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TSconxtion
post Jul 7 2021, 02:45 AM

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DDJ LVIII

the text:
When the government is muddled
the people are simple;
when the government is alert
the people are cunning.
It is on disaster that good fortune perches;
it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.
Who knows the limit? Does not the straightforward exist?
The straightforward changes again into the crafty, and the good changes again into the monstrous. Indeed, it is long since the people were perplexed.
Therefore the sage is square-edged but does not scrape,
has corners but does not jab,
extends himself but not at the expense of others,
shines but does not dazzle.

the commentary:
Can we just take a moment to appreciate “It is on disaster that good fortune perches; it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches”? A very clear and punchline-worthy way of spelling out the interdependence of opposite pairs. As the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has it: “Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce”. So it is with life. There can be no heights without depths or mountains without valleys. Understanding that good and bad follow one another, the sage does not try to uphold and maintain good, or to root out and exterminate bad. Instead, they embrace ambivalence and go with the natural way of things.
This reminds me also of Alan Watts’ comment about a “perfectly pestiferous mass of a million saints”. That is, a grasshopper alone is fine, but too many of them at once would be a plague. Virtue or good is no different. Variety is needed for life to happen, and expecting all the world to conform to one ideal of good and proper is in a way an act of violence on life itself. Understanding this, the sage follows their nature and does not try to force it on anything else, accepting that each thing will likewise follow its own nature.
hellothere131495
post Jul 7 2021, 11:14 PM

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It is a religion, formed by Laozi
TSconxtion
post Jul 9 2021, 01:29 AM

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Let's go back to basics.


Chapter 1

The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders


Solar Calendar
post Jul 9 2021, 03:21 AM

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QUOTE(pastacarbonara @ Mar 13 2017, 10:50 AM)
Off topic here a bit.

I went China last week and I went hiking on a mountain sacred to Taoist believers. Along the way, a small kid handed me a book which contains some Taoist scriptures.

I have no use of this and it's a bit disrespectful to toss away stuff like these. So if anyone wants it, ping me I can give it to you.
*
hmm, i dont think taoists really care but that's fine.
Solar Calendar
post Jul 9 2021, 03:25 AM

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QUOTE(conxtion @ Jul 7 2021, 02:45 AM)
DDJ LVIII

the text:
When the government is muddled
the people are simple;
when the government is alert
the people are cunning.
It is on disaster that good fortune perches;
it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.
Who knows the limit? Does not the straightforward exist?
The straightforward changes again into the crafty, and the good changes again into the monstrous. Indeed, it is long since the people were perplexed.
Therefore the sage is square-edged but does not scrape,
has corners but does not jab,
extends himself but not at the expense of others,
shines but does not dazzle.

the commentary:
Can we just take a moment to appreciate “It is on disaster that good fortune perches; it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches”? A very clear and punchline-worthy way of spelling out the interdependence of opposite pairs. As the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has it: “Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce”. So it is with life. There can be no heights without depths or mountains without valleys. Understanding that good and bad follow one another, the sage does not try to uphold and maintain good, or to root out and exterminate bad. Instead, they embrace ambivalence and go with the natural way of things.
This reminds me also of Alan Watts’ comment about a “perfectly pestiferous mass of a million saints”. That is, a grasshopper alone is fine, but too many of them at once would be a plague. Virtue or good is no different. Variety is needed for life to happen, and expecting all the world to conform to one ideal of good and proper is in a way an act of violence on life itself. Understanding this, the sage follows their nature and does not try to force it on anything else, accepting that each thing will likewise follow its own nature.
*
You are right. Tao, confucionism, legalism, all the ancient text and philosophies are still relevant up to today in China. It is a very ancient culture indeed. Western philosophers are very intrigued by the Dao de Tching too. It is a very difficult philosophy to understand.
TSconxtion
post Jul 9 2021, 11:26 PM

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Chapter 2

When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises
When it knows good as good, evil arises
Thus being and non-being produce each other
Difficult and easy bring about each other
Long and short reveal each other
High and low support each other
Music and voice harmonize each other
Front and back follow each other
Therefore the sages:
Manage the work of detached actions
Conduct the teaching of no words
They work with myriad things but do not control
They create but do not possess
They act but do not presume
They succeed but do not dwell on success
It is because they do not dwell on success
That it never goes away

TSconxtion
post Jul 11 2021, 05:14 PM

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DDJ LXII

the text:
The way is the refuge for the myriad creatures.
It is that by which the good man protects,
and that by which the bad is protected.
Beautiful words when offered will win high rank in return;
beautiful deeds can raise a man above others.
Even if a man is not good, why should he be abandoned?
Hence when the emperor is set up and the three ducal ministers are appointed, he who makes a present of the way without stirring from his seat is preferable to one who offers presents of jade disks followed by a team of four horses. Why was this the way valued of old? Was it not said that by means of it one got what one wanted and escaped the consequences when one transgressed?
Therefore it is valued by the empire.

the commentary:
The way makes no distinction of good and bad, it neither rewards nor punishes, so that it can serve both good and bad. The one who practices the way is preferable to one who flatters or chases a powerful position, yet I’m not sure how to interpret the ending. It is following the way that gets you what you want and makes you immune to punishment, or is it being a sycophant? Both could work, with the sage being revered and left alone as a sage, and the sycophant being rewarded and favored as a lapdog.
TSconxtion
post Jul 14 2021, 02:52 PM

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Anyone feels like discussing all the incorrect concepts in this wiki?

https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Taoist

Like when it says "practising yoga" 😅😅
TSconxtion
post Jul 23 2021, 12:51 AM

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DDJ LXXIII

The text:
He who is fearless in being bold will meet with his death;
he who is fearless in being timid will stay alive.
Of the two, one leads to good, the other to harm.
Heaven hates what it hates,
who knows the reason why?
Therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult.
The way of heaven
excels in overcoming though it does not contend,
in responding though it does not speak,
in attracting though it does not summon,
in laying plans though it appears slack.
The net of heaven is cast wide. Though the mesh is not fine, yet nothing ever slips through.

The commentary:
Not fighting is not necessarily a coward’s choice.

There is bravery in fighting, but there is no less in enduring, and they who fight are more likely to die an untimely death.

Heaven hates what it hates. What happens to what it hates? Does it suffer? This could mean some people are bound to suffer, and there’s no reason for it, that’s just how it is. Maybe the sage recognizes this, and when he happens by, say, a sick child, he treats them with gravity. I feel like it’s probably much lighter than what I’m seeing here, but that’s how I understand it.

Although some things are difficult, or hated by heaven, none are outside the compass of the way, so we endure.
kamfoo
post Jul 23 2021, 02:50 AM

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amitabha

This post has been edited by kamfoo: Jul 23 2021, 02:50 AM
TSconxtion
post Jul 30 2021, 09:16 PM

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DDJ LXXXI

The text:

Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good. He who knows has no wide learning; he who has wide learning does not know.

The sage does not hoard.

Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more;
having given all he has to others, he is richer still.

The way of heaven benefits and does no harm; the way of the sage is bountiful and does not contend.


The commentary:

As was said before, following the way is like an uncarved block. It is simple, and has nothing superfluous. Beautiful and persuasive words are intricacies of language and thought that, if applied to the physical realm, would be akin to flourish in carving, unnecessary ornament, deceiving ornament even. Whereas if one speaks plainly, it is like the uncarved block: raw, but honest.

In following their nature, the people are content to be where they are, doing what they’re doing, so it makes sense that they would not have wide learning: because they do not seek nor strive.

Shedding the superfluous, a sage is content with simply following the way, and giving all else to others. This makes him richer because holding fast to the way is the highest good man could have. Doing so, the sage is like heaven: they do no harm, enter in no conflict, instead being kind to others and steering ever more creatures towards the way, if they will go there.
TSconxtion
post Aug 4 2021, 12:59 AM

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Zhuangzi's wife died. When Huizu went to convey his condolences, he found Zhuangzi sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Huizu. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But pounding on a tub and singing - this is going too far, isn't it?"

Zhuangzi said, "You're wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn't grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and the time before she was born. Not only the time before she was born, but the time before she had a body. Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit. In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there's been another change and she's dead. It's just like the progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter.

"Now she's going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show that I don't understand anything about fate. So I stopped.
TSconxtion
post Aug 12 2021, 02:05 AM

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Anyone got any Hungry Ghost Month stories?
JasonAubama
post Sep 18 2021, 06:47 PM

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user posted image

Zen · Bow · Dao
As of 17 September, M’sia peak at 7-Day 89ppm Deaths per million population while Selangor leading with 168ppm. That is unlikely to break these records until fatality leaps or next wave. To observe the Natural Flow of Time Event needs serenity as if Nothing Concern me 🤓

Archery or Slingshot which I’m recently picked up, has further deepened my insights into Naturalism or Daoism. It was amazingly that Proper Sports required Physical, Mental and Spiritual Strengths to perform.

To shoot an Outdoor Field target says 6m away from my standpoint, Target at 6m height at the tip of Lamppost. My Natural Instinct (be it Meditation) telling me that I should aim higher to compensate for Gravitational Pull. I lost hundreds of Ammo hardly hit once 🤭

Lao Tzu teaches us observe the Natural Flow and making use for our benefits. Let’s experiment the Natural Truth by hanging my catch box on Ground 0m, 3m, 6m heights. I notice my ammo consistently dropped 2cm from my aiming regardless of Elevated Heights. The truth of Natural Flow is Not hiding in the Dark Room, Meditating, Natural Instinct but Experiencing and observing.

World Slingshot Championships standard 10m and 15m range where I’m at 80% on target for 10m and 60% accuracy for 15m range as a Fresh-horn Rookie 🤓

This post has been edited by JasonAubama: Sep 18 2021, 06:48 PM
JasonAubama
post Sep 18 2021, 08:22 PM

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Another Life or Dead example.

When the car skidding Right, 90% Drivers Instantly would Steer Left. 10% may know must Steer Right, only 1% Steer Right.

Just like ridding bicycles, swimming, through Practice and Experiencing, once you know it that last forever.

Philosophical Dao suggests Longevity 🤓

This post has been edited by JasonAubama: Sep 18 2021, 08:35 PM
JasonAubama
post Sep 18 2021, 11:16 PM

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https://medium.com/publishous/4-quotes-from...nt-c5055778f391

The Way, Dao.
This article express the Precise Nature Way.
nihility
post Sep 19 2021, 11:20 AM

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QUOTE(conxtion @ Jul 9 2021, 01:29 AM)
Let's go back to basics.
Chapter 1

The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders
*
Removes all the complexities ( the deities ), there is only one singular Tao. Those who read Tao De Ching are numbered , mostly those who practice it are by informal educational from the family.

After reading Tao De Ching, I”m more incline to believe it should a singular Tao - something cannot be described, cannot be named , cannot be defined. After the event, all the custom worshipping , I”ll only treat it as “paying respect” and not worshiping. I only kneel & bow to the singular entity of Tao.

The one who practice it will normally not openly discuss it because avoiding / preventing conflict is one of the art of practicing Taoism. Without coming to surface or revealing it, it would hinder a lot of trouble / issue.
JasonAubama
post Sep 19 2021, 10:17 PM

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“You suffer because you’re not true to yourself.” Awa Kenzo

“Once you are clear about what you are doing and why, other people’s opinions will not matter.” Sadhguru

Albert Einstein assumed Light Speed is a Constant and developed huge beneficial to mankind. Light speed is a constant or variable no longer important, so as Dao.

JasonAubama
post Sep 29 2021, 06:09 PM

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TSconxtion
post Oct 5 2021, 12:23 AM

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Nine Emperor Gods festival coming soon.

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