i think that being a devote taoist would be contradictory to taoism... i that blindly (or not) embracing a religion - even a religion like tao - is very un-tao-like.
Yes. I consider myself a "taoist" for lack of a better word. I am of this Universe, like a hologram linking and reflecting parts of this vast Emptiness, indivisible from the whole. The Great Tao.
Hi Wilson, the longer a daoist practices daoism, the less likely he is to call himself a taoist. the first line of the Tao Te Ching says "tao called tao is not really tao".
I noticed your signature with interest: Big Brother is Watching You. Doesn't apply to me. My probation officer is female. As far as the Way is concerned, it's not up to me to follow the Way or not follow the Way. These things are not in my hands. I work on a golf course. Geese eat worms. Bull snakes eat gophers. Herons eat fish. The sun also rises, and the sun sets. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. What profits he who works, in that wherein he labours?
The Wade-Giles system of Mandarin to Roman character transliteration used the following rules (see link for complete list): WADE-GILES character pronounced Pinyin system character CH pronounced ZH CH' pronounced CH CHI pronounced JI CH'I pronounced QI or KI K pronounced G K' pronounced K P pronounced B P' pronounced P T pronounced D T' pronounced T TS pronounced Z TS' pronounced C or S Fortunately the Mandarin to Pinyin Romanization system is more widely used today. I don't know who Wade and Giles were, but their system using apostrophes with consonants resulted in confusion which exists to this day. The link for complete Wade-Giles to Pinyin conversion is http://www.library.ucla.edu/eastasian/ctable2.htm
when the great tao is forgotten, philantropy and morality appear.intelligent stratagies are produced and great hypocracies emerge.
this so called pig empire your talking about is firstly the product of far greater men then you, secondly, to quote spiro agnew, when the hippies stop smoking all day and change the world using the system already there then ill close my mouth, and just to really piss you off child, read the the tao te ching and you might find something important, every action has an equal and opposing reaction, a man who lives violently does not live very long. and shop lifting in walmart doesnt count as a stab at the empire. fool.
I am new to using these forums and didn't realize there were more posts on other pages, so I originally responded to a subject that had already changed, but I haven't learned how to delete a post yet, only edit, so i might as well use it to respond to the new subject "the pig empire". About the hippies stopping smoking and changing the world with the system already in place, that's what we're doing! All except for the stopping smoking part. :leaving:
I'd say I agree with and try to live by fundamental Taoist principles, but I don't really consider myself a "taoist." I believe in the notion that their is no real objective truth of any sort, and that distinctions or opposites are created only through the collective human consciousness. I believe that, independent of our own minds, there is no such thing as good or evil, right or wrong, beautiful or ugly. Everything just is--without conscious minds to perceive or judge it, how can anything do any more? But I don't make any attempt to follow "the way" of pure, objective existence; after all, Lao Tzu explicitly says that doing so is impossible. I am a human being, and thus I am inevitably going to perceive "unnatural" traits and opposites as humans do. Human society is the world I live in, not the idealistic and fantastic world of the way. I acknowledge the existence of right and wrong, etc., in the context of that society, the only context that is relevant. I guess I acknowledge Lao Tzu's conception of the way as being a sort of idealistic, underlying truth to reality. I like to think that everything just exists, with no particular bias beyond that. And in practice, the ideas behind Taoism are the same behind a relativistic approach to morality, which I firmly hold. I don't think conceptions of right and wrong are objectively defined or set in stone; rather, morality is fluid and adjusts to societal standards and circumstances, in keeping with the Taoist theory that it is just an abstract construct of our minds, not some set of absolute truths.
I think birmingham hit it on the nose. ( if there is a nose )??? thats the beauty of the Way, the way is and it isnt, you are a toaist and you isnt. Of the books of wisdom I relate and read taoist texts the most. However raised christian I can never shake that.
What/who can be defined as Tao is not Tao, I think Tao Te said - or something like that. Tao can't be defined. Tao involves no criterions. Tao is not a label you put on yourself. Tao is something you are. And Tao is not something you label yourself. If you are a bricklayer and Tao you say: "I'm a bricklayer" - you don't say: "I'm a Taoist".
Of course you're right, but while labels are limiting they can be useful. I seek to live in harmony with the Tao & I call myself a Taoist because it is a convenient label that alludes to the path I'm following. The word is of limited use but as a label is useful because it means that if I'm looking for a forum, for example, to discuss the Tao, I can look for "Taoism" or "Taoist" sites and it gives me a greater chance of finding what I'm looking for than choosing websites at random. It's also handy in conversations if people ask what you believe. I can say "I'm a Taoist". If they want to know more then they can ask about it, if not then it's a lot shorter than going into a long explanation when all they're interested in is a short label.
im a Yogacara Buddhist basically the same as a Taoist. Zen Buddhism came from Yogacara Buddhism. Taoist say god is absolute nothingness just like the sunyata of Buddhism. "i dream therefore i am not"
exactly the Tao is not a concept, it is. One time i was tripping and had to write this down. "it is what it is"
i call myself one who attempts to avoid deceiving myself, knowing full well my imperfections. =^^= .../\...
Well that's just a lot of words saying not very much at all. If you asked most people they'd probably agree that those words described them.
