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paulmoody24

Taoism in popular culture

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Now, I am new to the world of Taoism, and a lot of things that I have been searching online for such as Taoist principles, how to live as a Taoist etc. have given me several different incarnations of somebody saying 'how to do it "properly" is the antithesis of Taoism', which I get 100%, but, correct me if I'm wrong, everybody could do with a little help along the way.  Figuring out how to apply Taoism to their own lives.  I certainly do.  I have the Tao Te Ching, and I also have The Tao of Nature, also waiting on the Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet to arrive, but I was looking for something a little more close to home.  Something more relatable perhaps.  Anyway, long story short, I stumbled upon this delightful blog post from 2013 entitled 'Top Ten Best Known Taoist Characters', which I found a thoroughly enjoyable read, so I thought I'd share it with you all.

 

Top Ten Best Known Taoist Characters

 

If anybody has any thoughts, or have come across anything that they thought may be worth a look at, or just a moderately interesting read, please feel free to reply!

 

道安

Edited by paulmoody24
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Excellent questions for one entering the philosophical world of Taoism.

 

I have always felt that the only important parts of the Tao Te Ching are those parts that assist me living in "my world".

 

If you are interested, there are many translations (without notes) here:

 

https://terebess.hu/english/lexikon/t.html

 

Also, I have always considered what is written in the Tao Te Chng to be guide posts as opposed to directives.  Taoism allows for each individuals path.  We just have to make sure we are waling the best path for us.

 

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Welcome to the site. I don't really have any recommendations because I'm just a bumbling amateur. I would, however, be quite interested in reading/participating in a very practical 'how does Daoism assist your daily life' kind of thread (I'm guessing it's been done before, but it's always fun to get new people's opinions).

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Thanks for all of your replies! 

 

@Marblehead I enjoyed reading my copy of Tao Te Chng, and I'm most certainly going to have it on my desk as a, to coin a phrase, reference book. And after taking a look at the lexicon you shared, I can see that there are many translations, purely as some of those you shared differ from the copy I have. The same message mainly, but different delivery perhaps? 

 

And @morning dew, agreed, that would most definitely be a topic I would like to see discussed. I could imagine it being a topic that could have some depth to it. 

Edited by paulmoody24
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2 hours ago, morning dew said:

I would, however, be quite interested in reading/participating in a very practical 'how does Daoism assist your daily life' kind of thread (I'm guessing it's been done before, but it's always fun to get new people's opinions).

After completing the Mair translation of The Chuang Tzu I plan to do a "365 Tao" series of some sort.  I hope I last long enough to do it.

 

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7 hours ago, Marblehead said:

After completing the Mair translation of The Chuang Tzu I plan to do a "365 Tao" series of some sort.  I hope I last long enough to do it.

 

That's a great idea, keep me updated if begins! It would be interesting to see even just one of somebody's taoism in effect in their lives. I would most certainly like to participate. 

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Welcome to the site. Love that article although I am bit surprised that they didn't mention The Dude but Iroh being on the list is enough for me.
Wish you the best of luck in your taoist research and practice.

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Nice! Always knew Spongebob was a Taoist. The original Dragonball show is another one. I think it has a lot to do with impartiality, and nondualism. Like a child who doesn't see separateness, but has a light hearted outlook on life, living in the present moment. "The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences." - xinxin ming, a nice zen poem. The Tao Te Ching has it all.

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I think it was the old original Kung Fu TV series where I first heard the word Daoism. 

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