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International Forum on the Daodejing Posted by Bao Pu on 3/23/2008, 8:11 am 99.249.86.X From a year ago, but... http://www.china.org.cn/english/daodeforum/207879.htm  Post a Response

Re: International Forum on the Daodejing Posted by gar on 3/23/2008, 9:18 am, in reply to "International Forum on the Daodejing" 74.47.80.X --Previous Message-- : From a year ago, but... : : : http://www.china.org.cn/english/daodeforum/207879.htm : Greetings Bao Pu, If i might ask you one question, Dao Pu. Do you embrace both the philosophical and mystical aspects of Taoism? If not, why one and not the other? in peace, gar  Post a Response

Dao Pu Posted by Bao Pu on 3/23/2008, 9:50 am, in reply to "Re: International Forum on the Daodejing" 99.249.86.X --Previous Message-- : Greetings Bao Pu, : : If i might ask you one question, Dao Pu. : : Do you embrace both the philosophical and : mystical aspects of Taoism? If not, why one : and not the other? Hi Gar, Can you explain a bit more by what you mean by 'mystical'?  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by gar on 3/23/2008, 10:26 am, in reply to "Dao Pu" 74.47.80.X --Previous Message-- : : : --Previous Message-- : Greetings Dao Pu, : : If i might ask you one question, Dao Pu. : : Do you embrace both the philosophical and : mystical aspects of Taoism? If not, why one : and not the other? : : Hi Gar, : : Can you explain a bit more by what you mean : by 'mystical'? : Greetings Bao Pu, Tao mysticism, maybe like the belief in ghosts, demons, and spells? Also, any realization of Chi. in peace, gar  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by Steve on 3/23/2008, 10:44 am, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 69.140.59.X : Hi Gar, : : Can you explain a bit more by what you mean : by 'mystical'? ------------ : Greetings Bao Pu, : : Tao mysticism, maybe like the belief in : ghosts, demons, and spells? Also, any : realization of Chi. : : in peace, : gar ------------- Greetings gar, 'Mystical' seems to be one of those words that mean anything we want it to mean. 'Mysterious.' 'Transcendent.' 'Obscure.' Even, 'irrational.' Using any of those particular meanings, I'd call the first chapter of the Laozi a 'mystical' work. Your examples work too, imo. Steve  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by gar on 3/23/2008, 11:31 am, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 74.47.80.X --Previous Message-- : Hi Gar, : : Can you explain a bit more by what you mean : by 'mystical'? : : ------------ : : Greetings Bao Pu, : : Tao mysticism, maybe like the belief in : ghosts, demons, and spells? Also, any : realization of Chi. : : in peace, : gar : : ------------- : : Greetings gar, : : 'Mystical' seems to be one of those words : that mean anything we want it to mean. : 'Mysterious.' 'Transcendent.' 'Obscure.' : Even, 'irrational.' : : Using any of those particular meanings, I'd : call the first chapter of the Laozi a : 'mystical' work. : : Your examples work too, imo. : : Steve : : Greetings Steve, Mysticism: "Any belief in the exixtence of realities beyond perceptual or intellectual apprehension but central to being and directly accessible by intuition." The American Heritage Dictionary. So, for me Steve, anything that resonates within me that is accessible through intuition is mystical. How about you? in peace, gar : :  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by Steve on 3/23/2008, 12:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 69.140.59.X : Greetings Steve, : : Mysticism: "Any belief in the exixtence : of realities beyond perceptual or : intellectual apprehension but central to : being and directly accessible by intuition : ." The American Heritage Dictionary. : : So, for me Steve, anything that resonates : within me that is accessible through : intuition is mystical. : : How about you? : : in peace, : gar --------------------- "So, for me Steve, anything that resonates within me that is accessible through intuition is mystical." That works for me, gar. 'Philosophical,' for me, implies 'rational.' Through the thinking mind. 'Mystical' implies sensed, but not known or knowable. Not accessed through the brain, but through the gut. The two are not mutually exclusive. I can have a philosophy that relies on my gut to inform my brain and guide me through life. What you said there is excellent, gar.  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by Wayne L on 3/23/2008, 2:53 pm, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 207.195.244.X --Previous Message-- : Greetings Steve, : : Mysticism: "Any belief in the exixtence : of realities beyond perceptual or : intellectual apprehension but central to : being and directly accessible by intuition : ." The American Heritage Dictionary. : : So, for me Steve, anything that resonates : within me that is accessible through : intuition is mystical. : : How about you? : : in peace, : gar : : --------------------- : : "So, for me Steve, anything that : resonates within me that is accessible : through intuition is mystical." : : That works for me, gar. : : 'Philosophical,' for me, implies 'rational.' : Through the thinking mind. : : 'Mystical' implies sensed, but not known or : knowable. Not accessed through the brain, : but through the gut. Mystical means non-Empirical in Nature, hidden, Secret, Sacred, not readily apparent, immeasurable, mysterious, unknowable, not Universal in Nature. A gut feeling is hidden from Our Five senses, a gut feeling is a sensation generated by One's Sixth Sense, is an intuitive sense of Reality, Spiritualism, the Imagination Gone Wild. Properly attuned the Sixth Sense, our Intuitive Nature is Rational, Not properly attuned and rather that being rational we have a tendency to lean towards Irrationality, to go off on a tangent. : The two are not mutually exclusive. I can : have a philosophy that relies on my gut to : inform my brain and guide me through life. Knowledge is acquired only through the Senses the only problem being the Sixth Sense, which is central to Both Man's Rational and Irrational Behavior. Knowledge acquire through the five senses do man no harm if dealt with Rationally; While Knowledge acquire through the Sixth sense is extremely Harmful if not dealt with Rationally. In order to Tao, Reason properly (meaning to be reasonable) One must be sensible, Rational. Our sixth sense has a sense of Realities that exist beyond the Material World of Reality, a sense of Realities that are not readily apparent, measurable, Our Sixth sense being the Gate Way to manifold Secrets, the Mystical, Mysterious, Female, our Mystic Mirror.  Post a Response

Re: Dao Pu Posted by Bao Pu on 3/24/2008, 2:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 99.249.86.X --Previous Message-- : Do you embrace both the philosophical and : mystical aspects of Taoism? If not, why one : and not the other? : : Hi Gar, : : Can you explain a bit more by what you mean : by 'mystical'? : : Greetings Bao Pu, : : Tao mysticism, maybe like the belief in : ghosts, demons, and spells? Also, any : realization of Chi. Ghosts, demons, spells: no, I don't not give these much credence. Why? I have experienced nothing that suggests they exist and have read no scientific proof of their existence or efficacy. Chi (Qi), that's more difficult. I'm not sure. It depends on what one believes Qi to be. I'm open-minded. As for intuition, I embrace it, but I am not sure I would call it mystical. But maybe. [ Happiness and Harmony,  Post a Response

Re: Bao Pu Posted by gar on 3/24/2008, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Dao Pu" 74.47.80.X Greetings Bao Pu, Thanks for your response. Do you sense yourself as one who experiences reality mostly through the logical side of the brain? Do you tend to shun the emotional experience? Just curious. in peace, gar --Previous Message-- : : --Previous Message-- : Do you embrace both the philosophical and : mystical aspects of Taoism? If not, why one : and not the other? : : Hi Gar, : : Can you explain a bit more by what you mean : by 'mystical'? : : Greetings Bao Pu, : : Tao mysticism, maybe like the belief in : ghosts, demons, and spells? Also, any : realization of Chi. : : Ghosts, demons, spells: no, I don't not give : these much credence. Why? I have experienced : nothing that suggests they exist and have : read no scientific proof of their existence : or efficacy. : : Chi (Qi), that's more difficult. I'm not : sure. It depends on what one believes Qi to : be. I'm open-minded. : : As for intuition, I embrace it, but I am not : sure I would call it mystical. But maybe. : : : [ : Happiness and Harmony, : : :  Post a Response

Re: Bao Pu Posted by Bao Pu on 3/24/2008, 3:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Bao Pu" 99.249.86.X --Previous Message-- : : Greetings Bao Pu, : : Thanks for your response. : Do you sense yourself as one who : experiences reality mostly through the : logical side of the brain? Do you tend to : shun the emotional experience? : : Just curious. Gee, getting personal aren't we? It might be the case that I filter most of my experience through my "rational brain." I should mention that I am a photographer and musician, so my right brain does get used. I wouldn't say I "shun" emotions, but I am fairly dispassionate.  Post a Response

Re: Bao Pu Posted by Butch on 3/24/2008, 4:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Bao Pu" 71.28.136.X Bao Pu, Thank you for the link. Very interesting reading. It is good to know that there are those in China that still hold to the Way of the Tao. As far as demons and ghosts and angels and such, I believe there are such things. Can I prove it, no. Do I feel compelled to try, no. On a less controversial note I will say that such things as greed, hate, lust, pettiness, racism, and such are like demons. Personal demons. Of course our tendency is to demonize others rather than deal with our own inner demons. Butch  Post a Response

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