"In thought we distinguish alternatives, joy and sorrow, life and death, liking and dislike, and we mistake the principles which guide us to the preferred alternative for the Way itself. But the alternation of joy and sorrow, life and death, is itself the Way, and we run counter to it when we strive to perpetuate joy and life."
Made my recent journal entry about the story of Liezi into a medium post because why not. Still feels weird to share something that unpolished, but since unpolished jade and unhewn blocks are daoist metaphors after all it's probably fine.
The River God said, "But then what should I do? What should I not do? How shall I decide what to accept, what to reject, what to pursue, what to renounce?"
Ruo of the Northern Sea said, "Taking the point of view of the Course: what could be worthy, what could be worthless? The question points to their reciprocal overflowings, back and forth.
Not restricting your will to any of them, you limp the great stagger of the Course. What is greater, what is lesser? The question points to the bloomings of their witherings, the bounties put forth by their declines. Not unifying your conduct along the path of any of them, you go along uneven and varied with the Course."
Words as "mere expressions." In this passage of the #PaliCanon of #Buddhism (Samyutta Nikaya 1.25), the question is: Does the "Arahant" (who has attained the goal) use the word "I"? The answer is yes, but only conventionally:
An anti-linguistic thread, in which words are described as "mere expressions," as "servants," and as "makeshift description" in three different areas of #philosophy: #Taoism#Buddhism and #Greek philosophy @philosophy
(Yes, I know the Lau translation of the #Tao is a bit unlike other translations of this passage)
We follow traditional rites & withhold all non-family gatherings at our home, for at least 1 full year from date of loved ones passing. We can only do family only celebrations but no outside of family guests are allowed to attend them - for 1 full year after death of a patriarch or matriarch in family.
Heard this song in 78, fell in love with it, even though I had no #$%^ idea what the guy was saying. Turns out it was a kind of #punk#Taoism in speed-rap #French about accepting the moment. And running out of glue to sniff. English translation here:
This device is a communal incense burner. Taoists (mostly) use them for offerings during holy days/ months, and instead of sticking wax and candles into the ground, they put their stuff in here.
(Yashica 124G, Portra 400, dev and scan by Whampoa Colour Centre, Singapore)
The Way that can be articulately described is not the Unchanging Way. The name that can be said out loud is not the Unchanging Name. With your mouth unopened, and things left undefined, you stand at the beginning of the universe. Make definitions, and you are the measure of all creation....
3/3 So in all our travels we can never really know where we are going, in all our dwellings we can never really know what is maintaining us, in all our eating we can never really know what we are tasting. This is all the bright and vigorous energy of heaven and earth—how could it be obtained and possessed?"
The interview I did with @robin_wilding is out! I'm so thankful she decided to interview me. If you've ever wanted to know more about my publication, how I got into #taoism, or my #goals with my #organization, please watch, like, and #subscribe to her #YouTube channel.
Hey! Don't forget that my first weekly #Taoism & #Meditation session will start this Sunday at 11 AM central time. I'll be posting the recordings on YouTube later in the week. It will happen on @thetaoistonline#Discord#community. You can join using the link below if you want to attend. It's #FREE!
"Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit." #taoism#quote#quoteoftheday#habits
Another striking similarity is between what I was writing about regarding the butterfly story in the Zhuangzi and this passage from "Beyond Nature and Culture" by anthropologist Philippe Descola:
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - 400 BC (pdfhost.io)
The Way that can be articulately described is not the Unchanging Way. The name that can be said out loud is not the Unchanging Name. With your mouth unopened, and things left undefined, you stand at the beginning of the universe. Make definitions, and you are the measure of all creation....