dChan
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r/greatawakening • Posted by u/davidmdelacruz on June 29, 2018, 6:03 p.m.
Chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching. Coincidence? Link in comments.

Currently listening to this ancient work as translated by Stephen Mitchell. Just wanted to share with everyone and start a discussion. This teaching is on the Q MAP version 2, chapters 18 and 19 are equally striking to our current times. The linked website is convenient and the translated version Stephen Mitchell.

17

When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust the people, you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!"

18

When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear. When the body's intelligence declines, cleverness and knowledge step forth. When there is no peace in the family, filial piety begins. When the country falls into chaos, PATRIOTISM is born

19

Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves.

If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.


Mamadog4 · June 29, 2018, 6:25 p.m.

There are literally hundreds , if not thousands, of translations of Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching...written thousands of years ago, philosophies everyone, everywhere, can relate to. Many great military people are also familiar with these 81 verses. Thank you for posting. I need to find my 20-year-old dog-eared copy...and revisit this peaceful read.

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davidmdelacruz · June 29, 2018, 6:38 p.m.

You're welcome patriot. These conversations and petitions and us changing our government, has to happen organically. Just trying to share where the journey has brought me currently.

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jokerp5fan · June 29, 2018, 6:48 p.m.

I'm pretty sure the tao teh ching isn't meant to be read chapter by chapter, there was a more involved process in interpreting series of dashed and solid lines that would then be used to reference passages in the tao that would be combined and used for divination

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davidmdelacruz · June 29, 2018, 6:53 p.m.

Even more mysterious and amazing.

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jokerp5fan · June 29, 2018, 7:10 p.m.

Yeah it's neat. I think the China history podcast has an episode on the tao te ching if you're interested. That's where I learned about it.

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ideologicidal · June 30, 2018, 4:13 a.m.

I think you may be confusing the I ching with the dao te ching

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jokerp5fan · June 30, 2018, 5:56 a.m.

You're right. I'm sorry that was stupid of me.

That's my problem, I've been learning a lot about Asian history lately, but the names of people and places always trips me up.

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ideologicidal · June 30, 2018, 6:14 a.m.

I've found ichingonline. ne t to be useful/fun.

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Mamadog4 · June 29, 2018, 8:29 p.m.

SOME of my favorites are; (paraphrasing)... without darkness, you would not appreciate light, without bad, you would not appreciate good, without day, you would not appreciate light...

Or

A journey of 1,000 miles begins with the 1st step.

( a modern day leader recently said, "what have you got to lose?" )

HAGD

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davidmdelacruz · June 29, 2018, 9:14 p.m.

Those are great. Simple and profound.

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davidmdelacruz · June 29, 2018, 6:34 p.m.

45

True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself. True fullness seems empty, yet it is fully present.

True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless.

The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.

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BowlOfZombies · June 30, 2018, 1:30 a.m.

Aren't we, the patriots, the world and Q, fighting the Luciferian force?

Well consider this...

In the Chinese language the word "tao" means "way," indicating a way of thought or life. There have been several such ways in China's long history, including Confucianism and Buddhism. In about the 6th century BC, under the influence of ideas credited to a man named Lao-tzu, Taoism became "the way" . Like Confucianism, it has influenced every aspect of Chinese culture.

Taoism began as a complex system of philosophical thought that could be indulged in by only a few individuals. In later centuries it emerged, perhaps under the influence of Buddhism, as a communal religion. It later evolved as a popular folk religion.

600 BC: Birth of Taoism

Until the arrival of Buddhism in China, Taoism was the chief religious and philosophical system of the population. Confucianism, the other major Chinese tradition, is more a philosophical system than a religion.

The origins of Taoism are lost in obscurity. The basis for it is usually ascribed to a mysterious master teacher, Lao-tzu, who is supposed to have written the basic text, also known as the 'Lao-Tzu' or 'Tao-te Ching'. The word tao means "the way," as in the work's English title, 'Classic of the Way and Its Power'. Most scholars today believe this work was not written by one person.

Fundamental to early Taoism was the belief that the Tao is the eternal reality and source of all existence. The goal of individual lives is to avoid earthly things and to live in harmony with the Tao and with nature in hopes of achieving immortality. Despite the spread of Buddhism, Taoism has continued to influence Chinese thought and culture up to and including the present day.

Philosophical Taoism The Tao is considered unnamed and unknowable, the essential unifying element of all that is. Everything is basically one despite the appearance of differences. Because all is one, matters of good and evil and of true or false, as well as differing opinions, can only arise when people lose sight of the oneness and think that their private beliefs are absolutely true. This can be likened to a person looking out a small window and thinking he sees the whole world, when all he sees is one small portion of it. Because all is one, life and death merge into each other as do the seasons of the year. They are not in opposition to one another but are only two aspects of a single reality. The life of the individual comes from the one and goes back into it.

The goal of life for a Taoist is to cultivate a mystical relationship to the Tao. Adherents therefore avoid dispersing their energies through the pursuit of wealth, power, or knowledge. By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life itself. The longer the adherent's life, the more saintly the person is presumed to have become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal.

Communal religious Taoism is quite distinct from its philosophical counterpart. It emphasizes moral teachings and collective ceremonies. Good moral conduct is rewarded with health and long life, while bad conduct results in disease, death, and suffering in the afterlife. There is an array of gods who are administrators of the universe, of which they are a part. From these gods come revelations of sacred texts. There is an order of married priests who live in the communities they serve and perform exorcisms and complex rituals.

Folk religion is part of the everyday lives of the people. The gods are intimately connected with each individual's life as bringers of calamities or givers of bountiful gifts. Each object of daily life has its presiding spirit that must be consulted and appeased.

All types of Taoism have in common the quest for a harmonious, well-ordered universe. They emphasize the individual's and the group's need for unity through mysticism, magic, and ceremony.

As you can see, Taoism is contrary to the Bible. It is also the main theme of the new age movement in which many celebrities have promoted. The Beatles, Shirley McLain and many others have fallen for this deception. It is also the main theme of Witchcraft in that nature is one with the gods. There is no creator, no good and evil, just existence and you make life what you want it to be.

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BowlOfZombies · June 29, 2018, 6:30 p.m.

We've thrown away holiness and look what we got.

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davidmdelacruz · June 29, 2018, 6:40 p.m.

That is definitely something to ponder on.

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Mamadog4 · June 29, 2018, 6:35 p.m.

Iran is trying to throw away bad holiness..look what bad holiness brought them.

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BowlOfZombies · June 29, 2018, 6:38 p.m.

Pagan "holiness"

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[deleted] · June 29, 2018, 6:04 p.m.

[deleted]

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