Daoism

[Mick]

I tried to post this in the Philosophy and History Forum, but it wouldn't take, so I'll put it here.

 

I have long been a fan of Daoist philosophy in general and its applications to health and vitality in particular. I have studied and practiced qigong since 1980 and went into some depth with the practice while living in China. I have benefited greatly from this.

 

I was just wondering: What do you folks think of Daoist thought? Are you or your partner practitioners of qigong, Taiji, or meditation? Or, anything else you might want to say....

[Don]

I tried to post this in the Philosophy and History Forum, but it wouldn't take, so I'll put it here.

 

I have long been a fan of Daoist philosophy in general and its applications to health and vitality in particular. I have studied and practiced qigong since 1980 and went into some depth with the practice while living in China. I have benefited greatly from this.

 

I was just wondering: What do you folks think of Daoist thought? Are you or your partner practitioners of qigong, Taiji, or meditation? Or, anything else you might want to say....

 

I like and have studied Daoism. The last book i read is Alan Watts book on Dao.

 

My wife is teaching me more about qigong and Taichi. She studied the Yang style and soon i will know more. I studied Yoga and we are doing both together now. Still many things to get setup now that she is here, but we have started some time for Qigong and taichi.

 

don

[tonado]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

 

You mean Taoism.

[Joanne]

I tried to post this in the Philosophy and History Forum, but it wouldn't take, so I'll put it here.

 

I have long been a fan of Daoist philosophy in general and its applications to health and vitality in particular. I have studied and practiced qigong since 1980 and went into some depth with the practice while living in China. I have benefited greatly from this.

 

I was just wondering: What do you folks think of Daoist thought? Are you or your partner practitioners of qigong, Taiji, or meditation? Or, anything else you might want to say....

 

I think David will come along move this thread back to where you wanted it to be.

 

My mother practiced qigong for a while. The outcome scared me and herself away from it. With qigong, one got to be very careful. Don't ×ß»ðÈëħ¡£

[Mick]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

 

You mean Taoism.

"Taoism" is the Romanized translation under the old Wade-Giles system of transliteration. Pinyin is "Daoism."

[izus]

My mother practiced qigong for a while. The outcome scared me and herself away from it. With qigong, one got to be very careful. Don't ×ß»ðÈëħ¡£

 

in what way Joanne?

[Joanne]

My mother practiced qigong for a while. The outcome scared me and herself away from it. With qigong, one got to be very careful. Don't ×ß»ðÈëħ¡£

 

in what way Joanne?

 

One day while she was practicing, she collapsed and could not control herself.

[tonado]

My mother practiced qigong for a while. The outcome scared me and herself away from it. With qigong, one got to be very careful. Don't ×ß»ðÈëħ¡£

 

in what way Joanne?

 

One day while she was practicing, she collapsed and could not control herself.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong

 

"Lee and Kleinman both claim to have had experience with patients suffering from the condition.[citation needed] "Many kinds of qigong share certain similarities, such as the attainment of a trance state, patterned bodily posture or movement¡­, the practice of which could induce mental illnesses in some of its practitioners." "

[Mick]

My mother practiced qigong for a while. The outcome scared me and herself away from it. With qigong, one got to be very careful. Don't ×ß»ðÈëħ¡£

 

in what way Joanne?

 

One day while she was practicing, she collapsed and could not control herself.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong

 

"Lee and Kleinman both claim to have had experience with patients suffering from the condition.[citation needed] "Many kinds of qigong share certain similarities, such as the attainment of a trance state, patterned bodily posture or movement¡­, the practice of which could induce mental illnesses in some of its practitioners." "

Wow! Maybe that's what's wrong with me!

[david_dawei]

of all the asian philosophies, daoism makes the most sense to me since it is by it's very 'nature' grounded in the natural.

 

I think it's influence is under-appreciated and not well understood but it probably developed out of a natural way of living prior to becoming a organized philosophy of thought or religion. Certainly issues like Feng Shui, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Gigong predate the philosophical start, yet are part of the daoist tradition.

 

I find Gigong somewhat fascinating, although my wife steers clear of it which is probably most due to the association with Falun Gong (at once embraced by the chinese government and then outlawed). Many I ask about Gigong know the older martial art associations and not the medical based ones, which I think if properly practiced they are beneficial; I've read of fantastic cures being performed as well...

 

I have learned some Taiji yang style with an emphasis on controlling one's breathing and to influence qi... someone taught me how to 'move the qi' in the body while at rest and I've done this and was told I don't want to move it to my head.. of course, that left too much curiousity and so I had to see 'why'... I had a headache for three days and never did that again.

 

A chinese guy we live with knows gigong/taiji styles of martial arts.. when I asked him about controlling the breathing he said [paraphrasing] 'why control something you do naturally... if I try to control it the enemy will hear that I am trying to control it.. breathing is natural; do it naturally'.. this was clearly a more daoist influence approach.

[Robert S.]

My wife practices Taoist thought in that every time I try to make a point of some kind she undermines it like the river water going under a rock.

[Don]

of all the asian philosophies, daoism makes the most sense to me since it is by it's very 'nature' grounded in the natural.

 

I think it's influence is under-appreciated and not well understood but it probably developed out of a natural way of living prior to becoming a organized philosophy of thought or religion. Certainly issues like Feng Shui, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Gigong predate the philosophical start, yet are part of the daoist tradition.

 

I find Gigong somewhat fascinating, although my wife steers clear of it which is probably most due to the association with Falun Gong (at once embraced by the chinese government and then outlawed). Many I ask about Gigong know the older martial art associations and not the medical based ones, which I think if properly practiced they are beneficial; I've read of fantastic cures being performed as well...

 

I have learned some Taiji yang style with an emphasis on controlling one's breathing and to influence qi... someone taught me how to 'move the qi' in the body while at rest and I've done this and was told I don't want to move it to my head.. of course, that left too much curiousity and so I had to see 'why'... I had a headache for three days and never did that again.

 

A chinese guy we live with knows gigong/taiji styles of martial arts.. when I asked him about controlling the breathing he said [paraphrasing] 'why control something you do naturally... if I try to control it the enemy will hear that I am trying to control it.. breathing is natural; do it naturally'.. this was clearly a more daoist influence approach.

 

 

 

If we try to trace it evolution, I think Zen is direct descendant of the Daoist/Buddhist tradition.

 

I too once allowed too much chi to build in my head and did not cycle it. I did not sleep for two days, but other than that I had no ill effects.

[Mick]

I first began studying Daoism in the early '70's, along with Zen, which incorporated a number of Daoist teachings into its base philosophy. I think one of the first things that attracted me to the system of thought was the notion of entering a space beyond conceptual thinking. I have always been interested in eastern thought in general. In Zen, one often encounters the idea of achieving 'Pure Mind', or what I have come to call "Immaculate Perception." I think the idea is trying to get quiet enough to enter what is best described as the "space between thoughts." The idea is that, just as it is the silent spaces in music that makes a composition great, it is the silent spaces between thoughts that reveal life as it "really is" as opposed to how we think it is.

 

Have also studied several of the more contemporary Christian mystics that have tried to blend eastern thought with their faith, most notably Thomas Merton. Merton died tragically in Thailand in 1968 when an electric fan fell into his bathtub. Merton's thought is especially intriguing and it is rumored that he was on the verge of converting to Zen before his death.

 

As for qigong, I began practicing with two Chinese teachers in Miami in the early '80's. I have found qigong to be quite safe, although I have heard of the phenomenon called "Qigong Psychosis," which is actually an official diagnosis in the DSM IV. Of course, I am pretty well psychotic to begin with, so I wouldn't know qigong psychosis if I had it. That is, unless I could find the space between my psychotic thoughts.....then maybe I would be an enlightened psychotic.

 

I have benefited greatly from both qigong and Taiji and would recommend them to anyone. Li does not steer clear of qigong. She does not practice as regular as I do, but has no great fear of it, either.

 

Sorry I sort of dropped out of the thread for awhile. I am on a lot of deadlines for both the paper and two magazines due to holiday submissions. Love to hear some more from you folks....

[david_dawei]

of all the asian philosophies, daoism makes the most sense to me since it is by it's very 'nature' grounded in the natural.

 

I think it's influence is under-appreciated and not well understood but it probably developed out of a natural way of living prior to becoming a organized philosophy of thought or religion. Certainly issues like Feng Shui, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Gigong predate the philosophical start, yet are part of the daoist tradition.

 

I find Gigong somewhat fascinating, although my wife steers clear of it which is probably most due to the association with Falun Gong (at once embraced by the chinese government and then outlawed). Many I ask about Gigong know the older martial art associations and not the medical based ones, which I think if properly practiced they are beneficial; I've read of fantastic cures being performed as well...

 

I have learned some Taiji yang style with an emphasis on controlling one's breathing and to influence qi... someone taught me how to 'move the qi' in the body while at rest and I've done this and was told I don't want to move it to my head.. of course, that left too much curiousity and so I had to see 'why'... I had a headache for three days and never did that again.

 

A chinese guy we live with knows gigong/taiji styles of martial arts.. when I asked him about controlling the breathing he said [paraphrasing] 'why control something you do naturally... if I try to control it the enemy will hear that I am trying to control it.. breathing is natural; do it naturally'.. this was clearly a more daoist influence approach.

 

 

 

If we try to trace it evolution, I think Zen is direct descendant of the Daoist/Buddhist tradition.

 

I too once allowed too much chi to build in my head and did not cycle it. I did not sleep for two days, but other than that I had no ill effects.

There are the "Lost years of Lao Zi" (very similar to the lost years of christ in india), whereby he taught dao in India.. which transformed into zen. It's all speculative but the comparisons between the two are so similar as to warrant some admiration.

[david_dawei]

I first began studying Daoism in the early '70's, along with Zen, which incorporated a number of Daoist teachings into its base philosophy. I think one of the first things that attracted me to the system of thought was the notion of entering a space beyond conceptual thinking. I have always been interested in eastern thought in general. In Zen, one often encounters the idea of achieving 'Pure Mind', or what I have come to call "Immaculate Perception." I think the idea is trying to get quiet enough to enter what is best described as the "space between thoughts." The idea is that, just as it is the silent spaces in music that makes a composition great, it is the silent spaces between thoughts that reveal life as it "really is" as opposed to how we think it is.

 

Have also studied several of the more contemporary Christian mystics that have tried to blend eastern thought with their faith, most notably Thomas Merton. Merton died tragically in Thailand in 1968 when an electric fan fell into his bathtub. Merton's thought is especially intriguing and it is rumored that he was on the verge of converting to Zen before his death.

 

As for qigong, I began practicing with two Chinese teachers in Miami in the early '80's. I have found qigong to be quite safe, although I have heard of the phenomenon called "Qigong Psychosis," which is actually an official diagnosis in the DSM IV. Of course, I am pretty well psychotic to begin with, so I wouldn't know qigong psychosis if I had it. That is, unless I could find the space between my psychotic thoughts.....then maybe I would be an enlightened psychotic.

 

I have benefited greatly from both qigong and Taiji and would recommend them to anyone. Li does not steer clear of qigong. She does not practice as regular as I do, but has no great fear of it, either.

 

Sorry I sort of dropped out of the thread for awhile. I am on a lot of deadlines for both the paper and two magazines due to holiday submissions. Love to hear some more from you folks....

Our 'paths' are very similar.... I often let dao and zen mix in my head without differentiation; and read quite a bit on Merton...

 

Please let me know of the Miami contacts if they still exist !!