Are you a Taoists ???

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Quiet is the language of prayer
*Silence is the native tongue of the universe.
Stillness is the voice of divinity.
so the wise person will find truth in meditation.

*I read something very like this recently. I wish i could remember where :javascript:emoticon(':?:'):

I am not to comfortable with calling myself a Taoist [my influences include the Sufi, Budhist and 'dread' traditions too], however I think the reading of the Tao Te Ching started me on the road to a much higher level of thinking, kind of like leaving behind my spiritual/emotional adolescence.
I continued to explore later Taoist thinkers through my 20's and early 30's but found none that really added anything to the tradition, in fact some even seemed to have missed the point and become sidetracked with ego fixed concepts like longetivity [IMO].

Nice to see a thread that isn't about Judeo/Christian/Muslim obsessions, cheers

peace j

I do not call myself a Taoist because i am a fool just beginning to learn what is means to follow the Way. I also try to live by the eightfold path and the "sermon on the mount," but, like you, it was the Tao Te Ching that started my journey, for which i am ever grateful.

I agree that that IMO the Tao Te Ching IS Taoism. Although i think the Chuang Tsu is also very good especially the "inner chapters." And there is the absolutely great poem "The Mind of Absolute Trust." (Although the author is a Buddhist, the content is basic Taoism. beautifully stated. (In reading Chuang Tse, it is helpful to remember that he has been called a comedian.)

Peace.

The Mind of Absolute Trust, by Seng-ts'an

The great Way isn't difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences.
Let go of longing and aversion,and everything will be perfectly clear.
When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction. heaven and earth are set apart.
If you want to realize the truth, don't be for or against.
The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind.
Not grasping the deeper meaning, you just trouble your mind/s serenity.
As vast as infinite space, it is perfect and lacks nothing.
But because you select and reject, you can't perceive its true nature,

Don't get entangled in the world, don't lose yourself in emptiness.
Be at peace in the oneness of things, and all errors will disappear by themselves.
If you don't live the Tao, you fall into assertion and denial.
Asserting that the world is real, you are blind to its deeper reality;
denying that the world is real, you are blind to the selflessness of all things.
The more you think about these matters, the farther you are from the truth.
Step aside from all thinking, and there is nowhere you can't go.
Returning to the root, you find the meaning,
chasing appearances, you lose their source.

At the moment of profound insight, you transcend both appearance and emptiness.
Don't keep searching for the truth, just let go of your opinions.
For the mind in harmony with the Tao, all selfishness disappears
Without even a trace of self-doubt, you can trust the universe completely.
All at once you are free, with nothing left to hold on to.
All is empty, brilliant, perfect in its own being.

In the world of things as they are, there is no self, no non-self/
If you want to describe its essence, the best you can say is "Not-two."
In this "Not-two" nothing is separate, and nothing in the world is excluded.
The enlightened of all times and places have entered into this truth.
In it there is no gain or loss; one instant is ten thousand years.
There is no here, no there; infinity is right before your eyes.
The tiny is as large as the vast when objective boundaries have vanished.
The vast is as small as the tiny when you don't have external limits.
Being is an aspect of non-being, non-being is no different from being.

Until you understand this truth, you wont see anything clearly.
One is all, all are one. When you realize this, what reason for holiness or wisdom?
The mind of absolute trust is beyond all thought, all striving.
It is perfectly at peace, for in it there is no yesterday, no today, no tomorrow.

6th Century.

Yes,Seng-ts'an was a Buddhist patriarch, and yes, some ideas are expressed in a fashion that is characteristic of Buddhist thought, and no, i do not make too big a distinction between philosophical Taoism and Zen Buddhism. But, IMHO. this is a Taoist poem as much as it is a Buddhist one. Enjoy.

Peace.

I'm going to get back into taoism as soon as i find a place to live

Good luck to you, I remember enjoying your posts on this threat.

Taoism log .. two entries.

one. a dream. i saw a giant orange grasshopper .. caught it .. held it .. it was about 1 foot in length or 30 cm .. and very beautiful. i feel it is three symbols layered .. a bug (grasshopper is a bug, insect) .. indicating small scale is cool .. the colour orange .. to do with spirituality .. not least eastern . maybe not least Taoism!! .. and also the shape of the beast .. roughly phallic, it struck me (blush) .. maybe telling me not to ignore sex too much .. Maybe also adding .. it was generally awe-inspiring (the grasshopper) therefore maybe indicating the Self .. as in telling me it is of central importance to me .. (major dream).

two. i did an arrow stalk I Ching thing right now. The I Ching i think counts as Taoist. It is the first time in ages i do I Ching. I got 6 - Conflict! .. not too sure how to understand that yet.. I am generally pretty stuck in my outer life .. and need pretty badly to get unstuck .. so plenty conflict there, perhaps ..

this image isn't outright Taoistic, of course .. but feels a bit Wu Wei (action through non-action) to me:

Ah, Grasshopper. will you shape your cocoon? Will you emerge as a Butterfly? Will you dream you are Chuang Tsu? (Oh, wait! That;s caterpillars! Perhaps an enlightened grasshopper could become a butterfly if the need arose?)

Seriously though, i never use the I Ching for divination. Yes, the I-Ching is part of Taoist tradition. But there are some things which are sacred to a particular tradition (like Navaho sand painting) and not meant for outsiders to mess with. The Tao Te Ching, however, embodies universal truth and i feel it belongs to me as much as to anybody,

Edit: I think the cartoon is very Taoist, except you can never cross "nothing" off your to do list because you will never be done not doing it,