Are you a Taoists ???

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I sort of see your point MissConstrue but Hitler wasn't a nihilist.
He was quite the opposite.

The Tao I find is quite helpful in seeing things through other aspects.
It helps me to "turn the other cheek" if you will.

68
(23)

If it
is bent,
it will be preserved intact;
is crooked,
it will be straightened;
is sunken,
it will be filled;
is worn-out,
it will be renewed;
has little,
it will gain;
has much,
it will be confused.

For these reasons,
The sage holds on to unity
and serves as the shepherd of all under heaven.
He is not self-absorbed,
therefore he shines forth;
He is not self-revealing,
therefore he is distinguished;
He is not self-assertive,
therefore he has merit;
He does not praise himself,
therefore he long-lasting.

Now,
Simply because he does not compete,
No one can compete with him.

The old saying about the bent being preserved intact
is indeed close to the mark!

Truly, he shall be returned intact.

42
The Tao gives birth to One.
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.

All things have their backs to the female
and stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.

Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.

http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/article ... dini1.html

Hi-
If anyone's interested, my website has my own bilingual translation
of Laozi, a huge bibliography of Laozi translations that are rated there
for their fidelity to the Chinese text (not that many English versions are).
There's also a whole bunch of links on Daoism in general, including
Zhuangzi, the Huainanzi. Also my own translation of The Book of Changes.
http://www.hermetica.info

Wow! Bradford. Thanks. I will use your website!

Nice one Bradford, your site will keep me busy for a while.

I like everything about the philosophy of Lao-tsu except for the fact that it doesn't include a personal deity one can talk to. I was once a Taoist (not a religious Taoist, but a follower of the philosophy of Lao-tsu). I was able to connect with Tao through daily meditation, but I still felt something missing, because I couldn't pray. Why pray to Tao? There is no indication that it is intelligent. I do still live by the doctrine of we wu wei, which means 'do only that which is necessary and no more', and I still try to meditate daily. This keeps me in touch with my higher power. However, I don't live Taoism as a religion anymore. I get crazy when it comes to religion. I get obsessed with it. Tao for me is the brain of the universe, the disembodied spirit that directs all things, what Western religions call God. I love the Tao of Pooh. It is how I got introduced to Taoism. My screen name is an allusion to a chapter in Tao of Pooh. What is Tao? is also a good introductory book. None of these books can replace the Tao Te Ching, though. God bless the ancient Chinese!

Meditation for beginners: find a comfortable place to sit. Try to sit upright. You can cross your legs or sit with your legs in front of you. Breathe deeply and count your breaths: one, in; two, out; three, in; four, out; count up to ten. Repeat. If you forget to count your breathes, start over at one. After you get into the habit of doing the counting meditatoin, you can do it anywhere at anytime to still your mind.

Another simple meditation technique: Lay on your bed or on the floor. Pretend you are in a pool of water, and you are trying to float. In order to float, you have to be totally relaxed. Once you get rid of all the tension in your muscles, try to stay that way.

Meditation only works if you do it regularly. You cannot expect to get results if you only do it sporadically. After meditating for a while, you will notice a change in your mood. You will naturally be more calm, more energetic, and more alert, as if you are meditating all the time.

I finally finished my painting.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x19/ ... CF6199.jpg

I'm still learning to paint as you can see.

Yes. The Bible, too. And the Art Of War, the Art Of Peace, the compleate works of William Shakespeare, and several philosophical tretises by John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi.

What's your point?

Well the name of the thread kind of is his point, "Are you a Taoist".
Averick has very succesfully created a space for Taoists and those interested in learning more about it to come and chat.

Maybe read through some of the thread.

Thanks for always backing me up Pixel8.

Fnord, where ya from?

Terra (Sol 1827 F-867-M-947-7 41N90/87W65/-2564).

Why do you ask?

A metasyntactic variable (pronounced /ˌmɛtəsɪnˈtæktᵻk ˈvɛriəbl/) is a placeholder name or an alias term commonly used to denote the subject matter under discussion or an arbitrary member of a class of things under discussion. The term originates from computer programming and other technical contexts, and is commonly used in examples by hackers and programmers. The use of a metasyntactic variable is helpful in freeing a programmer from creating a logically named variable, although the invented term may also become sufficiently popular and enter the language as a neologism. The word foo is the canonical example.[1]

Any word can be used as a metasyntactic variable, but "nonsense words" are commonly used. The same concept is employed in other fields where it is expressed by terms such as schematic variable (see logical form).

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you Snord?
(The reason I ask is so I have a clearer picture of the person I'm talking to.)

Pixel8: I don't have an artistic bone in my body; the last person anyone would want to make comments about their creative work. I must say that I saw the Taoist theme right away, even before I noticed any of the details. The "ordered chaos" I saw evoked for me the contradictions that are so apparent in the Tao te Ching. I had to think about it a long time; then I concluded I sort of like it. Thanks for sharing. Its gutsy to shove yourself out there like that. You say you are a novice? If so, keep going.

Cottlestonpie: Thanks for the tips on meditation. Brief, useful. I would like if you could post them on the "Contemplative spirituality" thread. Scroll down two pages to about May 20th posts. Incidentally, I sort of agree with you about the Personal Deity. I handle this by acknowledging my total ignorance of the Tao (Pure likght of the void, Brahman, the Godhead, what/whoever). Whatever nonbeing's nature is, I am fairly certain She/he/it will not mind my treating Her/him/it as a person. (By person I mean the person as defined by Mourniey (wrong spelling) who is capable of loving and recieving love.)

36
(71)

To realize that you do not understand is a virtue;
Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.

The reason why
The sage has no defects,
Is because he treats defects as defects.

Thus,
He has no defects.