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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Taoism

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  #1  
Old 28-05-2011, 01:17 AM
lotusflower
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interested in Taoism

Hi everyone!Im new to the forum.I have been seeking a spiritual path for so long with no luck.I am really interested in Taoism.Can anyone become a taoist?Any suggested reading anyone would recommend?
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  #2  
Old 28-05-2011, 12:14 PM
Prokopton
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Yes anyone can be a Taoist, whether you are a member of another religion or not, as far as Taoists themselves are concerned.

Suggested reading on Taoism:

Intro to the Philosophy
Any translation of Tao Te Ching, everyone has their favourite, mine is R. L. Wing

There are numerous other Taoist texts available in translation now, but TTC is still the most important.

Intro to the History
Taoism by Eva Wong

Alternatively/additionally there are plenty of others such as Isabelle Robinet and Martin Palmer... I like Wong because she is a strong Taoist practitioner herself. Her book shows the breadth of Taoist practice as well.

Taoism is very very broad indeed. You have the philosophy but you also have a spiritual system with shamanic roots.

You can 'be a Taoist' and practice any forms of meditation, but there is specifically Taoist energy work out there which is excellent, for example:

Healing Light of the Tao -- Chia
Relaxing into your Being -- Frantzis

... and that stuff is very fundamental to the way I work myself. Many of these practices are only recently available to the public thanks to the Ch'i Kung revolution in China. They include so-called 'inner alchemy' practices which is a powerful energy work that combines well with other forms. In my own way of working I combine those types of things with other energy work and meditation skills.

There is also religious Taoism, as you can read in Wong, much practiced still in China and Taiwan. It is a polytheistic system and includes human immortals.

Ask me anything you like. :)
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  #3  
Old 28-05-2011, 05:02 PM
lotusflower
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Thank you very much for the information. I just went out and got a book by Eva wong.Cant wait to start reading.I will also look into other books
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  #4  
Old 28-05-2011, 05:27 PM
Prokopton
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You're welcome!

The wikipedia page is pretty good. There's also a cute BBC page.

For guys like Mantak Chia if you search you can find a lot on YouTube and elsewhere for example.

Michael Winn is teaching some similar stuff and explains it on that page, although I prefer the Mantak stuff.

Anyone can call themselves a Taoist really (you'll discover from Wong that there is no concept of orthodoxy/heresy in Taoism) but that means you should be careful whom you listen to!

Enjoy.
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  #5  
Old 29-05-2011, 04:52 AM
TzuJanLi
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Greetings..

I also recommend versions of 'Tao Te Ching' by Red Pine and by Jane English and Gia Fong..

Eva Wong's work is well done though sometimes academic beyond useful, and.. her affiliation with the Taoist Tai Chi Sociey is questionable..

Alan Watts is an excellent bridge between eastern and western understanding, without doing dis-service to either.. One of his earlier works, 'Behold the Spirit', is an adventure celebrating his recent PhD, and exploring his command of language..

The 'I Ching', Book of Changes, is a brilliant study of human nature when read start to finish, rather than as a tool for divination as it is purported to be.. the 'divination' simply describes human nature and the inquirer applies the 'reading' to their inquiry intuitively.. i have read 5 translations completely, and reference several others in various passages.. a truly profound work.

i am fond of the era preceding Taoists and Taoism, of the writings and stories that built what is known as the Philosophy Of Tao..

Be well..
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  #6  
Old 01-06-2011, 03:06 PM
Mystique Enigma Mystique Enigma is offline
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The first thing one is supposed to learn about Taoism is .... What can be written and spoken about is not Taoism. Seems very few learned that when they go buy books to read and know more about Taoism .....
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  #7  
Old 01-06-2011, 04:55 PM
Prokopton
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystique Enigma
What can be written and spoken about is not Taoism

Of course Taoism can be written and spoken about. That the Tao which is written and spoken about is not the actual eternal Tao, only a symbolization of it, is of course Lao-Tzu's first point, but that's a completely different thing from Taoism.

All the history and culture of Taoism not only can be written about, but should and has been, and numerous Taoists have also written about the nature of Tao and Tao practices, building up what is known as the Tao Canon of scrolls and books. Even Lao-Tzu, who was so seminal in the Taoist tradition and began by saying eternal or true Tao couldn't be spoken of, then went on to write a further eighty chapters about the way of making use of Tao.

Last edited by Prokopton : 01-06-2011 at 09:20 PM.
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  #8  
Old 06-07-2011, 03:01 PM
avenger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystique Enigma
The first thing one is supposed to learn about Taoism is .... What can be written and spoken about is not Taoism. Seems very few learned that when they go buy books to read and know more about Taoism .....

Haha. You're reading the first chapter of the Daodejing with the same literalism that Jews and Christians read Genesis 1.

The Chinese don't operate on that same hermeneutic. Read and reread, my friend.

We have to be careful not to whitewash another culture's spiritual system into eclectic universalism based on a single verse in a single book. This is not wise. The Daodejing is not the "holiest of holies" like the Bible, nor is it the only source for Taoist belief and practice in China. Taoism, in the broadest sense, can and has to be effable.
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  #9  
Old 06-07-2011, 03:23 PM
TzuJanLi
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Greetings..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystique Enigma
The first thing one is supposed to learn about Taoism is .... What can be written and spoken about is not Taoism. Seems very few learned that when they go buy books to read and know more about Taoism .....
Those words are a reminder that the 'words' are not that which they describe, in the same way that the 'menu is not the meal'.. words point to experiences, and to understand Tao is to experience it.. yes, reading is an experience, and some reading inspires realization of what is inherently 'known', still though.. that realization translates into the experience of Living.. and, Life reveals Tao..

Be well..
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  #10  
Old 03-08-2011, 04:46 PM
Mystique Enigma Mystique Enigma is offline
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........... :)
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