The Tao's Journal

Subject:	Meditation Music
Posted by:	oblyvia.
Time:	9:24 pm.

I was wondering what music you listen to while meditating, studying or doing rituals (this post is x-posted, so I know not everyone does rituals). I listen to music all the time, but I often find the music I enjoy inappropriate for the calmer, seeking side of me. I would be interested in hearing chants or perhaps some Asian or Indian music. I really dont have any preference, so any suggestions are more than welcome!

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Subject:	pain as materialism
Posted by:	idolizing_water.
Time:	10:52 am.

Ah materialism. Perhaps the most misunderstood concept in our world. Only in American could so many materialists walk around condemning materialism. Most people understand materialism to be the stuff we have, but to me it's more about the stuff we are.

This concept is never more obvious than when someone feels they have been wronged by another. The fact of the matter is, no one can hurt you. They can hurt your body, but that's about the worst they can do. If words are hurting you, if action is hurting you, if inaction is hurting you, I believe it's very important to focus on the why. The interesting thing about the question "why." "Why" is the water of the cerebral world. We can answer it anyway we want yet each time we answer it, it begins a new. "Why" conforms to our thought patters, while eating away at some of our most sacred of thoughts.

"Why" is also a powerful calming device. When you feel wronged, try asking yourself why you are feeling the way you do. When you find that out, ask yourself why whatever "caused" you to feel that way is doing so, and so on. You'll find that "why" can destroy almost any negative emotion if you let it.

If this process sounds familiar to you, it's probably because you've spent time with a 5 year old. This is one of my many reasons for believeing we become less and less enlightened as we age, at least in the first half of our lives. This would make sense as birth and death are the closest we are to the non-corporial world, so enlightenment likely looks more like a curve than a single slope. All this has much more detail to it, but I work better in discussion than "lecture."

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Posted by:	idolizing_water.
Time:	12:19 pm.

I suppose this journal shall be the closest to a journal of all my accounts on this site. This will likely be the only journal in which I recount all of my thoughts. I often leave the truly deep thinking off these virtual pages, but frankly I am feeling a bit inbred, thinking my deepest thoughts only to myself. It is my hope that these pages, and the people they find will expand my mind in new ways.

Which brings me to my first topic. Hope. While hope has a very pure feeling to it, I often feel as though I am betraying the way when I am filled with it. In reality, hope is another name for desire. We look to the way we want things to be and yearn for them to become such. But that is not the way. Things are the way they are and will be the way they will be. Hope, while a nice theory, takes us out of the path and leaves us wanting.

I have hope in my heart for all sorts of things. I'm not sure what to do with it. I haven't yet sought to meditate to remove this hope, but it does allow me to accept the transient nature of all things.

This may be old thought to all of you reading this, but I have only discovered the path in the last year.

My name is Ken. This is the first of many of my thoughts.

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Posted by:	sofrigginsweet.
Time:	11:34 pm.

i am either completely enlightened and ready to ascend to the godhood or i have completely missed the point and am the world's biggest fool.

or maybe
just maybe
they are
the same
thing.

if (according to the koan) the dog is closer to the true buddha nature than we are because it sleeps when it is tired and eats when it's hungry and barks and pants and deficates when Nature tells it that it is Time To Do So... what is really happening here?

are all of these "quests for enlightenment" really neccesary? could it truly be as simple as just turning off the noisemonsters in own brains and just deciding to Be? is it so hard for people to shut off the gollum that they continue through life never really understanding this? am i just a fool who thinks she knows something that other people don't?

i believe this is satori. if i am wrong, i accept it gladly... but something in there tells me that if i have not hit the mark (if there is one to be hit), i am not far from it.

i mean, if we break it down to taoism in it's simplest form, and from the minimal working knowledge i have on the matter, one becomes the sage when they finally arrive at the level where the questions stop being something to quest over... they're something to be delighted in... something to ponder, but not strive to solve because in time everything solves itself.

isn't it awesome to think that maybe once you arrive at the Ultimate Truth of Matters you might find out that it was really just in your own back yard and you never really lost it to begin with... you were always right where/who you should be and didn't know it? in the end the quest really IS worth it because you wouldn't have believed it was so simple if someone had just tried to tell you?

opinions/corrections/etc are very appreciated, thanks.

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Subject:	AT ONE WITH TAO
Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	12:21 pm.

"Only the soft overcomes the hard,
by yielding, bringing it to peace.
Even where there is no space,
that which has no substance enters in.
Through these things is shown
the value of the natural way.
The wise man understands full well,
that wordless teaching can take place,
and that actions should occur
without the wish for self-advancement."

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Posted by:	mygreatadventur.
Time:	11:23 pm.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 20-year-old female massage school graduate/barista about to make the big move out of my childhood home in Utah all the way to Everett, Washington for six months to face my demons (my fear of change) and make some much-needed personal changes. I created this journal to record "my great adventure" and I'm inviting anyone who's interested in following me on my journey to add me to your friends. Should be fun! :)

Namaste.

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Posted by:	unit00_ayanami.
Time:	2:04 pm.
Mood:	contemplative.

Hey, just joined. I've researched Taoism a bit here and there, and it really does seem to catch me eye. I've always enjoyed my free will, the will to choose a 'path', as opposed to the 'plan' that God has for us (as preached by many Catholics/Christians).

I would like to learn more about it, so if anyone has any good websites to suggest that would be helpful, or even if you have advice to offer yourself.

Thank you~

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Subject:	SAMENESS AND DIFFERENCE
Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	2:07 pm.

On hearing of the Tao,
the wise student's practice is with diligence;
the average student attends to his practice
when his memory reminds him so to do;
and the foolish student laughs.

But we do well to remember
that with no sudden laughter,
there would be no natural way.
Thus it is said,

"There are times when even brightness seems dim;
when progress seems like regression;
when the easy seems most difficult,
and virtue seems empty, inadequate and frail;
times when purity seems sullied;
when even reality seems unreal,
and when a square seems to have corners;
when even great talent is of no avail,
and the highest note cannot be heard;
when the formed seems formless,
and when the way of nature is out of sight".

Even in such times as these,
the natural way still nourishes,
that all things may be fulfilled.

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Subject:	SUFFICIENCY AND QUIETNESS
Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	1:50 pm.

"From the principle which is called the Tao,
the sky, the earth, and creativity are one,
the sky is clear, the earth is firm,
and the spirit of the inner world is full.
When the ruler of the land is whole,
the nation too is strong, alive and well,
and the people have sufficient
to meet their earthly needs.
When the daytime sky is dark
and overcast like night,
the nation and its people
will surely suffer much.
The firmness of the dew filled earth
gives it its life;
the energy of the inner world
prevents its becoming drained of strength;
its fullness prevents it running dry.

The growth of all things
prevents their dying.
The work of the leader should ensure
the prosperity of the populace.
So it is said,
"humility is the root
of great nobility;
the low forms a foundation
for the great;
and princes consider themselves
to be of little worth".
Each depends on humility therefore;
it is of no advantage to have too much success,
so do not sound loudly like jade bells,
nor clatter like stone chimes."

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Posted by:	fuzzypanda89.
Time:	10:05 pm.
Mood:	accomplished.

This is my little introduciton *bows*

I came here because I have never been a follower of a specific "religion" or "philosophy", but rather, have always followed my own spiritual inclinations. I was raised in the Southern part of the USA, and as such, have always been surrounded by Christianity, and have been taught little else. Lately I have become curious about eastern philosophy and religion, and Tao is probably the one I know the least about.

So here is my question, and bear in mind that it's rather generalized to say the least. It is my understanding that Taoism is supposed to be "The Way." The way of the universe, life, everything. For some reason, I can't seem to wrap my western mind around this concept. How does such a simple statement translate into an entire belief system? Is there a better way of explaining the philosophy of Taoism without making my head spin?

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Subject:	CHANGES
Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	3:35 pm.

In retrospect, even those accomplishments
which seemed perfect when accomplished,
may seem imperfect and ill formed,
but this does not mean that such accomplishments
have outlived their usefulness.
That which once seemed full,
may later empty seem,
yet still be unexhausted.
That which once seemed straight
may seem twisted when seen once more;
intelligence can seem stupid,
and eloquence seem awkward;
movement may overcome the cold,
and stillness, heat,
but stillness in movement
is the way of the Tao.

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Subject:	TAKING NO ACTION
Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	11:07 am.

The external world is fragile,
and he who meddles with its natural way,
risks causing damage to himself.

He who tries to grasp it,
thereby loses it.

It is natural for things to change,
sometimes being ahead, sometimes behind.

There are times when even breathing
may be difficult,
whereas its natural state is easy.
Sometimes one is strong,
and sometimes weak,
sometimes healthy,
and sometimes sick,
sometimes is first,
and at other times behind.

The sage does not try
to change the world by force,
for he knows that force results in force.

He avoids extremes and excesses,
and does not become complacent.
****************************************************************************

self:
Be in a state of peace...reach for balance and acceptance
let go of anger and release imagined control
remember the natural state; without chaos.

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Posted by:	alittlegame.
Time:	3:09 pm.

The sage follows the natural way,
doing what is required of him.
Like an experienced tracker,
he leaves no tracks;
like a good speaker, his speech is fluent;
He makes no error, so needs no tally;
like a good door, which needs no lock,
he is open when it is required of him,
and closed at other times;
like a good binding, he is secure,
without the need of borders.
Knowing that virtue may grow from example,
this is the way in which the sage teaches,
abandoning no one who stops to listen.
Thus, from experience of the sage,
all might learn, and so might gain.
There is mutual respect twixt teacher and pupil,
for, without respect, there would be confusion.

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