Practical Taoism (2) | ||
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Insights
Tao Te Ching is crammed full of insights. You just need to tease them out and
consider their meaning and
application.
Some are more obvious than others. Many cannot be easily articulated but make
sense nonetheless.
Topics include:
The limitations of words and thoughts
Inclusive
Emptiness
Goodness
Excess
Valuing space
Appearance
Success
Failure
Formless
Character
Leading from behind
Propriety
Conventions
Trust
Being concise
Definitions and their limitations
Control
Ownership
The folly of war
Beyond concepts
Wholeness
Reversal
Implicit
Inherent
Motive
Image
Not interfering
Honour
Loss
Gain
Virtue
Opportunity
Importance
Desire
Appreciation
Seeking
Unlearning
Allowing
Compassion
Conceit
Accord
Relationship
Endurance
Cultivation
Innocence
Purity
Being ordinary
Unobtrusive
Many of the
pages on this website are an exploration of themes found in Tao
Te Ching, Chuang Tzu and I Ching.
Second-hand
Few people ever consider that their most cherished beliefs and
opinions are
simply received knowledge.
You did not come by the information yourself. Somebody told you.
People regard the world according to their
conditioning.
Your education, parents, friends and society have determined how you regard
the world.
What you have learned about the world is largely second-hand.
Taoism
Taoism is scientific; it is not a belief-system. Reality exists whether you
believe in it or not.
Tangible factual substance lies at the root of Taoism.
If you cannot touch it or observe it, you do not waste time speculating
about it.
Be open to what is happening around you and learn to appreciate the
underlying principles involved.
This is how Tao pertains to tai chi.
Masters
You should be vary wary of Taoist instructors, masters and
gurus.
Although you may not be skilled enough to assess the value of their
knowledge, you must treat everything they say with caution.
Take the information, then explore what they have said.
This way, you can understand it for yourself.
The role of an instructor must be to point the way. Do not ask them to
hold
your hand as well.
Study
If you fail to read about Tao and simply focus on the
martial art, you will
miss everything.
Tai chi is not limited to the forms,
movements or
applications.
Your tai chi development is unequivocally tied to your understanding of
Tao.
When you can see how and why you are getting somewhere.
Eastern ways
The culture in which tai chi evolved was foreign to our own.
They had very different approaches to living.
To understand tai chi, you must see what the
Taoists saw.
Teaching method
Some relief agencies supply food to the starving people in Africa.
Other agencies teach the African villagers to grow their own crops, to work
with the land and the seasons, to cooperate with nature and each other.
They teach foundation skills that enable the villagers to live unaided.
Sifu Waller teaches the second way. If you want a hand-out, we could give it to you but you would never
understand the
system...
Students who research, explore, experiment and read are the ones who will
understand.
A journey
The syllabus is ultimately about finding your own
way.
At some point in your training you will begin to experience immense
surges
of inspiration.
These will lead down unexpected paths of study.
Worth reading
•
The Tao/Dao
•
Taoism/daoism
•
The
Way and Its Power
•
The Way
•
The Vinegar Tasters
Proper lightness springs from the root
of heaviness.
Proper action springs from the root of stillness.
If a traveller can remain calm and peaceful throughout the ordeals of an arduous
journey,
Then how much more is required of a leader in the heat of a crisis?
Without heaviness, lightness is frivolous.
Without stillness, action is impetuous.
(Lao Tzu)
Page created
18 April 2005
Last updated
16 June 2023
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