GrandmasterP

Mrs GrandmasterP runs a benevolent dictatorship. I quite like that. Makes for an easy life. :-)

Absolutely. Those philosophers and theologians like to keep themselves busy. Sure beats chopping wood for a nice easy living. Boring factoid.... There has never been a single Taoist theologian, ever.

Well according to my old kindergarten teacher boys are made of slugs and snails and puppy dog taIls. But she was a Presbyterian.

LOL Some oligarch was asked what he thought of business partnerships and replied.... 'Two people getting together to run a business makes as much sense as three people getting together to conceive a baby'.

............................... LOL I was tempted to reply... 'Virtually' but then remembered just how much time I have been spending on here.

If we could work it out we would be rich. Not having been raised Xtian, even at this age I am still amazed at how they manage to juggle so many inconsistencies and remain the nice folk most of them are. I'm lost at 'trinity'

Hence a doctrine in need of explanation,interpretation or defence is not Tao cos that cannot be so subjected. And,as all doctrines have to be taught [as per indoctrination] ergo sum no doctrine can encapsulate Tao. Taoist masters do not teach. They indicate. QiGong teachers teach QiGong. What any QiGong student chooses to do with that taught skill is down to karma. If they are ready, then a master appears.

'Is-ness' My old teacher called that. "xing ming shuang xiu" Ciltivate body and spirit is cultivated [as you] "search for the meaning of the Tao and follow its natural way".

You got that right M. On the other hand the BS can be quite amusing sometimes. When we opened our Manchester centre some years ago it was picketed for a while by a born again Xtian group unhappy about what they thought we stood for. Two people from that picket line went on to become regular attenders at the centre and one of those is now a full member undergoing officiant training.

You seem to be in accord. That is good.

:-) LOL Seriously though I can think of several unpleasant causes of apathy... Depression Illness Exhaustion Being a teenager etc...

Good post. Plus if one cultivates Nembutsu and leaves the body seeing Quan Yin then there's every chance of freedom from reincarnation.

Laziness being ones main cultivation I'm not apathetic at all. It's hard being lazy in a busy world. You have to work at it. Because folk don't know much about us it tends to be the Buddhists who get the main flack by way of accusations of apathy or passivity. As if passivity was a bad thing. It isn't. Apathy though, now there can be all sorts of causes of that. None of them especially good.

And in having it, possess nothing at all. You are preachin' to the choir here bro. Pitching it about one Duan away from Grandmaster there oh wise et. ;-)

Whilst we don't have doctrines we do have stories. Here's one.... A Roman Catholic priest and a Baptist pastor enjoyed a long discussion about their respective doctrines over lunch. At the end of their meal the pastor said to the priest.... "We'll never see eye to eye Father so we'll just have to agree to differ. You go right on worshipping God in your way and I'll carry on doing it, in his".

That Fizix is intense eh? Commendable such enthusiasm. Religion is what folk catch after exposure to doctrine. Every religion old or new has doctrines. They are the fences around enclosure allowing those within to claim... 'This is who and how WE are'. and the eloquent silent affirmation in that is 'AND we are a lot better than those heretics on the other side of our doctrinal fence'. It's mainly those who rely on dogma via written texts who do that. We on the other hand in common with our Buddhist and Confucian cousins are non dogmatic. Tao is anti doctrinal. It can't be spoken nor written. So we cultivate experentially and everybody's experiences differ . Even if we are using the same set. Taoism is only a religion if folk choose for it to be so. It's actually more of a path to be enjoyed. All religions and every doctrine is only as true as any believer chooses it to be. No bad thing either. If everyone was lucky enough to be reincarnated as a Taoist there'd be no parking spaces to be had at any of our temples or centres.

That Fizix is intense eh? Commendable such enthusiasm. Religion is what folk catch after exposure to doctrine. Every religion old or new has doctrines. They are the fences around enclosure allowing those within to claim... 'This is who and how WE are'. and the eloquent silent affirmation in that is 'AND we are a lot better than those heretics on the other side of our doctrinal fence'. It's mainly those who rely on dogma via written texts who do that. We on the other hand in common with our Buddhist and Confucian cousins are non dogmatic. Tao is anti doctrinal. It can't be spoken nor written. So we cultivate experentially and everybody's experiences differ . Even if we are using the same set. Taoism is only a religion if folk choose for it to be so. It's actually more of a path to be enjoyed. All religions and every doctrine is only as true as any believer chooses it to be. No bad thing either. If everyone was lucky enough to be reincarnated as a Taoist there'd be no parking spaces to be had at any of our temples or centres.

All wise words here. Best way is just have a go Sinan and see what suits you. Somebody once said martial forms are like river. A mouse can paddle in the shallows and an elephant can swim in the depths. But you have to step into the river before you can begin to either paddle or swim.

OK I can see a context maybe. Someone working out or cultivating gets fitter or bettter via the same repeated exercises. What's yours et?

Wood Fire Earth Metal Water Take your pick There are ways and means of directing the elemental relationships and 'flow'. Or is this thread another role-playing game related topic?

Potentially.

With deep respect, cultivation is primarily about ensuring that 'reliving' doesn't occur [yet again] It does get a bit tedious after the first ten-thousand or so reincarnations. Einstein defined madness as... 'Repeating the same actions in expectation of different outcome'.

Emptiness is nothing at all. ;-)

Turning 60 works pretty well too.

That slippery G word 'Grace' locates your affirmation within Xtian discourse. Those accepting your term would agree. Those who don't buy into the Xtian discourse, would not. Not saying you are 'wrong' in any way. If you didn't believe it presumably you wouldn't affirm it. Truth is subjective so each to their own version.