Iβm really new to Taoism. I own the Tao Te Ching and Iβm trying to make a comprehensive bibliography to get me started, Iβve also taken at World Religions class and have studied Taoism a little, but I still need yβalls input. My understanding is that Taoism fundamentally is a nontheistic religion. This would mean that anybody could be a Taoist despite their belief in God or gods. However, all the Taoist temples Iβve seen are polytheistic. I personally want to incorporate my Christianity with Taoism. I want to get deep in Taoist philosophy but I feel restricted because I canβt believe in multiple gods.
Is it possible to be nontheistic Taoist in modern society?
Also, if yβall could list books that K should get to help my journey that would be great. Additionally I am interested in Chi Magic and Feng Shui and Iβd like some help finding recourses on that stuff.
Thanks guys!
Hi, I thought of asking this question in Book Suggestions, and may still do so, but I wanted to ask a Taoist community directly if anyone has suggestions for books with Taoism, or material in the same spirit, in them? I know Ursula K Le Guin has some Taoist ideas in her books, and did a great translation of The Tao Te Ching. Please let me know if you have some ideas, or favorites I might not have heard of. Thanks.
Iβm just getting into both and people seem to associate the two because they are both eastern philosophies. Yet imo Buddhism seems to focus on detachment in order to transcend the suffering so prevalent in the universe. Taoism seems to advocate harmonizing and accepting the fucked up nature of the universe and in alan watts words βjoining the danceβ. So essentially Buddhism teaches seperateness from the natural world while Taoism teaches one to jump into the natural world and be at one with it. Am I missing something about buddhism or are these two belief systems fundamentally incompatible?
Hello guys! I checked out the reading materials forum but it contains many suggestions. Could you guys please help me out to select a few books? I can't afford to buy many books and I don't enjoy ebooks that much βΉοΈ
Iβm reading the Tao of Pooh and Iβm finding it pretty interesting. However the author keeps pushing this lesson about how being scholarly and clever is not the way to live because we canβt hope to know everything and therefore should be content with life as it is. I can see this being a helpful lesson in situations where you are simply overthinking things, but he keeps pushing it as if being intellectually curious and scholastic is a bad thing.
Is this really a branch of thought central to the Tao? What if the Tao encourages me to pursue my intellectual curiosities? What if engaging in the scientific method brings me fulfilment and happiness? I would have thought that a philosophy that appreciates and understands the cyclical nature of the world would support the pursuit of intellectualism as well as is it supports the pursuit of wisdom.
The proverb came from the story of the recluse monk Huiyuan (334β416), who never used to go farther than Huxi, even for a walk or a friend's visit. Moreover, the tiger hiding in the forest would roar to warn him once he crossed the brook. One day, on the visit of the poet Tao Yuanming (365β427) and Taoist Lu Xiujing (406β477), Huiyuan had a congenial talk with them. As a result, they only realized they had passed the brook when they heard the roar of the tiger. They laughed wisely together, which represents the desired relationship among the three main religions/philosophies of that time, namely the harmony among Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Anyone know the magical/philosophical significance of numbers 1-9?
If you get a chance to see it, or have seen it, please comment. It seems to show merit in terms of magical-realism and philosophy, I enjoyed the shit out of it. Cheers.
How are you getting on?
I've decided to take the taoist approach. Have a couple of remote employees (telemarketers). It's a lot less stressful to manage things, I let them decide what to say and how to write follow-up emails. Sometimes they're not quite how I want them but I value the freedom and creativity they get from not having my input every 5 seconds (how I would do things 15-20 years ago). I do describe my overall goal and which group I want them to market to but that's it. I do like to have a copy of email templates used and the updated call data just for my own record, to monitor things and check things are moving in the right direction overall.
I would step in if things aren't going right; I guess it's called "exception management" to some degree.
Overall, we're moving in the right direction.
I guess the thing to remember is that people want to do the right thing and to feel like their skills/experience/knowledge is respected.
I don't know if my business would be doing better if I took a non-taoist approach (TBH I don't think so, but I'd be more stressed, as would my employees) and they'd feel more restricted.
Sorry, no quotes from the Tao. :o)
Look forward to your comments.
The idea of balance is really appealing to me, considering my issues and how difficult it is to break through that looming ceiling.
Voudou and Taoism both seemed appealing to me for this reason, but Voudou is very hierarchical, and I simply cant get myself to put faith into spiritual beings. I thought about simply replacing Bondye and The Loa with just "the universe" and my personal personification of it, but it felt disingenuous and, frankly, kinda disrespectful.
Taoism also sounds interesting. I know it already shares a connection with anarchism, and meditation is something often suggested to me, but I seem to have trouble grasping it. Could someone give me a rundown or point me in the right direction? Has Taoism helped you?
For a while now I've been reading and rereading this copy of the Tao Te Ching. And in one of the chapters it says:
>Without desire there is tranquility
Kind of skeptical on inferring that desire and love does us no good, but there has to be more on the subject. Anyone have any idea? I'm merely curious on the subject in a Taoist perspective.
I find it quite remarkable that they both have pretty much the same conception of what ultimate reality is and how we can directly experience it. I know that Zen Buddhism has taken some influences from Taoism, but was there any cross influences before this? Or are these similarities really just coincidences?
What do you think the ideal Taoist approach is for surviving a tense time like this?
My thoughts: Lay low, and put your life on "battery saver" mode, per se - conserve your energy, only speak with people that give you (not drain you of) energy, be very selective about news exposure to avoid confusion, take care of your health, etc.
Does Taoism have an Endgame :-)
i mean as in a goal? A place to reach? a state of mind (no mind?) ?
and if there is an end to it all? what then?
any recommendations are very appreciated. please upvoteβ€οΈ
Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well! I was wanting to learn a bit more on how to practice or to continue practicing taoism. So far, I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching, and I'm reading it and attempting to meditate every day to start working on being more in control of myself and letting go what isn't necessary...
I guess, what I wanted is a little guidance on what more I can do to really try and apply what I read to my life. I've realized that the way I've been viewing life has not been healthy... I've spent a lot of my life blaming the world and i made the choice of letting myself be offended by everyone instead of being more open and calm to see things differently. I really do want to change and am asking the internet since I don't exactly have a temple anywhere near me... Thank you!
I was wondering, as someone who knows very little about Taoism, where would be the best place to begin? Would a book be the best place to begin? If so what would be the best book to introduce me to it? Thanks!
Just sharing a thought I had earlier today. It's probably connected to listening to a podcast about "Secular Buddhism" and reading some articles.
One of the cool things about Taoism is secularism is built into the framework. Even within religious Taoism.
The thought is that Taoism can plug into any religious framework (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.) When someone does this those religions are, in a sense, "Religious Taoism" (for that individual at least).
Religious Taoism isn't limited to the (extremely wide) variety of variations in Taiwan, China, and other areas. It really exists anywhere someone is simultaneously a follower of a religion and a follower of the "Tao".
I do understand that there is a clear "Religious Taoism" category. I'm obviously extending the reach to every corner of the religious world because of the flexibility of Taoism.
Sorry if my question is worded strangely but I want to learn about Taoism as it is and has been in China. I know in America it gets lumped in with it being more of a philosophy as opposed to being a religious system. Any way I would love to get some recommendations on where to start and on some books.
Sorry for the stupid question, but I follow the Way from very recent time. What is the position of the Daoism on weed, psychedelics, alcohol and other drugs? (Sorry also for my English if it' s uncorrect)
What do you think are the main differences between Buddhism and Taoism? What are some of the similarities?
I realize that Buddhism has many different sects. I was thinking about this because I was reading a book on Zen Buddhism and it seemed very similar to Taoism. It just seemed a bit more strict and rigid but I feel like a lot of the philosophy is the same. Maybe it was just the book that I was reading but I wanted to know what others thought.
If you're in the area, please visit Second Unitarian Church at 10:30 AM this coming Sunday August 19 for "our take" on the topic.
I've read mixed views on this, whats the deal as far as we know?
What is Te/De in Taoism mean? Any thoughts on this?
