ShenLung

Although the truth of ancient Earth civilizations is, unfortunately largely speculative, there are some facts that I find particularly intriguing: In order to develop "astronomy", it was necessary to first develop writing, mathematics, and agriculture, and then spend over sixty thousand years occupying the same geographic space to record the raw data. No civilization in the past five thousand years has come close to this achievement, obviously - no civilization in recorded history has lasted so long. We could, I suppose, grant those ancient prehistoric humans the benefit of supercomputers, and shorten the data collection time to thirty thousand years, allowing them to extrapolate the precession of equinoxes that they had not literally observed, but the fact of their output is unmistakable: an advanced human civilization in existence at the very least, twenty thousand years before the end of the last ice age.

A boat in a bowl Like a mind without focus Has nowhere to go

With mind still and clear Ultimate truth realized: Compassion is all

Adrift and unknown Even the cherry blossom Still follows the way

Ah my sweet repose Rain drumming on my windows Blown by the north wind

I went to the store yesterday to stock up on supplies, but the only thing left on sale was bacon …. I should have consulted the calendar Happy New Year, Bummers!

We still call schooling Words, repeated endlessly Where are our own thoughts?

greetings, bummers! I have already received the answer that I was looking for, and many thanks to the DaoBums community for your help. In the interest of consistency, I will put the question forth. I have a dear friend who is becoming the heir to the art of Shotokan in America, and is currently undergoing intensive training in chi manipulation. After observing his progress, and learning about his training regimen, I have determined that there are many refinements that are lacking in his instruction. This is not his fault, nor the fault of his teacher; they were left out of the discipline entirely, due to the novice status of the discipline's founder. If I teach him what he is lacking, it will alter Shotokan completely. What should I do?

Dao is the study of existence as it is; there is no dogma, only the journey to uncover the truth. What is, Is.

I would say that yes, through the practice of qi gong, I have reached a point where I do not feel that there is anything at all to be anxious about. Thank you, that answers the question I had when I logged in

Really loving Disturbed's cover of 'Sound of Silence', but working on learning the guitar music for a handful of Badfinger songs, 'My Baby Blue' amongst them.

The Master of the Hidden Storehouse is a very easily comprehended work attributed to Keng Sang-tzu, a disciple of the old scholar, and is a classical treatment of the taoist philosophy with emphasis on leadership and governance. I found this little gem buried in the back half of a book called Thunder in the sky, an english language translation by Thomas Cleary which includes two texts: Master of Demon Valley, and Master of the Hidden Storehouse. The book is published by Shambhala, isbn# 1-57062-660-x (in case anyone gets bored with the pace that I lay it out on this thread and wants to get a copy for themselves). After reading this book, I must conclude that it is essential reading for anyone who wishes to be effective in a leadership role from the point of presiding over a nation, a state, a province, a villiage, a neighborhood, a house, or themselves. The lack of understanding of the way when it comes to governance in our world's leaders is shocking, but not unexpected, as the persons most likely to seek public office are, by their natures, the ones least likely to be competant to fill these roles. By way of overview, there are nine segments in this text: Preserving the way intact, Applying the way, The way of government, The way of leadership, The way of administrators, The way of the wise, The way of education, The way of agriculture, and The way of war. Get your ink and brushes ready: you will want a copy of this text preserved for future generations.

Bah, would love too ... but I've got an Ultima shard that I am currently avoiding writing code for I'll have to stick your link in favorites and get back with ya when my noodle needs a change of pace! Roleplaying game design .. an excellent means for developing Mental Fortitude! (ie: patience)

Generally, wisdom is an instinctive discernment; the ability to judge whether an idea or course of action is likely to yield beneficial results. It is not typically a product of scientific reasoning. A person might be capable of mustering their intellect and make rationalisations in order to approximate wisdom, but in order to do so with accurracy, their depth of knowledge must be quite vast. Many members of the scientific community do not lack in intellect, and may be fairly knowledgable in their particular fields of interest, but the number of brilliant scientists with intimate knowledge of a multiplicity of fields is relatively small. There are simply too many unknown variables involved in complex processes to rely solely upon local conciousness to make wise decisions. I would prefer that, should I be depending upon answers from an outside source, I should recieve my general information from someone with experience in using their instinctive wisdom, and then flesh out the specifics with the knowledge of science.

Slept like a baby Rain like a blanket, soothing Awake in my dreams

Enjoying Ramen with a slice of cheddar cheese Oh, simplicity!

Screaming with delight, children chase after fairies only they can see

Spring thoughts in winter: Though deep snow fills the valley, my heart remains warm.

Where were those car keys? Distracted for a moment; Just where I left them.

There was a time, some years ago, when I had a need to have a conversation with a certain person. As a private conversation, it had to be undertaken in a place that was not where he lived, where he worked, or where he went when he was not working; it had to occur on the way that he would travel between these places. The reason for the conversation, the details of it, and the consequences to the person beyond it are of no consequence to this story, it is a story of an experience. Along a path that the person was known to take, beside the trail with it's rocks and bushes, overlooking a small forested area, I found a place to wait. I did not know when the person would come this way, only that he would, in time. I settled in beside a bush, and focused my mind upon stillness. In order to remain undisturbed, I set my mind to be like that of a rock: unmoving, undisturbable, unremarkable. As time went on, people walked by. Some looked in my general direction, but I noticed that they did not see ME, or the "I" that is me ... they only saw a rock sitting beside a bush. All of myself, my clothing, my body, my kit, my tools .. only percieved as a rock beside a bush. No great wonder to myself, for after the first few hours of sitting, the desire to move had all but gone, the presence of musculature and mode of motion had all but fled from the conciousness. The illusion of time had been so contracted, that a moment and an hour were nearly imperceptible. The sun traveled( oh, illusion!) in it's arc, and as twilight began to set in, a spider dropped from the bush to the top of the rock that was I. To the spider, I was a permenant feature, or at least unlikely to move, and so she began to go about her business, spinning a web. The concerns of the spider, where her thoughts were, were so simple; squeeze here, relax there, follow the pattern so ancient and ancestral to her nature. In the pattern and the following of it laid the key to continued survival; the web spun, the insects caught, the meal consumed ... one day, she would mate and lay her eggs, but not now. Observing the spider, I could have easily reached out and flicked her away. Squashing her fragile body between my fingers would have been no heroic feat - but I was a rock, imobile of my own nature, and so she finished her work. For a time we were as one, the spider and I. Both waiting, both waiting. A life, a destiny, a meeting; chance, but not by chance. Life taken and life preserved, life continuing. When I arose to complete my purpose, the tearing of the web seemed the greatest violence.

There is a tendency to read and study philosophical works in the same way one reads a technical manual: Read a little, figure out what it means, read a little more, ect. and go back over the parts where further clarification is needed. I propose that this is not the best way to read the TTC. Tao Te Ching is, in a way, a technical manual; the essential technical manual for comprehending the nature of existance, but it is also a work of philosophy. As such, it is drawn with words, not diagrams, and the words themselves are like the brush strokes of a painting. A purely analytical approach cannot reveal the meaning in the same way that one cannot grasp the signifigance of a painting by analysing it's brush strokes. To properly see it, one must look at the entire picture, or, in this case, read the entire work, front to back, without stopping to ponder overmuch the meaning of the individual words and phrases. There will be time to get close and admire the masterful brush strokes later - look at the whole picture first. After reading TTC all the way through, relax, and breathe. The breath is important, if it does not become clear, breathe again, and allow the picture to resolve itself in your mind. In some traditions, it is said that the breath itself is the purest prayer to god: it is thanks, it is praise, it is appreciation. If you are uncomfortable with the concept of god, you can substitute whatever label you like - it is that which cannot be described in terms of this reality, as it is beyond this reality. Breathe. This is first and foremost. This is life; the entire cosmos is contained and described in just this simple act.

I do not believe that there is a brush so wide that it could paint such a thing as an 'American Taoist'. Coming up with a narrow set of definitions may well be the result of failing to understand America itself, which is fairly common, even in America! For starters, there are over 300 million people in the United States, Most of whom are either immigrants from any number of nations around the world, or descended from such immigrants. Each group brings along with them elements of their own cultures, which become assimilated into the whole gradually. I have a Southwestern Pioneer breakfast, a Greek lunch, and Chinese dinner ... although it can easily change from day to day to Italian, Polish, or Mexican .. it all depends on the mood - the entire world is represented here in some way or another. Compassion is not a communist virtue. In reality, there are very few communists anywhere in the world ... The Soveit Union, China, North Korea, these are not, in fact, communist nations, although they are called such; They are socialist nations that became thus by exploitation of the communist ideal to decieve their populations into transferring power to a limited set of elites who decide how to 'redistribute' the nation's wealth. There is nothing compassionate about that. When people strive for self reliance, they obtain the ability to be free from desperate individual needs, and are therefore free to excercise compassion for those who do not enjoy such freedom, if they so choose. In American politics, there are perhaps 15-20% who are devoted to the National Socialist Right, another 15-20% devoted to the Democratic Socialist Left, and around 15-20% who will be unhappy with our government regardless of which side manages to get 'elected'. The remainder don't care, so long as everything still works, mostly. Frugality was a quality highly prized by the founders of the United States, and it is not an expression of fear, but a preparation to experience abundance; For when one does not waste what one has, one has more, and having more, is in a better position to be of use to others. For a time, Americans departed from frugality, and large portions of the population still live in excess, but the tide is turning; People are rediscovering the meaning of "Waste not, want not", and "Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves" either by desire or neccessity. I suppose a mousey person might see American women, and regard them as 'battle axes', and there is no shortage of mousey men here, as well ... In the Southwest, we like to laugh at the city slickers in their tight jeans and makeup -! Yet, if there are strong and independant women, there are a great number of men who are every bit their equal. We generally walk gently, and don't make too much of a fuss, getting only mildly preturbed from time to time; When we are aroused to anger, the world will absolutely remember the qualities of American men. The patterns of speech and dialect from the far North east to the Southwest are very different, and although both are nominally speaking English, a person from Maine and a person from Oklahoma might well be from entirely different countries. From one house to another, ideas change and culture differs ... even the translations of TTC are varied from the literal to the poetic, and if we wind up with different views of Tao, it would be no surprise. In summary, No, there is not such a thing as an 'American Taoist'. There are Taoists who are American, each an individual.

Sensei has one live in student currently, and when the main dojo is built, there will be living quarters for at least half a dozen teachers + students, in addition to the regular "go to dojo" type students, possibly additional quarters for students who will not neccesarily be primary students, but have traveled to train at the dojo. Groundbreaking is still about a year or so away, depending upon the funds.

In a personal conversation, there are moments when the time is proper to speak, when the spoken words are appropriate, and will be properly recieved to the benefit of another. Preaching is like letting the rain fall; in some places, it is beneficial, in others, it does no good, and still others will suffer harm from the excess of water. Not all teachings are for all students. Better to say nothing, than to say the wrong thing - I should heed that advice more!

Torturous to the soul, are unrealized expectations. While one has the desire for the things that others have, be they wealth, power, status, love, family, ect, others have quickly moved to obtain these things, with no regard for the unexpected future. In the short term, they may believe that they have found happiness; in the long term, unless these gifts are within the scope of what their true needs are, they will be lost. Releasing expectations opens up possibilities; the desires of the ego may yet be fulfilled, in the proper time, for the proper reasons. The gifts that the universe brings come with patience, so practice patience; the gifts of the universe should be appreciated, so practice appreciation of everything that one has - and want for nothing.