GrandmasterP

Everyone is entitled to believe whatever they choose to believe and the Chinese Government does seem to have been particularly hard on the Falun Gong. They put everything out on the internet, all the moves are there for free and from what I have seen it's pretty standard stuff. If it does no good then it'll do no harm. I did have some contact with an English Falun Dafa devotee though. She wanted to run free classes in our centre. Now she was half way between Dagenham & Romford (i.e. Barking). A complete fruit loop. That said she'd probably have been just as barmy whichever cult she belonged to.

It's all pretty new anyway on Wudang and elsewhere round the temples and tourist sites to do with the Tao. What there was that was old was more or less all totalled in the cultural revolution so what you get to see now is mainly new-ish. Shao-Lin has the worst rep as a tourist trap cum circus. They put shows on for the tourists twice a day. The place is packed with coach parties. Taiwan has to be the place for original flavour free-wheelin' Taoism free from state meddling. They do have the cutest little minivans over in China though. Not available to buy here in the UK yet but soon will be apparently and I shall buy one as soon as they are, to replace my ageing Chevvy Matiz.

There will be a dish of tea awaiting you Sinan.

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/learn/consult/sixteen.php HTH

.................................................................. It's all dust on a mirror.

Ta. Hey ho. Bedtime. Work tomorrow. You still got those old plaid shorts for gardening in M? Sweet dreams. ;-)

Happy I'll buy. As for those others though....... Charity begins at home. My old teacher used to say.... 'Show kindness and compassion to those who oppose you..... It drives them crazy'. Another one [i am procrastinating this evening]. Never criticise anyone until you have first walked a mile in their shoes. That way, if they don't like what you have to say; they are a mile away. Without shoes.

Each to his own says I. We get the odd one turning up at the centre now and again but by and large they tend to be solitary coves. We've none as members. Obsessive would be too strong a word but the types we used to write up on primary school reports back in my school teaching days as.... 'Does not play well with others'.

PS It's cheaper at the Cassadaga Hotel opposite the camp than in the actual camp. Better selection of books and gifts there too. Camp take a commission plus rent Hotel only charges rent to readers hence they charge less.

Cate maybe takes a more psychoanalytic turn than some I've seen. All speculation really hence the huge canon. Keeps dons in sinecures. When I did my D Fred was the poster boy of the English third wave feminist poststructuralists. [Whatever happened to them?] Jenny Ozga, Miriam David et al. Lots of Taoists at Cassadaga during the winter. I Ching workers mainly but usually someone leading good QiGong by the pond of a morning. Always worth a visit. If nothing else they'll tell your fortune for a small consideraton.

No fun at all if we can't bend wills. That's surely 'Tao 101' [30 actually] "Use Tao to help rule people". This stuff has practical applications guys.

No fun at all if we can't bend wills. That's surely 'Tao 101' [30 actually] "Use Tao to help rule people". This stuff has practical applications guys.

Curtis Cate's bio is our standard work. He did a lot of digging. Now I'm not saying he is necessarily 'right' but it kinda makes sense to me. We used to have a winter rental at Cassadaga Camp just up the way from you. I've worked there in the past. Bit too lazy to fly these days. Too much nonsense at the airports.

There's a Pa-Kau Dojo in Stockwell. We lived in Streatham for eight years back in the 80s when I taught at Morley College. We're only just over an hour on the train from you and ten mins walk from Leicester BR station. Pop up to the centre sometime and I'll show you how to bend wills. Gig info on website via my profile. Depends who teaches it and how as to what it gets called but Pa-Kau tends to be a lot down and dirtier than Bagua. Either way you get to know what those trigrams can really do.

Poor chap was ill, knew why and feared an empty death. Contextually the latter work may be read as one long agonised wail for his mom. Others in similar circumstance seek the solace of religion. Fred is saying.... 'If I can't have it, nor can you'. Rather bleak but there it is. Never exactly Mr. Chuckles was Fred.

Really? Cate p 395.. End ref to ...writing Death of God.... 'Nietzsche was still bedridden..... he was filled with a 'black melancholy' END QUOTE [Nietzsche's own words black melancholy]..... The symptoms antedated the diagnosis as was always the case with ultimately tertiary syphilis or GPI. Sorry M, this is my day job area.

By and large Taoists are a cheery crowd. Certainly in this part of the forest anyway. Alchemists can be a bit intense but once they get their own space away from Mom n Dad and/or find a girlfriend or significant other then they tend to cheer up [and put away the alchemy books]. Happiness is like belief. It's a choice we make. Smile Inwardly..........

Good cultivatio Lindelani. Keep it up. Aim to circulate up back breathing in and over scalp to just between eyes then breath out send Qi down to Tan tien then down and round again. Good test to check Qi is flowing nicely.... Sit confortably. Left palm out and up. Right palm above it about 3 cms. Rotate right palm clockwise slowly over left. Feel hot Qi ball forming about the size of a golf ball. Internalise that then repeat but anticlockwise. Feel cold Qi ball forming. Let that go or direct it to any over heated spots. Works every time.

I' settle for Taiwan. What passes for Taoism in China subsists in state sponsored tourists traps combined with tacky show business. Wudang Schools especially. Tai Chi teachers you'll see all wear a green ribbon which shows they are only teaching state approved forms. QiGong is mostly underground since Falun Dafa was proscribed. Excellent place for shopping though. Enjoy.

Nope. He meant... 'God is Dead' not an uncommon response from those aware they are terminally ill.

I met Alan Watts years ago and not long before he left his body. Interesting chap,never really shook off his Theosophical roots bur sounded to be coming around to the Tao towards the end. His message varied dependent on which rich wife he was married to at the time and her interests. He turned Episcopalian priest for one of them. Nevertheless the books still sell. Sinan this is intuitive so feel free to ignore it but one senses that you are a young fellow with jing almost coming out of his ears. Just maybe an external form cultivation would better scratch more of those itches. Pa-Kau perhaps.

Well vegetables are tasty and nutritious. It does help though to have a teacher and belong to a cultivation group you feel comfotable with be that sect, temple, lineage or centre. Somewhere we can be alongside real, as opposed to virtual; likeminded friends. Internet is useful but person-to-person is the old tried and tested path for effective cultivation. Even Taoist hermits spent a good few years in community before flying solo.

Taoist mediums can communicate with Spirit entities. There's good honest wages to be had by those who can do that. Very popular facet of Taism is spirit communication along wth fortune telling. Those subsidise our centre. Mediumship services and fortune telling income helps keep our class fees affordable. One hand washes the other. Anyone local wanting a sitting can book via website link on my profile. QiGong classes also available at very reasonable rates.

The Other Buddhism: Amida comes west. by Caroline Brazier Essential reading for anyone interested in a Buddhist cultivation that actually works and does not imply aping alien cultures. A wake up call to wannabe Tibetans [who aren't actually ethnic Tibetans]. Buy this book before wasting a single penny on Buddhistic merchandise or ritual kit. It will save you a fortune.

Fair point could be fear I suppose not thought of it that way as such. Thing is I teach in a largeish university and mix with all sorts each working day even undergrads, when I absolutely have to. Now that's from necessity not choice. If I could afford to retire I'd do so on Monday. But we [Mrs Grandmaster P and I] socialise and teach QiGong etc exclusively amongst our own kind [Taoists and fellow travellers] and that is from happy choice. 'Birds of a feather flock together' maybe. There is a certain indefinable quality about time spent with like minded people that is somehow missing elsewhere. Could be fear, though we do have quite a strong hermit tradition . Will give that one some thought. Thank you.