Calling Out All Taoists

[Celestial]

Lmao! Yeah that's true, the mo pai tards never cease to amuse me haha and maybe I'm being a bit too critical since this is only the internet and a forum for discussion like you said. The people reciting this crap and/or constantly showing their "intellectual elitism" pretty much prompted the creation of this thread hehe.

 

Surprisingly enough there's very few people on here that actually practice. From what I have gathered during my time here, a lot of members just bicker back and forth about what they know; like the Mo Pai/Jedi/Saiyan wannabe guys. In reality, the only thing they know how to do is retain information they read in books but they don't actually know how to do anything. Lol. It's hilarious to read their posts though.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

hilarity is a lesson in life ignored when it is at some person's expense, weather perceived expense or physical.

You think its "funny" to watch people struggle with life?

[ChiDragon]

I understand and agree with what you're saying but to "let nature take its course" is IMO not applying the "will" or being a bit too passive. I see plenty of Christians and other religious people saying EVERYTHING was by God's will even though they obviously made these "events" happen on their own accord, and will forfeit their own "will" to become passive in life because "everything is God's will"... The reason why I oppose this idea is because of a serious illness I had earlier in life and if I would have let nature take its course and didn't oppose this "natural" illness I would have been dead by now. Maybe this doesn't make me a complete Taoist (whatever that means) but I feel like we have control over the course Nature takes...why? Because we are intelligent beings that are apart of the structure of nature just like our cells are intelligent and are apart of the structures our bodies..we have the power and every right to change its course as necessary. Love your posts btw, they give much food for thought. Thanks.

 

Did this ever occur to you that "Let Nature take its course" has the other side of it also....???

 

Let Nature take its course, does it imply to you that "don't let Nature go off course". What happen when Nature go off course...??? In your case, you did exactly what you have to do by trying to correct the course of Nature. What happen if you have failed in the correction....??? If you die, then what happens....??? Nature still take its course.....!!!

 

According to Lao Tze's philosophy, Nature take its course is when everything happens in a natural way. Sometimes, Nature do make an error which is being unnatural. When it was unnatural, then it went off course. Indeed, everybody can try to correct the course of Nature but not to control nor master it.

 

 

 

PS.....

You welcome, btw......

Edited August 23, 2013 by ChiDragon

[Celestial]

hilarity is a lesson in life ignored when it is at some person's expense, weather perceived expense or physical.

 

You think its "funny" to watch people struggle with life?

 

Are you going to follow me around in every thread just to post some argumentative crap? Go stalk someone else please. Thanks.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

im stalking the whole fucking forum and knocing on every instance of disrespectful behavior as best as i see.


You're not the only person i've knocked on, you know. yeah, maybe so far, today, but the morning is young, yet.


You dont like me knocing on your posts, clean 'em up so i have nothing to knock on

 

/unofficial stewardship of manners and respect


But seriously... this isnt just about you, C. M1, MPG, and a few others have been grating on my nerves with unsavory exchanges...


Im not contributing to the discussion; but to the quality thereof. i only ask that we stop with the pseudosuperiority which i've been observing in several members lately.


Edit: myself included

Edited August 23, 2013 by Northern Avid Judo Ant

[Celestial]

Creepy.

[steve]

The biggest fruits of my practice is really enjoying a cup of coffee.

That's because you're Scandinavian!

Always nice to hear from you h.

[steve]

When I take my first sip of morning joe, I sense the whole universe is watching.

 

IMO, taking a flight somewhere, or even make a phone call, its pretty miraculous. Familiarity cloakes the objective nature of any phenomenon.

And familiarity cloaks the miraculous.

Nothing more miraculous to me than waking up every morning and having the ability to see, smell, feel, pee, walk, enjoy food, enjoy the relationship of a loved one .... (not necessarily in that order)

[3bob]

"And familiarity cloaks the miraculous.

Nothing more miraculous to me than waking up every morning and having the ability to see, smell, feel, pee, walk, enjoy food, enjoy the relationship of a loved one .... (not necessarily in that order)" Steve

 

"(not necessarily in that order)" since the prostate gland can cause problems for us older guys

Edited August 23, 2013 by 3bob

[Marblehead]

"(not necessarily in that order)" since the prostate gland can cause problems for us older guys

Yep. Dealing with that is always mission number one for me. Everything else can wait.

[steve]

"(not necessarily in that order)" since the prostate gland can cause problems for us older guys

 

 

Yep. Dealing with that is always mission number one for me. Everything else can wait.

 

Hence the reason I included pee...

At least I'm in auspicious company.

[hagar]

That's because you're Scandinavian!

Always nice to hear from you h.

Since when was coffee from around here ?

 

Thanks for still sticking around Steve.

 

And familiarity cloaks the miraculous.

Nothing more miraculous to me than waking up every morning and having the ability to see, smell, feel, pee, walk, enjoy food, enjoy the relationship of a loved one .... (not necessarily in that order)

I second that.

 

We waste so much time on our conditioning. You can taste your strawberry until you hit the ground.

[Marblehead]

You can taste your strawberry until you hit the ground.

And then it will be the tiger's turn to eat.

[hagar]

And then it will be the tiger's turn to eat.

You read the same story as me...

[Marblehead]

You read the same story as me...

Hehehe. I knew you were pointing at that. And yes, the strawberry was delicious.

[Marblehead]

And speaking of the cliff (we didn't but it is in the story) here is another story about a cliff:

 

 

Imagine yourself in this condition and determine your best course of action:

 

 

You are riding a horse. To the right of you is a steep cliff. In front of you is a camel running at top speed. To the left of you is an elephant running at the same speed as you. The cliff is too steep to jump down, you cannot pass the camel because the elephant is in the way.

 

 

Behind you is a tiger looking very hungry and it seems to be closing in on you.

 

 

What should you do?

 

 

.....

 

 

 

....

 

 

 

Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round and go home!

[Rara]

To start off, I mean no offense to anyone,their practice(s),goals and beliefs. I'm simply interested in why so many here on TTB will practice a system but then mainly dwell on the theoretical and philosophical aspects of Taoism, while not truly "diving in" on the actual qi gong/nei gong aspects which has enormous potential for so many things. For example, I see alot of people on here speaking in riddles and cryptic language and showing how intelligent they are regarding Taoist practices but never discussing how we can achieve great "things" called myths by modern man, miracles by the religious man and spiritual power by ancient man... What I'm truly questioning is... what are you all doing it for? I'm sure the ancients didn't become Taoists to philosophy and have intellectual debates, they wanted to understand nature...master it...and then overcome it..to no longer be bound to "cycles" and natural/universal laws but instead be outside of these "cycles" and above these laws...to be immortal! To defy aging and death(biologically and consciousness-wise) is to defy nature itself.

 

So again, what are you all REALLY doing it for?

 

Yes, there are threads in the "general discussion" that you should explore more.

 

Also, all of us here are at different stages, from highly experienced to noob.

 

I for one come here to learn more on what I do not understand, then go away and practice, then return with further questions/topics for discussion. The texts merely support the practice.

 

I do not practice qi gong, just meditation/cultivation exercises. However, I have taken an interest in these arts as of late, naturally as part of my progression. So you never know, I could be a practitioner very soon!

[hagar]

And speaking of the cliff (we didn't but it is in the story) here is another story about a cliff:

 

 

Imagine yourself in this condition and determine your best course of action:

 

 

You are riding a horse. To the right of you is a steep cliff. In front of you is a camel running at top speed. To the left of you is an elephant running at the same speed as you. The cliff is too steep to jump down, you cannot pass the camel because the elephant is in the way.

 

 

Behind you is a tiger looking very hungry and it seems to be closing in on you.

 

 

What should you do?

 

 

.....

 

 

 

....

 

 

 

Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round and go home!

I think my mind just stopped.

 

My choice: Latch on to the elephant. Survival at any cost

Edited August 27, 2013 by hagar

[Marblehead]

I think my mind just stopped.

 

My choice: Latch on to the elephant. Survival at any cost

Hehehe. Are you still drunk?

[silent thunder]

I'd recommend you check out joeblast's personal practice.

Nuts and bolts descriptions, keen insight, clearly written.

[BaguaKicksAss]

I joined with the illusion that most Taoists practice mysticism/magic within the tradition. Darnit, I found out otherwise lol. There are many different paths within the Dao apparently.

 

Maybe it goes something like this (re the OP asking about lack of qigong and etc. threads). Oooh a thread on qigong... hmmm, teacher said not to share that bit, hmmmm, that bit could mess folks up without proper instruction in person to go along with it... hmmmm, that bit is really difficult to put into words.... hmmmm this bit will just get called fake by the skeptics.... well crap, I'll just go argue about politics on that other thread instead.

[Marblehead]

From a dualistic point of view, it is both good and bad that reality is not as we envision it.

[hagar]

I joined with the illusion that most Taoists practice mysticism/magic within the tradition. Darnit, I found out otherwise lol. There are many different paths within the Dao apparently.

 

Maybe it goes something like this (re the OP asking about lack of qigong and etc. threads). Oooh a thread on qigong... hmmm, teacher said not to share that bit, hmmmm, that bit could mess folks up without proper instruction in person to go along with it... hmmmm, that bit is really difficult to put into words.... hmmmm this bit will just get called fake by the skeptics.... well crap, I'll just go argue about politics on that other thread instead.

 

IMO you are spot on.

LOL.

 

Im always ambivalent about sharing, and I respect my teacher too much to share anything verbally from his system as it is de facto experiental, evolving, changing and almost always based on what is "downloaded" in the moment.

So sharing anything would be to try to describe how an artist work without actually grasping what the creative process is, and without his consent. Nothing "chinese" or secretive, or about financial gain. He does not advertise, and he does not "sell" anything.

 

The reason for this is in my experience based on a basic respect and sense of integrity regarding the quality of the of the teaching and how it immediately gets devolved when explained by a third party. Its like trying to share a affection that is between two people on a hot date. There shouldnt be a third wheel on the wagon anyway.

 

That said, an example could be used to share some fundamentals, yet the essense and the principles are usually pretty basic, as in essential, and they are not often that technical. Maybe even nonsensical if not received in the proper context of teacher-student relationship, as they are usually "transmitted"; not from person to person, but out of emptiness and space.

 

True Daoist teachings in my experience are pretty practical, and non-denominational. They are not related to some magic fix, and not fraught with secrecy. On the other hand, they demand a degree of comittment from the practitioner, where a proper face-to-face interaction with a teacher usually (at some point) is needed. The rest of the time your cat or a mountain can also do =)

 

Technical explanations without the transmission is like giving someone an free IOS OX upgrade without giving you an access to your apple ID. No logon, no info.

 

h

[Marblehead]

No logon, no info.

I am quoting this just becuase I want to.

[BaguaKicksAss]

Im always ambivalent about sharing, and I respect my teacher too much to share anything verbally from his system as it is de facto experiental, evolving, changing and almost always based on what is "downloaded" in the moment.

So sharing anything would be to try to describe how an artist work without actually grasping what the creative process is, and without his consent. Nothing "chinese" or secretive, or about financial gain. He does not advertise, and he does not "sell" anything.

 

The reason for this is in my experience based on a basic respect and sense of integrity regarding the quality of the of the teaching and how it immediately gets devolved when explained by a third party. Its like trying to share a affection that is between two people on a hot date. There shouldnt be a third wheel on the wagon anyway.

 

That said, an example could be used to share some fundamentals, yet the essense and the principles are usually pretty basic, as in essential, and they are not often that technical. Maybe even nonsensical if not received in the proper context of teacher-student relationship, as they are usually "transmitted"; not from person to person, but out of emptiness and space.

 

True Daoist teachings in my experience are pretty practical, and non-denominational. They are not related to some magic fix, and not fraught with secrecy. On the other hand, they demand a degree of comittment from the practitioner, where a proper face-to-face interaction with a teacher usually (at some point) is needed. The rest of the time your cat or a mountain can also do =)

 

Technical explanations without the transmission is like giving someone an free IOS OX upgrade without giving you an access to your apple ID. No logon, no info.

 

h

 

I'd like to add this as an addendum to all my posts about why folks need in person teachers! Thanks for explaining it so well.