Showing posts with label Lao Tzu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lao Tzu. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Secret of the Golden Flower: Taoism
(Asangoham) The Taoist book that changes everything | The Secret of the Golden Flower
It was written by means of the spirit-writing (fuji) technique, through two groups, in 1688 and 1692 [2]. It addresses the nature of the Tao.
After publication of the translation by Richard Wilhelm, with commentary by Jungian psychologist Carl Jung, it became modernly popularized among Westerners as a Chinese "religious classic."
It is read in psychological circles for analytical and transpersonal psychology considerations of Taoist meditations [3, 4], although it received little attention in the East [1]. More
Ancient Chinese secret
A calming Taoist story
Friday, August 14, 2026
The real meaning of Yin and Yang ☯️
(Flowing Void) What does the ying and yang actually mean? (Taoist philosophy explained)
Yin-Yang is NOT about balance
Yin Yang is much deeper than thought | I Ching, Yin-Yang, trigrams, Chinese philosophy
Today, let’s talk about the I Ching, not as magic, not as fortunetelling, but as one of humanity’s oldest attempts to understand change.
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:23 The idea of change: What and why?
- 00:58 Yin and Yang, symbols and meanings
- 02:51 The Four Stages
- 03:12 The 8 trigrams, with examples
- 06:44 The 64 hexagrams, with examples
- 09:25 Magic? Fortunetelling?
Whether learning Chinese for the first time or simply curious about the hidden stories in characters, this video will make viewers see Chinese in a whole new way.
👉 Remember to like 👍, comment 💬, and subscribe 🔔 for more fun explorations of Chinese characters. #IChing #YinYang #ChineseCulture Support my work via Paypal: paypal.me/JiayiWu83 Or via SUPER THANKS button under the video
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Why Tao Te Ching matters (explained)
The Tao Te Ching explained: The 81 poems that hold everything together
He has decided he has seen enough.
The gatekeeper Yinxi recognizes him. He refuses to let him pass until the old man writes down everything he knows.
So the old man sits down. And in one sitting, he produces 81 short "poems" on bamboo strips in 5,000 characters, no introduction, no conclusion, no table of contents. He hands the bundle to the gatekeeper, climbs back on the buffalo, and disappears into the mountains forever.
That bundle is the Tao Te Ching — the second most translated book in history, behind only the Bible.
Most people treat it like a fortune cookie collection, soft sayings about water and going with the flow, printed on coffee mugs and yoga studio walls.
That interpretation does the book a serious injustice. Lao Tzu was not writing inspirational content for a peaceful audience. He was writing a survival guide for people whose world was burning down around them — and he buried it inside 81 poems that look simple on the surface but operate like a precision instrument underneath.
This video reads the Tao Te Ching the way it was meant to be read: as a two-stage operating system for being human. The first 37 chapters reset our relationship with reality. The next 44 reset our behavior inside it.
Timestamps
- 00:00 - The old man at the gate
- 01:10 - Why this book was written in a burning world
- 02:05 - What Tao, te, and ching actually mean
- 03:00 - The two-stage structure of the 81 chapters
- 03:55 - Chapter 1: Why the Tao cannot be named
- 05:10 - Chapter 8: Water and the nature of real power
- 06:15 - Chapter 11: the philosophy of emptiness
- 07:10 - Wu wei: doing without forcing [non-interference]
- 08:20 - Chapter 33: wisdom vs. intelligence, power vs. strength
- 09:00 - Chapter 17: the leader nobody remembers
- 09:45 - Chapter 64: the thousand-mile warning
- 10:50 - Why the book changes every time we change
- 12:00 - What the Tao Te Ching was really built to do
What's covered in this video
- The legendary story of Lao Tzu, the gatekeeper Yinxi, and the writing of the Tao Te Ching — and why this book was born in one of the most violent eras in Chinese history.
- What the three words of the title actually mean: Tao (The Way), Te (inner power aligned with the Tao), and Ching (sacred text) — and why most people who quote this book have never understood the title.
- Why Lao Tzu opens Chapter 1 by warning that the most important thing in his book cannot be named — and what that does to the categorizing, label-making human mind.
- The water metaphor in Chapter 8: Why real power does not look like power and how the softest substance on earth (water) shapes the hardest over time.
- Chapter 11 and the philosophy of emptiness: Why the hole in the wheel, the space in the pot, and the empty room in the house are the things actually doing the work.
- Wu wei – the most mistranslated concept in the book: Why it does not mean "doing nothing" but rather doing without forcing, acting with the grain of reality instead of against it.
- Chapter 33 and the distinction between intelligence and wisdom, between strength and true power.
- Chapter 17 and Lao Tzu's model of the greatest leader: the one whose people say, "We did this ourselves!"
- Chapter 64 and the real meaning of "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" — and why it is as much a warning as an encouragement.
- Why this book reads differently at age 20 than at 40, differently in success than in crisis — and why that is exactly what it was designed to do.
How this was made: made with AI - sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated. Learn more
- The East Made Simple, 7/14/26; CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Zen: ordering life Taoist way (Lao Tzu)
(Flowing Void) The simple path to put our life in order again | Taoist Wisdom
 |
| Zen Comics (Ioanna Salajan) |
The root of Zen "Buddhism": Taoism is a philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao 道, the way of non-interference, going with the flow.
With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, Tao has been translated as "way," "road," "path," "technique," generally understood as "natural," an enigmatic process of transformation underlying ultimate reality [2, 3].
Where Chinese came from: DNA evidence
 |
| Zen Comics (I. Salajan) |
A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, a deeper appreciation of the Tao (akin to the Vedic concept of Brahman, GOD, or Nature), and a more harmonious existence.
Taoist ethics generally emphasize virtues of effortless action (wu wei), naturalness (ziran), simplicity, and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility. [It seems that most of what Western practitioners is Zen Buddhism is actually rooted in Taoism and Confucianism.] More
 |
| Chinese Buddhism is a blend of three traditions |
The Yellow River Civilization (黃河文明 or Huanghe Valley Civilization): Hwan‐huou Civilization is an ancient [proto-] Chinese civilization that prospered in the middle and lower basin of the Yellow River [1]. Agriculture (particularly millet cultivation) was started in the flood plain of the Yellow River, and before long, through flood control and the irrigation of the Yellow River, cities were developed and political power found reinforcement. One of the "four major civilizations of the ancient world," it is often included in textbooks of East Asian history. But the idea of including only the Yellow River Civilization as one of the four biggest ancient civilizations has become outdated as a result of the discovery of other early cultures in China, such as the Yangtze and Liao civilizations. The area saw the Yangshao and Longshan cultures of the Neolithic era and developed into the bronze ware culture of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. More
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Short Attn Span Theater: strange, DMT🤯
Wait, wait! What are you talking about, Chase Hughes? Why brain won't allow change
WARNING: Basketball Violence
- Asian miracle of futuristic tech from Japan
- Why 100% of scientists agree that DMT experiences and entities are NOT hallucinations 🤯 (Chase Hughes)
- Tokyo or Seoul? #satire #racism #touris #comedy
- Tucker Reacts to Ominous Simpsons Prediction
- Joe Rogan on time travel successful [FBI] assassination of Trump: the weirdest tweet🤯
- Which honey is the most expensive in the world?
- “Black" cities #blackculture #blacktiktok #california #atlanta #houston
- Basketball violence is getting out of hand #corpuschristi
- Sex drugs for men: paid ad 5614 V3B GOLD DateNight EDITED
- Music for the ear damaged? #MarcelloHernandez and Jimmy Fallon the Lollipop Star
- SNAP welfare benefits for obese to buy Coca Cola 🤯
- Cheetos 🤢🤮 What's inside ultra-processed poison junk food?
- Thrive Market organic certified, non-GMO, healthy shopping?
- Karma and Yoriko the fish: Underwater Shinto shrine, Japan: Diver befriends wild fish with kindness (The fish, Yoriko, is a kobudai or Asian sheephead wrasse)
- Ancient Egyptians more advanced than us today: They moved 1,000 metric ton stone
- Nominal democracy at home, ruthless imperialism abroad: UK, USA, Zionist Israel🔥
- Zionist corruption of US politicians exposed! 🤣 #israel #palestine #iran
- The most evil companies never to buy from: Kellogg's, Monster, Starbucks, Nestle, Liquid Death
- We've never lived underground, like at Derinkuyu, Turkey, underground city for 20,000 (Joe Rogan): Derinkuyu, Turkiye, underground city
- Ibn Al Haytham the Father of Optics, invented calculus, reinvented camera obscura invented by Lao Tzu (Chinese sage, founder of Taoism) | Dr. Roy Casagranda
- White mom has a confession about Trump (SNL)
- Emperor Shapur's Great Library of Persia, the Academy, Roman, Persian, Chinese, Indian texts | Dr. Roy Casagranda
- Science communicator Carl Sagan destroys Zionist "Israel First" Jewish theist propagandist Dennis Prager 💥
- 👀😵💫😵Blink more! Modern world is destroying our vision, optic nerve, focus, dopamine brain, go into nature to see more fractals, thread a needle, #brain #hack 👁️🤯
- Nelson and Sons re-mineralizing gum healthy chew PH Test commercial
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Taoism vs. Buddhism: Four big differences
COMMENTARY
Wisdom Quarterly
- All those who quote Lao Tzu and speak of the "Tao" are not teaching the historical Buddha's message of liberation from suffering and samsara
- Anyone who says "nirvana is samsara" speaks ill of the Buddha's message of liberation in this very life, in this body, in this world
- Syncretism (blending traditions) is beautiful, but it will not likely produce the result of either path. If the Tao is the "way," then the Eightfold Way (magga) the Buddha talked about is a very different use of the word
- If the true Tao is everything, then there is no sense in talking about it
- The Buddha defined the problem, defined the cause, assured is there is a solution, and pointed out the path, the Middle Way, to that solution: dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga
- The problem is disappointment (suffering)
- The cause is ignorance bound up with craving and aversion
- The extinction of suffering is the extinction of ignorance
- The path leading to this extinction has eight parts
- Buddhism and Taoism may blend beautifully like milk and water, but they are not the same
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Wise sayings for better living: Simple Life
The Art of Not Forcing
Wisdom Quarterly
|
| Why even carry a sword? The art of kyudo |
Once upon a time two great martial arts masters traveled the land, unbeaten, taking on all challengers and triumphing in each case. Then one day, by chance, they met at the creek. And one said to the other, "So we finally meet? Today shall be the day we see who the greater sage is, the warrior to vanquish all warriors, the Undefeated."
"Indeed, just as you say."
Then the first drew his sword with a resonant schwing and stabbed it into the water. It stood glimmering. Then he took out a piece of paper and placed it onto the water above the sword. The water carried the paper down, and his sharp sword sliced it in half down the middle just as it flowed by. At this, the first warrior shouted: "Behold!"
The second warrior drew his sword and stabbed the creek with his longer, stronger sword, shimmering more brightly on the surface of the water.
The first warrior trembled in anticipation, his confidence beginning to slip.
The Art of War
The second warrior took out a piece of paper, placed it above the sword on the surface of the water. And the current carried it down to the blade, going around the sword just as it passed.
The first fell to his knees, defeated, understanding too late, of course, that it is always wiser to avoid conflict and not fight. He cried out, "Indeed, master, we have settled it. And let it be known from this day forward, I am the inferior."
The other gently smiled and turned away.
Did it happen? Who knows. Could it have happened? Indeed! The Tao flows, wu wei, unobtrusive, doing nothing but leaving nothing undone. Forcing nothing but accomplishing everything. Behold, what we call Mother Nature!
Ancient Chinese philosophers' life lessons
Western Way: struggle, fight, push, lose
(Evan Bnormal) A monk of 28 years reveals why he abandoned society... [then gave up and left, to again live in the world, praying and meditating, but now being able to "pop out for a pint," as he explains]
Monday, May 25, 2026
Tao of Not Trying: Alan Watts, Lao Tzu, B Wen
 |
| Care about what they all think, prisoner? |
Wu wei (Chinese 無為, simplified Chinese 无为, Pinyin wúwéi) is a concept [popular in Zen Buddhism] from ancient Chinese philosophy that literally means "not-acting" or "non-doing," variously interpreted and translated as actionlessness, inaction, or effortless action [1, 2].
 |
| If I were Zen, would I thereby be a Taoist, too? |
Accordingly, Taoists aspire to live their lives in alignment with such a harmonious state of free flowing and unforced activity.
In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of spontaneous and non-aggressive governance [8]. More
The Path of Least Resistance
 |
| Let nature reign and all will be well? |
Ziran (Romanized tzu-jan) is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism. It literally means "of its own" or "by itself" and therefore "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly" [1, 2].
ETYMOLOGY: This Chinese word is a two-character compound of zì (自, "self," "oneself," "from," "since") and rán (然, "right," "correct," "so," "yes"), which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly).
 |
| What is the most intelligent response? Flow |
According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose" [one's nose, oneself when not interfered with by outside influences.] In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's own point of view [3]. More
Alan Watts, what's the Philosophy of the Tao?
A decolonized intro to Taoism
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Friday, May 1, 2026
Monday, April 13, 2026
'Wu wei' explained: Taoism in Zen
(Daily Tao Wisdom) The true story of wu wei (a concept in Taoism inherited by Zen (Chan), Chinese culture, and the Mahayana school of Buddhism -- told by the man who refused to explain it, "He Fang" (He Yan?)
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Hidden Birth of Zen (as Taoism)
 |
| Bodhidharma: Nothing you do... - Are you crazy, then why do anything? - Be. Go with the Tao |
 |
| What are you doing, Zen Master? - I'm going with the Tao. - You're not doing anything. - Yes. |
- So much of what people call "Zen" (capitalized as opposed to zen or jhana/dhyana) sounds more like Taoism (with a stiff dose of Confucianism) than Buddhism, and here's why. It was all picked up in translation. So what was lost? Those may be beautiful spiritual/temporal traditions with which to blend, but what is obscured is the historical Buddha's message until it is almost completely lost and replaced by Hinduism (with its Tantra, yoga, and magic that gave rise to another branch Vajrayana/Shingon attached) to a new religion that came to be called Mahayana, far from the Buddha's Dhamma.
Everything Zen
 |
| We silly Westerners have no idea! We think we know |
We aim to find out on Thursdays in Los Angeles at the Pasadena Zen Sangha. There is a path. What is it? If one were to ask the average American Zen practitioner, then everything likely to be heard in response would be some derivation of Taoism, not Buddhism or any relation to relation to the Doctrine of the historical Buddha.
 |
| Shikantaza: just do it because it's just sitting. |
For all that, on "Buddhist Radio" (Alan Watts - KPFK 90.7 FM, 8:00 am, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026) Alan Watts explained Zen in 18-minutes.
His brief talk lays bare the root of every misconception. Moreover, Buddha's Wisdom (in the video displayed above) does much to add context and clarify. Zen can be grasped.
 |
| KPFK Public Radio - Online Archives Archive |
Zen promotes spontaneity, naturalness, flow, being at ease, comfort, and relaxing into a kind of "just being" present and mindful (of the moment) without so much thinking (premeditation).
- FREE THURSDAYS: Zen Meditation Community, LA
- Buddha's Wisdom, Feb. 2026; cartoonist Brad Warner, Angel City Zen, 4/15/24; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Hel (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
