Rousseau_CHN

Enlightenment? I didn't use that word...I think what I said was Romanticism: the anti-thesis of the Enlightenment and its bias toward education.

Isn't it that Taoism is the anti-thesis of Confucianism and its bias toward education?

(Similar, aren't they? Lest we forget, the Europeans were looking to Confucian China for inspiration during that time.)

Anyway, I feel another poem coming up:



Starlight asked Non-Being: "Master, are you? Or are you not?
Since he received no answer whatever, Starlight set himself to watch for Non-Being. He waited to see if Non-Being would put in an appearance.
He kept his gaze fixed on the deep void, hoping to catch glimpse on Non-Being.
All day long he looked, and he saw nothing. He listened, but heard nothing. He reached out to grasp and grapsed nothing.
The Starlight exclaimed at: "This is IT!"

"This is the furthest yet! Who can reach it?
I can comprehend the absence of being
But who can comprehend the absence of Nothing?
If now, on top of all this, Non-Being IS,
who can comprehend it?"

Rousseau_CHN

"How does the True man of Tao
Walk through walls without obstruction
Stand in fire without being burnt?"

Not because of Understanding
Or Daring
Not because he has learned
But because he has unlearned


So you see, I am nearer Tao than you ever will be. Don't you just hate it.

Rousseau_CHN

O-Phoenix, Phoenix,
Where's your virtue gone?
It cannot reach the future
Or bring the past again!
When the world makes sense
The wise have work to do
They can only hide
When the work is askew.
Today if you can stay alive
Lucky are you:
Try to survive!

Joy is feather light
But who can carry it?
Sorrow falls like a landslide
Who can parry it?

Never, never
Teach virtue more
You walk in danger
Beware! Beware!
Even ferns can cut your feet--
When I walk crazy
I walk right:
But am I man
To imitate?

The tree on the mountain height is its own enemy
The grease that feeds the light devours itself.
The cinnamon tree is edible; so it is cut down!
The lacquer tree is profitable, the maim it.
Ever man knows how useful it is to be useful.

No one seems to know
How useful it is to be useless.

Rousseau_CHN

Sounds like a member of the Green Party than a Taoist.

You're from Malaysia, that explains it. Mahatir probably censored that part about indolence. Man, go ahead...goofed around.

kctan

Not unlearned Rousseau_CHN, regain the flow, as in move back into the Path.

tk

Personally, I don't see any difference between the two...

Even if the Tao is unfathomable, this is definitely not true. The Yijing predates the Daodejing: it was authored by the first king of the Zhou Dynasty (Zhou Wen Wang), who use divination techniques to aid in his overthrowing the Shang Dynasty. The Daodejing on the other hand was written at a time when the Zhou Dynasty was starting to lose its hold on its states. The Bagua was created even earlier, reportedly by the legendary sage emperor Fu Xi.

Apparently, the people who came before Lao Zi had used the yin-yang and bagua theories to study natural phenomena, construct medical theories and ponder on the mystery of the universe. One might say therefore that Lao Zi simply took these theories, and unified them into a more-or-less coherent philosophy.

Seraphim

[B] by tk

In contrast, the Taoist and Buddhist philosophies discourage the conscious pursuit of such goals -- even the goal of attaining enlightenment. The thesis seems to be that enlightenment can only be attained as a by-product of aligning one's actions with Nature. [B]

To Rousseau_CHN

Enlightenment? I didn't use that word...I think what I said was Romanticism: the anti-thesis of the Enlightenment and its bias toward education.

My reply : Rosseau, you didn't use the word "Enlightnment", someone else did (refer to my 1st qoute above).

Isn't it that Taoism is the anti-thesis of Confucianism and its bias toward education?

My reply : I don't see how that is possible.
Toaism is about cultivating ones' energy and being in peace with yourself and nature, Confucianism is about everyday conducts (whether it is individual matters, matters concerning family or state).

In layman's term - Taoism deals with Metaphysical matters while Confucianism deals with more down-to-Earth matters.

Answerer

I'm only interested in the below views.



Just for some clarification, I-ching, five elements are not added later to make Taoism look like an immortality thingy. They existed long before Taoism did and Lao zi, himself, agreed with it and got his ideas of how the universe was formed from it as well. On the other hand, he also emphasis the Yin-Yang principles very often on the explanation of the nature of objects and the surroundings and their relations with our behaviour.



Wu Ji is not nothingness, its the state of motionless and infinite. And Tai ji is often called the 'moving one' rather than the supreme oneness.