Taoism

This just came out- and coincidentally this thread was recently commented on so I thought I might add this here-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFb7Hxva5rg&list=PLwxNMb28XmpdJpJzF2YRBnfmOva0HE0ZI&index=1

I think it might serve well as an introduction to Daoism and Lao Tzu,

Enjoy!

Apparently I didn't read this before I posted my thread. Whoops!

Focus
Focus your mind away from sensual input to discover a new depth of perception. You will then learn to perceive the more subtle, hidden things in your world as the sage does. - Lao Fzu

pg 5

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=5

Guide
Many make an endless and fruitless pursuit to find the right guide to help them on their path. The sage looks within knowing that in the end the only guide we can rely on is own intuition. - Lao Fzu

pg 6

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=6

LIV :

Tao's power is so deeply entrenched
it can never be uprooted.
Tao's power clings so tightly
it can never slip away.
It will endure for generations.

If you get in touch
with the power of Tao,
it will become real.
If your family gets in touch
with the power of Tao,
the power will flourish.

If your community gets in touch
with the power of Tao,
the power will grow even stronger.
If your country gets in touch
with the power of Tao,
the power will become abundant.

If the world gets in touch
with the power of Tao,
the power will be everywhere.

How can I know this?
I just do.

Lessons
Everyone you meet whether wise or foolish, has something to teach you. The sage appreciates everyone and everything, accepting the lessons offered by each in their own way. - Lao Fzu

pg 7

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=7

Have a nice weekend.

Meditation
Meditation is difficult when you expect to sit, close your eyes and instantly reach a deep level of awareness. The sage knows that meditation like all things worthwhile takes time devoted to it on a regular basis. - Lao Fzu

pg 8

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=8

This question comes up a lot, How to meditate?

I am always hesitant to join a conversation on Taoism. Word's always seem to mess with it, like muddying clear water. Talking about it, it becomes unreachable. It is one of the hardest thing's i have ever tried to explain. When people ask me "what is that book?" I just hand them my copy of the Tao Te Ching and ask them to find out for themselves. I became aware of Tao when i was a teenager and it fit perfectly to some of my own unformed beliefs, I found it fascinating and beautiful, and from then on it effected the way i fit into the world.
I am always hesitant to put words to it, I've tried in the past and usually i have left whoever is listening looking rather baffled and dumbfounded, and yet once you are aware, it's all perfectly simple. I believe that you have to feel it. Then you know.
You can become a part of it all. just rolling along, not really thinking or explaining or analyzing. Just sort of accepting thing's as they are and letting it all unfold. That's all i will say on that.

Paradox
Take events and people at face value to be often deceived. The sage understands the paradox of how strength appears as weakness, wisdom as foolishness and truth as fiction. - Lao Fzu

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=9

pg 9

I read a page almost everyday first thing with my morning coffee. I fell it has beeen make a gradual positive difference in my life.

Practice
Spiritual practice is about living life in a sane and humane way. As the sage knows, this is a positive end in itself. It is about the journey, not some nirvanic ending. - Lao Fzu

pg 10

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=10

Unjust
Those with limited understanding are easily wounded by one unjust or unkind word. The sage understands that those who seek to hurt us in this way are in reality upset with themselves. - Lao Fzu

pg 13

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=13

Within
Most people look outside themselves for the answers they seek. The sage understands that most often the solutions to challenges in life lie within ourselves. - Lao Fzu

pg 14

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=14

Just out of curiosity does anyone like reading these or go the the web page link?

I haven't read all of them Rickie and I don't remember visiting the websites- but I do read the little wise quotes you put up and so thanks for that,

Buddhist Nyogen Senzaki's quote can, I believe, be adapted to Jediism.

My paraphrase:

The words believe and worship may be inapplicable to a Jedi who does not believe, but understands; does not worship, but practices what she or he understands.

Rickie wrote: Just out of curiosity does anyone like reading these or go the the web page link?

I am subscribed to and have favorited this thread, so I get an email every time someone posts to it. I don't ever not read it.

Advice
Giving advice to others is a difficult job as the sage well knows. Fools already know everything so don't listen, while the truly wise have no need for it. Thus, those who know don't speak. - Lao Fzu :blush:

I may speak a bit too much but I'm no high on the wise list either.

pg 1

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=1

Awaken
The challenges we face in life force us to give up cherished ideas we hold about who we are. The sage welcomes this process of awakening and realization of our true nature. - Lao Fzu

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=1

pg 1

Balance
The wise arrange their lives so that they can always return to balance. The sage is ever mindful that the way back to balance is just as long as the journey from it. - Lao Fzu

pg 2

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=2

Enjoy. Live well. Be happy.

These all seem to resonate with me today.

Choice
In every moment lies a choice that can change your life. Understand that if you make it a positive one, it is just a question of time before favorable results are realized. - Lao Fzu

As a person that desires and believes I direct my destiny all the little choices I make in the course of a day could be screwing it up.

Choice
On one side of a ridge it is cold and foggy, on the other side it is hot and dry. The sage understands that just by choosing where you stand, you alter your destiny. - Lao Fzu

So the most mundane of my daily acts can conflick with my longer term goals.

There are usually many options open to us, but few are chosen because they remain unrecognized. The sage understands that one's range of choice is only limited by one's understanding and vision.

and I may never notice them because I do lots of things without thinking.

Choices
No matter how minor or how great, you must make choices each and every minute that passes. The irony of life is that it is a one-way journey. The sage cultivates wisdom as it is the only reliable guide. - Lao Fzu

and once done its done I have to live with it and wonder where I went astray

Just musings

pg2

http://www.taowoods.org/quote/index.htm?focus=2