[ Post a Response | Tao Speaks ]
Posted by Butch on 3/25/2008, 8:20 am, in reply to "an apology to Lian Dao"
71.30.136.X
--Previous Message--
: Lian Dao can run, but he can't hide in his
: closet either. You two are the Peter and the
: Paul of Tao Speaks. I'll let you decide
: which is which.
:
: ---------------
:
: After all your many years of coming and
: going, your many years of this and that (not
: to mention living in the North of England),
: what has it all come to, Lian Dao?
:
: This: To be associated with me--a
: non-cultivating jerk with less than sterling
: credentials.
:
: I fear it too late to be undone, but please
: accept my sincere apologies; your reputation
: on these boards forever tarnished by your
: association with a slob the likes of me.
:
: Steve
:
:
Steve,
Having red hair is not a choice. Unless of course one dies it. But my point is sound. Nature gives us most of what we think of as ourselves, including the color of our hair, and so on.
But, there are other things that are choices. You can choose not to be a slob if you are ashamed of being one. It is simply a matter of cultivation. One different choice at a time until such new choices become habitual. I believe freewill in such matters is something existence has given us. Accepting responsibility for one's life is what Taoism is all about imo.
In the ancient Chinese text "Nei Yeh" personal responsibility through inner cultivation is central. The cultivation of Qi is fundamental to Taoism. The management of the Heart/Mind is essential for the Taoist adept. Excessive cogitation or emotion are imprudent. Balance is fundamental. Such things require practice. Such practice can be as simple as sitting down comfortably and following one's breath, the swing of one's breath as it swings in and out. From there one becomes more and more attuned to the natural rhythms of not only one's local nexus but of the entire field of being. The more we come into accord with our own inner nature the more we come into accord with Nature herself. Our nature and Nature are a unitive one.
Most of us are not firing on all cylinders. Inner cultivation is about getting all of our cylinders to fire, and in their proper sequence. When this happens we enter a new gestalt, a new way of seeing reality. A synergetic reality greater than the sum of its/our parts. A whole that is a quantum leap in understanding from the linear life of our external conditioning. Within each of us lies dormant a godlike being. It is up to us whether or not such a being is ever fully realized. No one can do it for us. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
As long as we breathe it is never too late to follow our breath. The journey is the destination. Practice is enlightenment.
Butch
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"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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