Peace brother!

I guess that just goes to show how delusional you are, my friend.

 

It is, after all, you who is constantly aggressive and then you become defensive and claim others are picking on you when they wish to defend their belief.

 

I think it is you who should eximine your beliefs because if you feel you need to defend them so strongly I think it is you, youself, who feels there are weaknesses in the system you supposedly hold to be the one and only belief system that will lead one away from suffering and toward liberation.

 

But then there are those of us who have never felt bound by suffering because we accept life as it truely is and we enjoy the shit out of it and because of this loving attitude toward life we have never been bound by any illusions or delusions therefore we need no liberation because we are already free.

 

It seems to me that you are still bound by the ties that Buddhism has placed upon you and as long as you remain so blind of true reality you will never be able to remove all the bindings.

 

So you see, V., no matter how hard you try to convince us that you no longer suffer and that you have been liberated and that you have been enlightened and you are able to see into the infinities of all aspects of existence, we, who watch you squirm in you computer chair see someone who is in a prison of his own making.

 

So you go ahead and keep believing that you "know" the "Truth" just as long as you understand that there are some of us here who know you are full of (I'll be nice) confusion.

 

BTW: Have a great day.

 

Peace & Love!

Hello M! Blowing off a bit of steam eh? hehehe

Abit of hardness to complement the serenity and *softness* of Tao - is this not the way its taught - harmony? Embracing dark and light leads to contentment, and finding the balance is the key.

Perhaps V, at this point of his evolvement, is more *light* than *dark* and thus may have come across as full of confusion, but i dont think he is. Sometimes we have a tendency to misjudge others based on this imbalance, and form all kinds of conclusions based on our own degree or shade of dark/light. I am not implying that you have done that here M, if anything it is more a critique directed at V, which i hope he can take on board.

As we practice and go about our daily business we can observe how the shaky balance can tilt and sway, and thus effect our thoughts and actions. Some days there is more light, somedays dark. But thats okay i believe, as long as we are able to embrace this flow (isnt this a Taoist concept?). Conflict/suffering arises when we lose sight of this, yes? Those who are dark-influenced try to will light, while others, light-influenced, try to will dark. I think the concept is also common in Buddhism, although they call it clinging and aversion, the root cause of buddhist suffering. So in a sense, its not that there are no allusions in Taoism to suffering, it may just be understood in differing ways and means.

I am sure in Taoism there are all kinds of training to lead one towards a stability in balance, something which also applies to Buddhism. In a way, we are like high-wire trick cyclists dont you think so? Some of us have very long balancing poles(is that what they are called?), derived from years of maturing practice and patience, while some have pretty short ones. The great thing about nature is that those with the short poles dont have to *perform* too high up (if you know what i mean here!) - i guess this is how life looks after itself.

Please correct me if i am mistaken here M. I am still learning, and may have concluded incorrectly, so peace okay?

(I was going to delete this post actually, since its really none of my business. But i got bold, so here it is hehehe...)

Bee well my friend.

Yet to view heaven

feeds no mouths -- what's there to grill?

Angel wings, at most?..

Angel wings, at most?

Some say buffalo wings on toast

is first past the post!

going to China !!!

pack ping pong paddle. Who Knows?

kosher meal chosen

kosher meal chosen,

loin cloth woven

yet to view heaven

Truth is a blank canvas. It was our birthday gift from the Nondescript.

On this canvas we paint out our life - our perceptions, our principles and beliefs, interactions and projections, our highest joys to our deepest sorrows, all our life-experiences. And then we show this canvas off to the world, and say, "looky here everyone, this is MY truth!".

In our contemplations about who we are, and what the essence of Truth is, we often only have this canvas as a backdrop for reflection, because whatever that can be contemplated has to exist (to have been known, and therefore already past) on this canvas. It is not possible to contemplate anything other than what has been painted there. If a new thought or insight occur, it is immediately grafted onto this canvas.

And so we carry this heavy 'yoke' with us wherever we *go*, and proudly proclaim it to be our Truth, not realizing that all this huffing and puffing is much ado about nothing, since everything we proclaim henceforth belongs in the Known, which is past.

So that which has already been known cannot belong to the present, and what belongs to the present, which is a sequence of now, now, now x infinity moments, cannot necessarily be known.

In a sense, truth is that aspect in us which is always knowing and perceiving, hence the ultimate reality is that each moment in this life ought to remain a blank canvas... spotless, untainted, and beyond conditions, and if we are able to maintain this purity till the day the body gives up itself, then we shall once again reunite with the Nondescript, blank canvas in hand.

Thank you for the opportunity to express my thoughts here on *Truth*, and thank you also for reading.

Bee good

I'm doing great! May you be the same.

 

Yes, Dear CowTao, I am aware of all the opposing arguements. It is just that for me to present the arguements to what I said would have been counter-productive to my purpose. Hehehe.

 

And no, whether he was killed or accidently poisoned does not negate any of his wonderful teachings. Nor does the fact that Jesus was killed negate any of his wonderful teachings.

 

But then we should not negate the wonderful teachings of the founders of Taoism simply because we do not understand them. Isn't it our own fault that we do not understand them if it is possible for others to understand them?

 

You see, I am not arguing against Buddha or Jesus nor even any of their wonderful teachings. What I am arguing against is the close-mindedness of those who say that Taoism is not a valuable philosophy/religion simply because they do not understand it. I am suggesting that it is a flaw of those who do not understand it and not a flaw in the teaching.

 

When we close our eyes we cannot see the beauty of the rose but if we grasp the rose with our closed eyes we will feel the pain of the thorn and nothing else.

 

So it is a fact that we almost always see only what we are looking for. If we look for the rose we will see the rose - if we look only for weeds that is pretty much all we will see.

 

And I really appreciate your post as it has allowed me to follow through with my intended purpose in this thread.

 

Peace & Love!

Yes i can see where you are coming from, M, and very much concur with your reasoning. I find there is much to learn from all the great traditions, as well as from the little ones.

Often we learn more from those who remain in the background - wisdom abounds here, overlooked by those with all their lofty idealism and spiritual pride. In the Tao, it is said that water seeks the lowliest places. Such a wonderful unfolding of reality in this.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I for one have utmost regard for the philosophy of the ancients. Maybe because i am biased by my upbringing. Who knows...who cares!

Still as empty as ever!

Bee good M!

Yes, Jesus pissed a lot of people off. The ruling Jews and Romans in particular. They only wanted him to shut up - he wouldn't shut up so they killed him.

 

From Wikipedia:

The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question,[2] the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates.[3]

Buddha was poisoned. There are hundreds of articles and books regarding this understanding. Many can be found on the internet.

 

Peace & Love!

Hello there M how are you today dear friend?

There seem to be a slight misunderstanding here, so please forgive me for highlighting it.

Yes the Buddha was poisoned, but the general view among Buddhists, which may or may not be right, is that he was not intentionally poisoned. So to say he was killed, i think, may not be totally accurate. Some say he ingested poisonous mushrooms which was the primary cause, while others say that that was a secondary cause, meaning that the same mushrooms would not have killed a younger person with a healthier digestive system.

Assuming he was killed, from what you believe, does it in any degree negate the validity of his teachings? I would think not. Perhaps you may have a different angle. Please share if you do.

I have been following all your recent postings, and have been appreciating their sensible and insightful contents. Just thought i'd let you know.

Bee good!

That's awesome, I got it on a... multidimensional... or, non-dimensional level. I'm all hot wired right now after reading this!!

 

Fabulous... wonderful!! Don't give everyone this jewel, they might use it as an excuse to act chaotic without any real understanding. Much like telling people online to, "If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him." Most will just not understand what that means and what level of realization you'd have to have in order to actually implement that information with wisdom.

He's probably my favorite Christian saint. He even shaved the crown of his head, no doubt as a symbol of a mystical experience of the crown chakra! I've read all his stuff... Looove him!!

Glad you found this sparkling V... I live with the guy who wrote this. A simple man indeed He never answers any questions though, very frustrating!! He just sits there drinking herbal tea all day, and have secret conversations with his puppy. He says more to the pup than to anyone else hehehehe.... lucky pup!

Thank you Gold. Your argument does sound fairly reasonable and i am sure it is totally reasonable for you, and it must work for you otherwise you would not have said what you said.

Yet i do have a suspicion that not all beings are very reasonable, even though none will admit so, and oftentimes use very reasonable arguments to justify enormous cruelties and atrocities in this little world of ours.

Asking a person with impure motives to be reasonable is quite a task. If this person agrees to be reasonable, very often, his reasonings are also tainted with impurities, thus his intentions based on those reasons, and his actions, will also have impure overtones. Many of these people do become legends actually, depending on conditions. When the karmic energy of their acts are still strong, their legendary status remain strong, and when it diminishes, they are forgotten.

"Ignoring the dark side, one attempts goodness.

Ignoring the good, one remains in darkness.

One is being bound by chains of gold,

the other chains of iron.

Both are prisoners of conditions.

Beyond conditions is the road that leads nowhere -

be wise, and take it." (Anon)

Be good!

I was generalizing a bit and was making a point about the 60's and 70's. It was a modern day renaissance and the world needed to change. It did and still does.

ralis

Man you're heavy. Lighten up!

It has been said that the true modern shamans are rock musicians. Especially, rock musicians from the 60's and early 70's. Why? Their medicine changed the world and stopped a war.

 

http://www.guitar-tube.com/watch/jimi-hendrix-foxy-lady.html

ralis

Some rock musicians are not only shamans, they are venerated like gods!!

Not sure if all modern shamans are rock musicians though... I know of a few in Malaysia back in the 70s, and one or two of them did like Elvis Presley alright, but the rest were mostly *diggin* Chinese operatic music!

Be good!

When I look at Taoism as a practice and a philosophy of life as defined by the 3 great Taoist sages, I don't see anything there that is in any way inferior to Buddhism. Zhuangzi got interdependent arising covered, as far as I am concerned. I know this idea bothers the Buddhists a lot, because they like to think they have a monopoly on certain ideas.

 

I like Taoism because it appears to be less formal and less dogmatic. Buddhism is a lot more dogmatic and structured. That's just my perception.

 

Still, I do admire many Buddhist characters like Bodhidharma, various Chan/Zen patriarchs, Nagarjuna, Milarepa, Padmasambhava, Garab Dorge and I like Bonpo guys like Tonpa Shenrab/Tapihritsa, etc. And many others. If I list them all, it would be a very big list. I like some Native American and Siberian shamans and various odd people here and there, including some "Western" guys like Richard Bach.

I read somewhere that Taoism had played a part in shaping some of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings of today. The writer claims that at one time there were many Taoist masters living among the Tibetans and learning from one another, although she said that they would not acknowledge that they were Taoists when asked. She did not mention why this was so.

(I am wondering now if i will get into trouble for the above-mentioned??)

Here's a quote from Richard Bach -

"Every person, all the events in your life, are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you".

Be good!

Hey guys, I was hoping if anyone had any tips for me. My right leg goes numb about 20 min into meditation and it forces me to cut my practice short. I would love to go longer and deeper into meditation but this is a problem that is obviously slowing me down. I sit in a half-lotus position and sit on the carpeted floor of my room. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Greetings WIP,

I see there is no mention of any cushion in use. It might be helpful to sit on one for a start.

Some stretching before you begin actual sitting could go some distance in helping you to prolong the duration, if that is your aim. Depending on your practice, i would suggest not being too caught up with the length of time you are able to sit.

You could try sitting with activity, like reading a book, or watching a movie etc. and see if the distraction could help to lengthen the time. If it can, then there are other areas you may want to look into.

Sometimes this can happen to seasoned *sitters* too, so go with the flow. Any attempt to overdo may stem your practice and energy.

Hope this helps.

Have fun!

There is no way to answer this correctly. Liberation cannot be summarized. It's not an attitude. It's not a state of some kind. It's not something that's separate from the states. Etc. Etc...

 

If you will, liberation is a kind of mysterious maturation of one's reasoning faculties. Reasoning faculties are the ones that provide insight.

 

Actually there is a spiritual practice of asking this question every time you get a chance. So you visit your spiritual master and ask this very same question. But each time your master gives a spontaneous and different reply. After hearing about 10,000 of those replies, you begin to get it.

I think reasoning faculties is a two-edged sword. They are used for the purpose of gaining insight, and also that which keeps one bound to the illusion of what is.

Sometimes insights do appear without the premise of logic and reason. Spontaneous and transcendent insights often occur outside the *box* of all logical and reasonable summations, yet when one obtain such an insight, it suddenly all makes sense. People expect liberation to mean *being liberated from...*, whereas i tend to view it as *being liberated back into...*.

Emancipation can be viewed as returning to a state prior to 'ordinariness' - which is just as ordinary. The illusion that misguides is that expectations of preconceived notions of what liberation is, are often unfulfilled, hence the constant searching for that which one has never lost. That i think, is the true dilemma. Death stalks both the ignorant and the wise. Forgetting that, we chase after insignificant freedom, instead of simply allowing for it.

As for getting 10,000 replies from Masters, one can count one's good fortune if one finds a true Master, let alone obtain from such a one 10,000 perspectives on profound liberation.

Be good!

Greetings..

 

Hi Marbelhead: Tzu-Jan = 'spontaneous', it is so because it is so.. Li = 'random order', as in the veins in leaves or the grain in wood.. it is an eccletic reference to 'the way of Nature' in Chinese..

 

As for a 'creator', yes AND no.. there is a source, as i understand it, name it Tao if you choose.. but, as a singularity, as an undifferentiated Whole, it could only conceive of itself as, "I AM".. after an interval of 'I AMness', the Source asked the Prime question: "What AM I?".. we/us/Life/the Cosmos are the Source answering its own question.. does that imply a creator?.. or, just a natural curiousity?

 

Be well..

Wonderful name TJL!

*WHAT AM I*? Reality needs a reflection to see itself, just like eyes need a mirror to see itself. When the eyes see itself in the mirror, is its reality any less real? Even the reflection exists within reality, so i do get what you have said here. Interesting...

The science of understanding love is like trying to understand the essence of a flower by picking off and examining each and every single petal of this flower in an attempt to conclusively understand the *big picture*. One may succeed after much investigation, but at what price?

The art of understanding love is to live it, with all its fragrance, joy, beauty, humility, serenity, affection, intimacy and so on and so on, to immerse oneself in its goodness, and, (this is the tricky part), to have a heart that is prepared to accept that without thorns, there may never be roses...

For me, acceptance is the foundation for growing in love. It is the one quality that binds all the other ingredients, the Nourisher. Without this fundamental quality, all the other requirements, like trust, respect, understanding, and involvement, by themselves, would have a harder time to distill within the relationship. Acceptance is like the catalyst, the enzyme, that enables the joyous and gradual discovery and growth of all these other crucial sub-qualities.

This is my personal experience. Without it, the relationship i have with my partner, who is 27 years younger than me, would not have lasted a week. We have been together 2 years, and each day has some adventure in it, if i choose to look with eyes of wonder.

Be well...

Some of the best culture to come out of religion. "The Blues"

 

http://www.guitar-tube.com/watch/joe-bonam...many-roads.html

 

http://www.guitar-tube.com/watch/david-gil...ocaster-50.html

 

ralis

Impeccable!!

Thanks for sharing!

"Men are accustomed to state this 'is' and that 'is not', but for him who perceives wisely and according to the truth how all things are brought about in the world, for such a one, there is no 'is not'. And for him who perceives wisely and according to the truth of how all things in the world perish, for such a one there is no 'is'. Everything 'is', is one extreme; nothing 'is', is the other extreme. I teach between the two, the middle way, the truth of interdependent origination". - Buddha

Just to throw a Daoist slant in amongst the midst, or perhaps a cat amongst the pigeons, the concept of Karma, in its commonly excepted form, doesn't exist within Daoism per se.

 

Rather we have what can be referred to as The Law of Universal Energy Response. Within this view it is observed that the Universal flow of nature is always seeking harmony. Thus a discordant action will beget a harmonization response.

 

This natural law also states: One's life experience is in perfect synchrony with one's internal energy vibration. One's internal energy vibration is determined by the sum contents of one's mind.

 

Also there is the recognition that collective energy vibrations exist. A family, for example, will have it's own collective vibration made up by the sum vibration of the individuals. Just so it is for a community, nation, and planet.

Hi Stig,

I totally agree with the point that energy vibrations are determined by the sum contents of one's mind. This is absolutely true, which is why there is also much emphasis on mind-training in the Mahayana tradition!

Glad to see this similarity in the two philosophies

Regards,

CT

I have always felt that Buddhism is not proactive enough in the world. Deference to the dharma kings (Lama's) is expected. Deference is in the form of money offerings and prostrations to the Lama teaching from his throne. Exactly how does that benefit humanity? We are told that is good karma and one will obtain great merit and a better karmic rebirth. Isn't this just more blind faith? How many have actually benefited from this system in the last 2500 yrs? Seems to me this is just a different version of the divine right of kings in feudal Europe.

 

I just don't see how preaching karmic dogma helps anyone. It is nothing more than another mechanistic view of the cosmos.

ralis

Well, your feelings are totally justified, since feelings can never be argued with. One either agree or disagree, and if its the latter, the wise thing to do is keep quiet. Most people dont. The tendency is to react in a kind of knee-jerk fashion. In Buddhism, training in mindfulness helps to alleviate this sort of mundane reactions, so its not totally that useless as a practice.

Personally i do have issues with any form of organized religio/spiritual thingy too! Therefore i have long disassociated myself from any of these *schools*. I felt it was too restrictive for me, and rebelled against that. Perhaps that is my own mistaken projection, i dont really know nor care too much.

Offering money can be good. Generally speaking that is. Its part of altruistic cultivation no? But on the other hand, i can see where you are coming from. Alot of these organizations are run like a business nowadays with their own financial controllers, top lawyers, business advisors, spin doctors and the whole shebang! It is quite offputting really.

Prostrations are very good. The outer, inner and secret aspects have to be understood deeply to know how beneficial this practice really is. I know some of my friends have issues with this, so i told them to prostrate to a picture of themselves, if only to reap the outer benefits!!

I do not know of many (maybe none at all) Buddhist preachers and evangelists. Hallelujah!

Regards!