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Taoism and good deedsFrom: wanderingoak
Subject: General
Date/Time 2006-09-06 10:26:16
Remote IP: 167.202.196.72
MessageHi Plato,
Do you mean that 'good deeds' have nothing to do with REAL taoism? Sorry to disagree...
As much as I dislike the 'moral majority', I do feel that benevolence should be the core of Taoist practice. It is something that I have been struggling with for years, but there is no alternative I feel.
The problem of 'being good' to me is that it is rather boring. Being 'bad' is much more exciting, especially when sex is concerned. However, I also feel myself slipping in my practice then. Practicing the 'Inner Smile' simply cannot go together with filling the mind with images of rape...
Maybe this is something Michael Winn was hinting at in his 5th love: "I love untying the knot of the core mystery entangling human sexuality and spiritual development."
To me the Taoist appreciation for sex and the material world does not mean approval of how thinga are. Taoists have discovered opportunities in 'this world' that other religions have ignored, but in a way we still have to choose between heaven and hell...
So I think that whether you are Christian, Buddhist or Taoist makes not such a difference after all: the basic struggle is the ethical question, there is no escaping it (unfortunately).
The book "Zen at War" gave me a good insight into what can happen if there is intense practice, but benevolence is ignored. Then such peculiar notions arise like D.T. Suzuki's "the sword itself that does the killing". Yeah, right...
"May the Force be with you",
Wandering Oak
Zen at War
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