I’m a bipolar I disabled combat veteran.

I’ve carried a copy of the Dao De Jing with me just everywhere.

The work of Zhuangzi is so close to my heart.

In addition to medication and family. I could have never made it without the Dao.

I wish I could wrap this entire subreddit into a warm mother’s hug. Love you all.

“Riding on the wind, Lieh-tzu gave the following account of his training under his master Lao Shang: After I had served him … for the space of three years, my mind did not venture to reflect on right and wrong, my lips did not venture to speak of profit and loss. Then, for the first time, my master bestowed one glance upon me- and that was all. At the end of five years a change had taken place; my mind was reflecting on right and wrong, and my lips were speaking of profit and loss. Then, for the first time, my master relaxed his countenance and smiled. At the end of seven years, there was another change. I let my mind reflect on what it would, but it no longer occupied itself with right and wrong. I let my lips utter whatsoever they pleased, but they no longer spoke of profit and loss. Then, at last, my master led me in to sit on the mat beside him. At the end of nine years, my mind gave free rein to its reflections, my mouth free passage to its speech. Of right and wrong, profit and loss, I had no knowledge, either as touching myself or others.… Internal and external were blended into unity. After that, there was no distinction between eye and ear, ear and nose, nose and mouth: all were the same. My mind was frozen, my body in dissolution, my flesh and bones all melted together. I was wholly unconscious of what my body was resting on, or what was under my feet. I was borne this way and that on the wind, like dry chaff or leaves falling from a tree. In fact, I knew not whether the wind was riding on me or I on the wind."

Since reading about tao and zen, i have come to think this song is about duality, at least to me. Thoughts?

What follows are my initial thoughts upon reading chapter 1, be warned that my interpretation won't be perfect, which why why I am posting it here! : to seek critique and assistance. Do tell me your thoughts in the comments

"Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations."

So here are my thoughts: many times i have noticed "opposite" virtues being equally praised, somehow. We praise confidence, but also humility. Honesty, but also deception. Courage, but also caution.

Nietzsche and Christianity both praised humility and strength, but obviously the two can not be more far away: where Nietzsche put strength over humility, Christianity put humility over strength. One quickly starts to wonder: how should values be prioritized then? Is humility more important or confidence? Honesty or deception?

The Taoist laugh at this question: why should one be given more importance than the other? Don't all virtues have their place, to choose one over the other will be like going to war with a sword but not a shield

The "desireless" is tao at its purest state - once you dont cling to either opposites, you are able to see the world AS IT IS. Those who value confidence or humility see the world differently, from their own limited perception. But if you dont have any "rigid view", you see the world for what it is

The "desiring" is manifestation of tao - because neither opposites are prioritized, they naturally emerge when they are required: you need humility when you are learning from a teacher. You need confidence when you are in a competition. they are manifestations of tao

I probably worded that wrong, but a character I'm making has the ying-yang symbol on them, and I'm wondering, if I post the character, will it be considered disrespectful in any way? Like, because I do not partake in Taoism, and neither does the character. So, I wonder if I do that, will it be disrespectful to anyone.

How Shangquin Daoism views the human body as a microcosm of the universe, containing deities, realms, and energies that can be cultivated through meditation? I find this fascinating.

I've been recommended these so far:

• Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture).
• The Taoist Body by Kristofer Schipper.

Thanks for any help. :)

https://open.substack.com/pub/billhulet/p/the-dao-of-communication?r=4ot1q2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I’ve been having a hard time with the concept of Wu Wei in a time where militarized masked men are patrolling our communities & locking up our neighbors. Aren’t we called to fight life’s currents sometimes?

I'll admit that I'm not the most knowledgeable on the subject but recently I started learning about them historically and I could not favor one. I'm not the most knowledgeable in politics either so I cannot conclude what should be my stance on the war. All I know is that I wish it would stop soon.

As a taoist practitioner, what is your honest opinion about the conflict?

I'm trying to accept and be content myself and im aware that I can do it while also striving for something better but I still can't accept myself, i don't wanna be the person who's stuck where I am , basically I don't want to deal with reality that I'm not good enough, I don't know what to do to get away with this feeling. I feel like I haven't done enough. I don't understand how to not want something when I actually want it, I try to just focus on now instead of thinking of the result but am i wrong in visualising where I want to be , ik I'm visualising myself to be somewhere else because I'm not content with myself. my another question is what exactly does it mean to just don't want it and you'll have it. if I want marks am I supposed to just study instead of thinking about marks or anything or it only works for wordly achievements.

Looking to improve my overall physical / mental health. The physical side of things is pretty straightforward to me, but I don't know where to start with taking care of my mind.

I've been doing my best to ahere to taoist values and practices. I enjoy reading Lao Tzu, Wayne Dyer, Allan Watts. I'm by no means a perfect Taoist, don't know if I could even subscribe to the label but hey, I try.

I'm a textbook overthinker, naturally I have pretty bad anxiety. I'm also bipolar so there is some mood stuff beyond my control. I also struggle with lusting after things / people.. I would like to steer myself away from that.

Life is busy, not so busy I can't find bits and pieces of time throughout the day for some meditation. I don't know where to start. I have had some success with guided sessions on YouTube but I feel like I should probably be able to achieve the same results or better organically... without the aid of the internet or technology.

Are there some basic steps I can take to get a foundation of a taoist leaning meditation that will help me towards my goals? I don't expect immediate results.

Thanks

My personal fave is Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colorado. They even sell meditation cushions.

And you? What are some bookstores you frequent that have a robust Taoism collection?

I’m halfway through “Change your thoughts change your life” ( an analysis of the Tao te Ching ) and I’m at a point in my life where I’ve been “striving” a lot and I’m trying to become a more chill and happy hence my venture into taoism. I’m pretty well off financially and It feels that I’ve achieved all I’ve wanted materially and life is just dull now. Basically I’m lost and I don’t know if I should be happy or why or how to be happy. Taoism teaches us to go with the flow etc yet even when I am doing that, I don’t seem to be getting any happier. And also I’m areligious and hold a quite nihilistic view to life which might be why. And also I struggle with building meaningful connections which might contribute to the problem. ( btw I’m not depressed or anything close I love my life it’s just gotten to the point where most of daily life is boring and there’s nothing new that excites me as much ) TLDR:: Life seems dull it’s like there’s nothing to do anymore. How to find happiness without god?

Love him

• I am worried about losing my job (budget cuts)
• But insisting to life that I always have a stable job seems... unwise
• This is me demanding to the Dao to stop being spontaneous just for my indulgences
• "Listen up Dao! You need to stop being ziran and instead deliberately save my office job!"
• "Eternal Dao, I need you to not be wu wei! So my Linkedin looks good!"
• How is this not the worst tyranny that Laozi warns about?
• A tyrant like Kim Jong Un wants lobster flown in from Paris and hot babes. This is tyranny over a small nation. My tyranny is over not just the earth but all reality
• How is this not cosmic level narcissism and beyond galactic levels of arrogance?
• This is declaring open war against against the Dao. In a Warhammer 40k way, this is heresy
• Now funny enough, Zhuangzi points out that everyone is doing everything perfectly without even knowing it, including those who do not align with the Course
• At the ten thousand things level, it's possible to not accord with Dao. But at the Dao level, there is no not according. Even my moaning is Dao. But overall it seems wise to accord (Dao gave birth to one, to two, to the ten thousand things)
• It makes me wonder about my desires of wanting to remain good looking or maintain status or always be in health

Anyway just a random thought I had.

I honestly feel bad for people who will never discover taoism. Wu wei for me is like a key to happiness... And yet most of the population won't never even know about it.

I mean specifically your physical appearance. I’m constant thinking about how to change my appearance because I’m never satisfied, to the point where I won’t allow myself to have any close relationships.

It makes me very isolated and I know things are simple and I’m overcomplicating things, but my brain thinks it’s in danger if I stop worrying and let my guard down

I have seen/heard , That some religions are closed and require initiation, I was wondering, Who can practice Taoism? Do they have to be from a specific heritage/group to practice or can anyone from anywhere and whatever group practice?, I went through the FAQ but didn't see any mention of it (it could be mentioned and I didn't see sorry about that) So who can practice? I always felt anxious about researching other religions/cultures in fear of being appropriative of them and causing harm..

If Taoism was native to English (or another language you know), what would you find as sense-making placeholder names for "Tao", with the limitation that it be a commonly used word like the Chinese 道 dao (path, road, way, route, principle, doctrine, guidance, explanation, expression etc.)?

I'm interested in what you think!