About.com Taoism

The Way To Start A Day

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:30:33 +0000

Tai Situ Rinpoche has some truly lovely advice on how to begin our day -- regardless of spiritual affiliation, or lack thereof.

On a related note, Byrd Baylor's The Way To Start A Day is one of my favorite of children's books. Gorgeous illustrations (by Peter Parnall).

The picture-book genre is one that seems to allow for simplicity, directness, wonder and play; in a greater way than most -- would you agree? Ed Young's Beyond The Great Mountains is another great one (with origins here in Boulder, though its subject-matter is China).

A recent discovery is Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick's There, which begins:

When will I get there?
How will I know?
Will there be a sign that says,
"Here is There"?

The Way To Start A Day originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 10:30:33.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Net Zero

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:40:18 +0000

The Yoga teacher Richard Freeman, who I've had the opportunity to practice with for a number of years now, has a beautiful way of describing the relationship between opposing actions within an asana - how they can be invited and allowed to interpenetrate in a way that is mutually enhancing, instead of canceling each other out.

So for instance, there are inwardly-spiraling and externally-spiraling actions of the legs and arms. In a given asana, one of the two actions might be the primary one, but it's always possible, and desirable, to allow at least a hint of the opposite action, as a kind of tether, or context for the primary action. It's a practice in which we engage in a kind of rewiring of the nervous system - transforming a straight-up reciprocal-innervation sort of response system into one which functions more along the lines of the yin-yang symbol.

Net Zero originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 09:40:18.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Nan Huai-Chin ~ Tao & Longevity

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:44:27 +0000

I've been exploring the work of Nan Huai-Chin -- finding it wonderful, and hoping that much more will in coming years be translated into English. Nan is known for his broad vision, and capacity to speak -- from personal experience -- across a number of contemplative traditions.

What follows are a sampling of passages which highlight the conversation between Taoism and Buddhism, touching on topics such as the eight extraordinary meridians, embryonic breathing, and the relationship between an open meridian system and an enlightened mind.

Nan Huai-Chin ~ Tao & Longevity originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 10:44:27.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Sky Dancer

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:13:49 +0000

~ * ~

Sky Dancer originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 22:13:49.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Words Of The Masters: Empty Boat

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:20:33 +0000

From our friend, Zhuangzi:

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry. But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear. If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing. And all because there is somebody in the boat. Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you ...

~ * ~

"Emptiness" In Taoism & Buddhism

Words Of The Masters: Empty Boat originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 16:20:33.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Authenticity, Authority & Devotion

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:30:39 +0000

Authenticity. Authority. Devotion. What role do these play in spiritual practice? How are they related to each other? How do they contribute to genuine empowerment? To deep realization? Are there a priori "answers" to these questions that might be useful to us, or is it best to tease out some kind of understanding more directly, in the context of our practice?

Emotional Energy: Delicious Paradox

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:58:01 +0000

Practitioners of nondual traditions are sometimes accused of being "unemotional." From what I can see, such imputations tend to be rooted in a confusion that mistakes drama for true feeling. But actually, the more free we become from drama (viz. a siphoning of the energy of naked experience into various egoic narratives, i.e. conceptual mind), the more directly, completely and intensely we're able to experience whatever is arising in our perceptual and cognitive fields -- emotional energy included.

So it's a delicious paradox: the more we let go (of dualistic grasping/rejecting and its attendant constriction of life-force), the more we receive, in terms of an ease-full, relaxed and joyful satisfaction of nondual intimacy with the whole spectrum of emotional energies -- which are allowed then simply to arise and dissolve, arise and dissolve ...

Emotional Energy: Delicious Paradox originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 10:58:01.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Cypress

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:30:49 +0000

Trees figure prominently in the lives of many Taoist practitioners. (Are you one of them?) Along with simply tuning into the energy of trees, when we're out walking among them -- and in this way being nourished by their potent life-force -- there are all kinds of formal practices involving trees.

For instance: we can learn to push stale or toxic energy out through the end of our big toe, directing it to the base - the root system - of a tree. The tree is able to ingest and transform this energy, turning it into nourishment for itself. So it's a win-win situation :)

In terms of the acupuncture meridian system, what's happening here is that we're opening and flushing the Liver meridian (whose jing-well point is at the inner edge of the big toe). The Liver organ-system is in charge of the smooth flow of emotional energy in our bodymind. When Liver energy becomes stagnant, we often feel irritable, frustrated or angry, i.e. like we're stewing in a state of mental/emotional toxicity. So getting Liver-energy to flow again, with the help of our tree-friends, is an excellent thing.

Cypress originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 03:30:49.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

11:11 Sweet Dreams!

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:30:34 +0000

Bon Master Tenzin Wangyal Introducing Dream Yoga Practice

~ * ~

Jade the Abyssinian passed away, early this morning. I buried her with a sprig of dried lavender, one of the orchid stems, and a small photo of Machig Labdron. Travel safely, my beautiful friend ...

Stars burn clear
all night till dawn.

Do that yourself, and a spring
will rise in the dark with water
your deepest thirst is for.

- rumi

11:11 Sweet Dreams! originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 03:30:34.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Ming Men, Yuan Qi & The Kidneys

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:40:09 +0000

While the meridian and dantian systems are used by qigong and chinese medicine to define the basic geography of the subtle body, there's also a whole language of different-kinds-of-qi used to speak of various processes within this energetic terrain. One of these forms of qi is called Yuan Qi or Original Qi.

Yuan Qi is stored in an energetic center called Ming Men, which is located between the kidneys, at the level of the second lumbar vertebrae. (If you draw a line from your navel directly back to the spine, this will be the approximate level of Ming Men.) The relationship between the Kidney organ-system and Ming Men is said to be defined by the relationship between the elements of Water and Fire.

The following passage -- drawn from Larre, Schatz & Rochat de al Vallee's Survey Of Traditional Chinese Medicine -- explores the connections between Yuan Qi, the Kidneys and Ming Men, and also how Jing (one of the Three Treasures) fits into the picture:

Ming Men, Yuan Qi & The Kidneys originally appeared on About.com Taoism on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 12:40:09.

Permalink | Comment | Email this