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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:45:52 GMT
28 KNOW YOURSELF
Those who know both their masculine side and their feminine become fruitful like the valleys of earth.
Being like the valleys of earth, their vitality will not desert them— they will remain energetic as children.
Those who know both their strengths and their limits become models worth following.
Being worthy models, their vitality will not fail them— they will radiate simplicity.
Radiating simplicity, wise rulers inspire others to follow their path. Such is the making of a great administration.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 28). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:46:41 GMT
29 POWER
Those who try to seize power and remake society will fail. Society is a divine thing that cannot be remade. One who attempts to remake it will only deface it.
Those who grasp for power will lose it. People differ—some lead, others follow; some are passionate, others are reserved; some are strong, others weak; some succeed, others fail.
The wise respect the roles of all, and seek moderation in all things.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 29). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:47:58 GMT
30 FIRM BUT NOT FORCEFUL
When rulers follow the Tao, they have no need for armies to strengthen their country; their country is strong because its government is a blessing to all.
Briars and thorns spring up wherever an army camps. Great wars are followed by bad harvests.
Good rulers are firm, but they dare not take by force. They are firm but not boastful; firm but not haughty; firm but not arrogant; firm but yielding to the unavoidable; firm but not resorting to violence.
When rulers resort to force, things flourish for a time, but then decay. They are going against the Tao, and anything opposed to the Tao will soon die.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 30). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:48:53 GMT
31 AVOID WAR
Among all tools, weapons alone are cursed; all men come to despise them.
Those who follow Tao do not need them. Weapons are not the tools of the wise; only as a last resort do the wise use them.
Peace and tranquility are valued by wise rulers. Even when victorious in battle, they do not rejoice, for they never exalt over the killing of others.
Those rulers who rejoice over killing others will never bring happiness to their people.
The killing of others fills the people with sorrow. We lament with tears because of it, and honor the victors solemnly, as if we were attending a funeral ceremony.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 31). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:49:45 GMT
32 WHERE TO STOP
The eternal Tao is unnamable. In its simplicity it appears insignificant, but the whole world cannot contain it.
If rulers would follow it, their citizens would pay homage. If the people would follow it, they would have no need of rulers.
Earth and sky are made one by it, forming sweet dew drops. When the Tao expresses itself in creation, it becomes visible.
If you follow the Tao, you will understand where to stop. Knowing where to stop, you will be free from danger.
The Tao is like a stream that empties into an ocean.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 32). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:50:23 GMT
33 IMMORTALITY
Those who know others are intelligent; those who understand themselves are enlightened.
Those who can conquer others have force; those who can control themselves are mighty.
Those who dare risk death have courage; but those who death cannot destroy are immortal.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 33). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:51:20 GMT
34 TRUE GREATNESS
The great Tao is everywhere! It is on both the right and the left. All things rely upon it for their existence, and it sustains them.
It draws praise, but is not proud. It lovingly nourishes everything, and is not possessive.
It desires nothing, and so it is considered small. Yet everything returns to it, and so it should be considered great.
The wise do not appear great among others; and so they reveal their true greatness.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 34). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:51:54 GMT
35 SEEK THE TAO
Trifles and dainties attract the passing people, while the Tao goes unnoticed.
When looked at, it is not much to see; when listened for, it can scarcely be heard; but when put into practice, it is inexhaustible.
The world will go to those who seek the Tao; they will find contentment, peace, and rest.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 35). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:52:35 GMT
36 PERSUASION
That which contracts was first expanded; that which weakens was first made strong; that which falls was first raised up; that which scatters was first gathered up.
It is paradoxical but true— the tender outlasts the rigid; the gentle defeats the strong.
Persuasion is better than compulsion. Rulers have nothing to gain through force of arms.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 36). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:53:16 GMT
37 STOP STRIVING
The Tao does nothing, and yet nothing remains undone.
If rulers desire to keep everything in order, they must first order themselves. If rulers would follow the example of Tao, all problems would resolve themselves.
The way of the Tao is simple— stop striving, defeat desire. In the absence of striving, there is peace; in the absence of desire, there is satisfaction.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 37). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:55:22 GMT
38 TRUE VIRTUE
True virtue makes no show of virtue, and therefore it is really virtuous. False virtue never loses sight of itself, and therefore it is no longer virtue.
True virtue does not assert itself, and therefore is unpretentious. False virtue is acting a part, and thereby is only pretense.
When the Tao is lost, there is only virtue; when virtue is lost, there is only generosity; when generosity is lost, there is only justice; when justice is lost, only tradition remains.
Tradition reduces loyalty and good faith to a shadow; it is the beginning of disorder. Tradition is the mere flower of the Tao— apart from its root it withers and dies.
The truly great embody the spirit, not just the external appearance. They bear fruit—not just blossoms. They do not put on a show of virtue— they practice it.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 38). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:57:02 GMT
39 UNITY
Only those who attain unity become what they are meant to be.
The heavens attained unity, and became space. Matter attained unity, and became earth. Spirit attained unity, and became mind. Valleys attained unity, and rivers flowed into them.
All things that attain unity have life. And the highest is that which produces unity. Rulers, as they attain unity, become models of conduct for the people.
If heaven were not space, it would fall; if earth were not solid, it would melt; if spirit were not unified, it would vanish; if valleys were not unified, they would dry up.
Everything, if not for life, would dissipate. Rulers, if they overestimate themselves, will fall. Nobles should find their roots among the commoners, for the high is always founded upon the low.
Great rulers identify with orphans, inferiors, and the unworthy, because they recognize their roots in the lowest of their people.
The wise do not desire to be set aside as precious gems, nor discarded as worthless stones.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 39). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 12:57:33 GMT
40 NONEXISTENCE
The Tao seems nonexistent, but it is the basis of existence.
The universe, the earth, and everything in it comes from existence, but existence comes from nonexistence.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 40). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 12, 2018 13:00:07 GMT
41 STUDENTS
A great student, when he hears of the Tao, earnestly practices it. A good student, when he hears of the Tao, sometimes follows it and sometimes loses it. A typical student, when he hears of the Tao, ridicules it.
Were it not easily ridiculed, it would not be the true Tao.
Those most illumined by the Tao are often the dimmest. Those most advanced in the Tao are often the furthest behind. Those best guided by Tao are the least self-assured.
Those high in virtue resemble lowly valleys; the innocent are more likely to be shamed; the best craftsmen can seem inefficient; the most generousare indistinguishable from the poor.
The greatest square has no corners; the greatest vessel is never filled. The greatest sound has no speech; the greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is obscure and without name, and yet it is precisely this Tao that alone can fulfill and complete.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 41). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by IW on Mar 12, 2018 23:15:10 GMT
I love number 27. I try to live this way. It's one thing to 'work' at something (which is a "form" of goodness) and it's another when it becomes part of you and so you 'do' it instinctively and naturally, just flowing out of you. Hugs for white buffalo
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Post by girlscout on Jun 1, 2018 4:59:57 GMT
Variation on the theme:
Alan Watts, TAO: The Watercourse Way
P 83. ... a true human is not a model of righteousness, a prig, or a prude, but recognizes that some failings are as necessary to genuine human nature as salt to stew. Merely righteous people are impossible to live with because they have no humor, do not allow the true human nature to be, and are dangerously unconscious of their own shadows. Like all legalists and busybodies, they are trying to put the world on a Procrustean bed of linear regulations so that they are unable to make reasonable compromises. In warfare they fight to the death for unconditional surrender, and in the name of righteous principle, will obliterate a territory which they would be better advised simply to capture and enjoy in a selfish, but much less harmful, spirit. It is an essential, then, of political wu-wei that one does not try to enforce laws against human nature and send people to jail for “sins”, or crimes without unwilling victims. Trust in human nature is acceptance of the good-and-bad of it, and it is hard to trust those who do not admit their own weaknesses.
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Post by IW on Jun 2, 2018 5:12:51 GMT
Righteous is a religious term, making someone wrong and someone right. This inherently makes the righteous person wrong, because acting in judgment creates a self judgment fulfillment. Therefore one cannot get away from ones own action, even in the act of thoughts.
I'm not sure how this fits in with the book of Tao? Finding the ability to trust oneself (intuition) is one of the most needed and least found capabilities. It takes responsibility and maturity and dedication.
Most will trust others first blame others first and feel helpless to do anything in self confidence (needing others to bolster them up).
The book of Tao for me is finding a center of being that is separated from the world, from the outside, from the programming.
Take a deep breath and know, know without a question without a doubt, just know. YOU ARE THERE. YOU ARE GLORIOUS. YOU ARE -----
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Post by girlscout on Jun 2, 2018 19:34:29 GMT
I think your evaluation of avoiding “righteousness “ is the same point from the book quote, above,
That there is an intrinsic essence that is separate, as you say, from written laws, unwritten etiquettes, and other programmers,within us.
In my grief and mourning, I fell stripped down to that essence.
It becomes much clearer what to say “no” to, and what to act on.
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Post by girlscout on Jun 4, 2018 16:53:00 GMT
TAO: The Watercourse Way
P 19
At the very roots of Chinese thinking and feeling there lies the principle of polarity, which is not to be confused with the ideas of opposition or conflict. In the metaphors of other cultures, light is at war with darkness, life with death, good with evil, and the positive with the negative, and thus an idealism to cultivate the former and be rid of the latter flourishes throughout much of the world. To the traditional way of Chinese thinking, this is as incomprehensible as an electric current without both positive and negative poles, for polarity is the principle that + and -, north and south, are different aspects of one and the same system, and that the disappearance of either one of them would be the disappearance of the system. ...
P26
The yin-yang principle is not, therefore, what we would ordinarily call dualism, but rather an explicit duality expressing an implicit unity. ...
P 31 The yin-yang view of the world is serenely cyclic. Fortune and misfortune, life and death, whether on a small scale or vast, come and go everlastingly without beginning or end, and the whole system is protected from monotony by the fact that, in just the same way, remembering alternates with forgetting. This is the Good of good-and-bad.
P 43
The principle is that if everything is allowed to go its own way the harmony of the universe will be established, since every process in the world can "do its own thing" only in relation to all others. ... Individuality is inseparable from community. In other words, the order of nature is not a forced order; it is not the result of laws and commandments which beings are compelled to obey by external violence, for in the Taoist view there really is no obdurately external world. My inside arises mutually with my outside, and though the two may differ they cannot be separated. Thus everything's "own way" is the "own way" of the universe, of the Tao. Because of the mutual interdependence of all beings, they will harmonize if left alone and not forced into conformity with some arbitrary, artificial, and abstract notion of order, and this harmony will emerge tzu-jan, of itself, without external compulsion. No organization, in the political and commercial sense of the world, is organic.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:11:31 GMT
I felt I needed to revisit these great teachings. So many of these little wisdoms are found in the books of some of the writers we talk about on this forum..... Just feel contentment, ie have no desire, and you live a life of abundance.... Sooooo simple . 46 CONTENTMENT When a nation follows the Tao, its horses are harnessed to ploughs. When a nation ignores the Tao, its horses are girded for war. There is no sin greater than desire. There is no misfortune greater than discontent. There is no calamity greater than greed. To know the Tao is to know contentment. Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 46). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:12:28 GMT
47 EXPLORE WITHIN
Without going abroad, you can have knowledge of the world.
Without gazing at the stars, you can perceive the heavenly Tao.
The more you wander, the less you know.
The wise explore without traveling, discern without seeing, finish without striving, and arrive at their destination without leaving home.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 47). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:14:24 GMT
48 CLEVERNESS
Those who study in school become clever, while those who practice the Tao become simple.
Again and again, students of the Tao must humble themselves, until they reach the state of non-doing.
Then they will do nothing, yet leave nothing undone.
In ruling a nation, one must not use cleverness. The clever are not fit to command.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 48). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:15:35 GMT
49 UNIVERSALITY
Wise rulers have boundless hearts; for in the hearts of the people, they find their own.
The wise ruler treats the good with goodness; and treats the not-so-good with goodness, too— for goodness is its own reward.
The wise ruler treats the faithful with good faith; the treats the unfaithful with good faith, too— for good faith is its own reward.
Wise rulers are universal— the people are their eyes and ears.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 49). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:17:21 GMT
50 INVULNERABLE
Life is a going forth; death is a returning home.
Out of ten people, three are seeking life, three are seeking death, three are dying. Only one is immortal.
The wise, when they travel, are never attacked by wild beasts; and when coming among soldiers, they do not fear for their lives.
The rhinoceros cannot find a place to horn them, nor the tiger a place to claw them, nor soldiers a place to wound them.
Why? Because the wise are invulnerable.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 50). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:20:21 GMT
51 PROFOUND VIRTUE
The Tao gives life to all things; virtue feeds them; matter shapes them; energy completes them.
This is why all things honor the Tao and esteem virtue. Honor for the Tao and esteem for virtue arise spontaneously. For the Tao gives life to all creatures; and virtue nurses them, raises them, nurtures, matures, and protects them.
The Tao gives life freely, making no claim of ownership.
Virtue forms them but does not force them, raises them but does not rule them.
This is why virtue is profound.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 50 - 51). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:22:11 GMT
52 THE TAO’S LIGHT
When creation began, the Tao became the world’s mother.
When you know your mother, you also know that you are her child.
When you recognize that you are a child, you will stay close to your mother so she can keep you safe.
Those who watch their mouths and guard their actions will be free from trouble to the end of life.
Those who babble and meddle in other’s business cannot escape from trouble, even to the end of life.
To recognize your insignificance is empowering. To show sympathy is strength.
Those who follow the Tao’s light arrive at enlightenment.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 52). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by Hans Schokkenbroek on Mar 20, 2019 10:23:20 GMT
53 THE PLAIN WAY
Even if you lack great learning, still you can walk in the ways of the great Tao.
It is not ignorance, but cleverness that you should fear.
The great Way is very plain, so the proud prefer the bypaths.
When the palace is splendid, the fields are likely to be weedy and the granaries empty.
To wear jewels and silks, to flash your weapons, to eat and drink excessively, to store up wealth and treasure—
this is the way of robbers.
Lao Tzu; Renewal, Ancient; Torode, Sam. Tao Te Ching (p. 53). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
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Post by ML on Mar 21, 2019 0:04:57 GMT
12/24/17 (Hans)
I was only recently drawn to the Tao Te Ching. It is ancient knowledge so maybe this is the right place for it. It has 81 short chapters and rather than putting these wise statements under Triggering Quotes I thought this may be a right place for it.
Here is the first one.
WHAT IS THE TAO?
The Tao that can be understood is not the eternal, cosmic Tao, just as an idea that can be expressed in words is not the infinite idea. And yet this ineffable Tao is the source of all spirit and matter; expressing itself, it is the mother of all created things. Not to desire material things is to know the freedom of spirituality; and to desire them is to suffer the limitations of matter. Yet these two things, matter and spirit, so different in nature, have the same origin. This unity is the mystery of mysteries, and the gateway to spirituality.
Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching (p. 1). Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.
Yes.....
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Post by IW on Mar 22, 2019 3:03:28 GMT
Well... I was brought back to this thread by a few "likes", so I read through the thread. This brought me to almost every post having an elisabeth comment. For some reason it looks like you were hugely triggered by the thread in general. I have had these type of experiences, usually with people who are "Christians" who are extreme in their beliefs or those who are liberal and against any type of morality in general.
There is a sense of great emotional intensity, similar to those who say-- You're going to hell if you don't repent!!! Anyhow we all get triggered sometime, so I'm not dwelling on that.
I would like to say a few things in regards to many of your comments.
Quote_So if "not to desire material things, is to know the freedom of spirituality", then we can never be spiritual and free! What when we desire food, clothing and shelter as our basic wants which are a must to keep going in this VR body, we are by effect of that line never spiritual and mostly suffering? So we all need to become breatharians, live outdoors without clothes or shelter! In a way that was our reality (without the material bodies of course) in the true Paradise unfortunately here in 3D it's equivalent to committing suicide. If I stop my desire for food and water then in a few days the body will decay and stop functioning.
This is a confusion between desire and need. There is no need that needs desiring (if we are connected to Source and are listening). Basic wants are not wants but needs, and there is no connection between spirituality and having needs met or not. Desire in general has to do with greed and wanting what the neighbor has with no concern given to the neighbor.
The other thing that stood out is the hammering of Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer! What exactly is it with the Tao, which is a philosophy, a religion as Buddhism, that is so much worse than the Bible or the Koran? Most of us know that religion in general is about feeding off our energy or about giving up of our will.
The tao much like the bible or the koran, has some worthy things in it. It can be a useful stepping stone to better understanding. Once again we are all at different stages of growth and understanding.
Quote_This should not be titled: Know eternity, rather: KNOW DUALITY!!! To know duality is "enlightenment", to know eternity is being awaken and Home. "Nobility is close to divinity": Sure, aren't aristocrats and royals known as "nobility" when they have nothing of that virtue usually because they have too much attachment to greed. Aren't the ruling classes be they bankers or governing bodies the minions of Lucifer and the AIF? And yes, death is not to be feared because either you get recycled again and again or you finally get to go Home to your real Family.
This is from: Knowing eternity means seeing the big picture; seeing the big-picture is broad-minded; breadth of vision brings nobility; nobility is close to divinity.
This for me is much more about not being a mouse as Myka pointed out, whose only focus is the cheese. If your focus is the physical, then you will be unable to see the "big" picture. This is a lack of understanding and wisdom.
I'm sorry I am unable to comment on all the comments you've made.
There is no wrong way to learn. If the tao is helpful then one has freedom to gain what they need from it. Yes we live in duality, in division. However it was that we came here to this fallen place, whether it was through naivety, or whatever weakness found within-- our job is not to rage against the world and lucifer, but to find balance and growth within it.
I hope I haven't further triggered you, and as usual, best wishes to you and all here.
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Post by IW on Mar 22, 2019 10:30:29 GMT
Well... I was brought back to this thread by a few "likes", so I read through the thread. This brought me to almost every post having an elisabeth comment. For some reason it looks like you were hugely triggered by the thread in general. I have had these type of experiences, usually with people who are "Christians" who are extreme in their beliefs or those who are liberal and against any type of morality in general. There is a sense of great emotional intensity, similar to those who say-- You're going to hell if you don't repent!!! Anyhow we all get triggered sometime, so I'm not dwelling on that. I would like to say a few things in regards to many of your comments. Quote_So if "not to desire material things, is to know the freedom of spirituality", then we can never be spiritual and free! What when we desire food, clothing and shelter as our basic wants which are a must to keep going in this VR body, we are by effect of that line never spiritual and mostly suffering? So we all need to become breatharians, live outdoors without clothes or shelter! In a way that was our reality (without the material bodies of course) in the true Paradise unfortunately here in 3D it's equivalent to committing suicide. If I stop my desire for food and water then in a few days the body will decay and stop functioning.
This is a confusion between desire and need. There is no need that needs desiring (if we are connected to Source and are listening). Basic wants are not wants but needs, and there is no connection between spirituality and having needs met or not. Desire in general has to do with greed and wanting what the neighbor has with no concern given to the neighbor. The other thing that stood out is the hammering of Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer! What exactly is it with the Tao, which is a philosophy, a religion as Buddhism, that is so much worse than the Bible or the Koran? Most of us know that religion in general is about feeding off our energy or about giving up of our will. The tao much like the bible or the koran, has some worthy things in it. It can be a useful stepping stone to better understanding. Once again we are all at different stages of growth and understanding. Quote_This should not be titled: Know eternity, rather: KNOW DUALITY!!! To know duality is "enlightenment", to know eternity is being awaken and Home. "Nobility is close to divinity": Sure, aren't aristocrats and royals known as "nobility" when they have nothing of that virtue usually because they have too much attachment to greed. Aren't the ruling classes be they bankers or governing bodies the minions of Lucifer and the AIF? And yes, death is not to be feared because either you get recycled again and again or you finally get to go Home to your real Family.
This is from: Knowing eternity means seeing the big picture; seeing the big-picture is broad-minded; breadth of vision brings nobility; nobility is close to divinity. This for me is much more about not being a mouse as Myka pointed out, whose only focus is the cheese. If your focus is the physical, then you will be unable to see the "big" picture. This is a lack of understanding and wisdom. I'm sorry I am unable to comment on all the comments you've made. There is no wrong way to learn. If the tao is helpful then one has freedom to gain what they need from it. Yes we live in duality, in division. However it was that we came here to this fallen place, whether it was through naivety, or whatever weakness found within-- our job is not to rage against the world and lucifer, but to find balance and growth within it. I hope I haven't further triggered you, and as usual, best wishes to you and all here. Thank you Irish for your comments. I do appreciate that you took the time to rectify some points, some of them being about semantics and it's all a point of view IMHO and if you are a specialist I bow to your knowledge. I also would like to remark that instead of using the "quotes" I used the much less obvious small print comments by respect to the overall value of the Tao which I don't deny. In a way you seem to have felt triggered yourself by all those comments which partially took some words/sentences and shared my own interpretation. So I guess a personal interpretation of a certain part of any book, be it sacred or not in some minds would be derided. I take note. My last comment under my own last post was that it was food for thought and usually when I feel the writing coming through it's for my own edification. Maybe it would have been better to write those comments on paper in my own workbook so that they would not trigger anyone else... If you so wish you can erase all the comments, you are in charge of the forum as an admin, and no, it won't trigger me. I am not attached to them if you feel they are detrimental to the readers in general and want to do some damage control. I have no objection to their erasing! It's interesting that you think that I was "hugely triggered" and even had "rage" against the world and Lucifer. It could be! I have read somewhere that when you learn even some part of the truth about all the philosophical questions, you get either depressed, angry or even suicidal! So yes, you might be right and a pent up anger has surfaced in some of my comments. No denial there. I have no religion, no political affiliation BTW and what I have learnt is that no writing whatsoever is completely true or false as you know and have mentioned, it's all mixed truth and lies for greater confusion. Still as you say so wisely, and I agree entirely, everyone is at a different stage of comprehension and learning, so every writing has something to offer to a seeker from whatever background he/she comes from. Where did you see that I commented on "the Tao being so much worse than the Bible or the Koran"? it's not written in any comment of mine, I'd like to clarify. When I read the chapters this time, the words appeared with a very different meaning than when I had first read them some years ago. I guess the sum of the knowledge that I have since been privy to, thanks to this forum in particular, is to blame for it. I enjoy reading here a wide variety of interpretations because they all tend to make me reflect and see something I had not previously considered or understood. Maybe what I felt was that a different interpretation than the accepted ones by famous writers and commenters might also help anyone to see the "Way" in or under a different light. It's possible that having and expressing an opinion on a very old venerated text, is indeed a crime of lèse majesté, hahaha, meaning criticism is only for the "specialist savant critics" who know better of course than the lay people, the commoners. If interpretation is only for the trained ones where does critical thinking stand for the rest of us? I guess it is no longer accepted and I hear it is the case in an enormous majority of our world systems of education nowadays even in the USA. In fact some minimal critical thinking could land you in jail in many countries. I thought a forum like this one was for all to express their views freely even if they are annoying to some or many. I guess I was incorrect in my understanding. I apologize for my impudence! If there is such a thing as "politically correct" I didn't expect to find it on a forum about truth seeking. Thanks for enlightening me, Irishwome! With love always. Yes, It's possible that I could have been triggered by seeing your critically posted comment at the bottom of every numbered entry to the tao. Yes I sensed a "This is all garbage, don't read it!" to your words. You are free to comment, as some other very prolific commenters have also been here in the past. Nothing gets censored, although the forum itself limits the amount of words that can be used in the comment section, so as Henrik pointed out, longer comments mean no room for other comments. I don't have any intention of erasing them, as no one here that I know finds censorship necessary. Why do you think you've broken a law by my posting observation? Am I not allowed my own opinions also, to your opinions? Your seeming impudence is shared by myself, so why would I find it necessary to silence you, which to me would feel like silencing myself. Or maybe you were implying that I shouldn't make comments on your comments? As far as enlightening you, that is impossible for me to do. We are only able to enlighten ourselves by our own free will and the effort we put forth into it, no one else can take credit for it IMO. Actually rereading that comment, you must have a bit of sarcasm going on about enlightenment. Each to their own. You are perfectly free to go on hating the tao if that is your choice and focusing on "Lucifer's Creed" or however you have renamed the tao. I'm fine with that if you are!
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