What are the actual tenants of taoism, practically speaking?
>>1336229
Living with the will of God and living a simple life free of vices.
>>1336359
So it has nothing to do with the way it's described on the OP pic?
>>1336374
That's exactly what I said. The stiff who fight against God's will are never at peace, but the flexible people who accept God's will are at peace.
>>1336404
In that context, what is God's will?
Go with the flow, live simply.
Basically what Heidegger said, as your picture indicates.
>>1336229
Just flow along with the Tao.
From what I gathered reading the Tao Te Ching (I haven't read the second book, and I only read it once) I think the general idea is that you're supposed to keep your head down, and stick to a humble routine, desiring little and ultimately pursuing little. In so doing you cause a minimum of discord and ensure your own survival. Survival definitely seems to be the name of the game here, with success being most readily measured in a long life. For instance, it's considered more effective to forgive someone that has done you wrong than it is to seek vengeance, as doing the latter may very well accomplishing nothing aside from getting your ass killed.
The idea seems to be to live in accordance with this "Tao" or the way. The Tao as far as I can tell is the conditions that allowed the universe to come into being (no, it is not God exactly, it's more like what allowed God itself to be) and what continues to make the universe a possibility. It is beyond true classification or definition, and does nothing while simultaneously being the condition that allows all to happen, and so you should aspire to be like it.
Keep in mind that I'm some westerner who read one translation of the smallest (though a fundamental) Taoist text, and am ultimately interpreting it through my own cultural lens.
>>1336775
Well you see, the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao.
>>1336850
How convenient :^)
>>1337179
it is what is responsible for manifestation, and naming, and concepts, and labels and categories and all that bullshit in the first place
to speak of it is to do it violence. silence is the only answer.
>>1336229
follow the flows and channels of consciousness that are within you and all around you
>>1336407
"God's will" sounds like a christian interpretation of the Tao. Which I think some of the late European explorers and missionaries actually did, up to and including equating the Tao with the Logos.
>>1336775
I'm not sure swimming along a natural order is really all that similar to stoicism. Which seems to call for serious self-reflection and purposeful action.
The "virtues" of Taoism, I guess if you want to call it that, are spontaneity, creativity, and "flow", if you get me. There seems to be a desire to rid oneself of the "game" of life. Worrying about reputations, relations, gains, and losses, etc. And even really basic things like striving and planning.
>>1337315
>silence is the only answer.
Quietism?
>>1336229
The main idea of Taoism is that things will always work out if you simply step back and let them work themselves out. To live by the philosophy of "action through inaction" is to live in harmony with the Tao.
>>1341324
Wouldn't you simply die of thirst if you applied that to the letter?
>>1343154
You would be living with austerity for most of it, I'm pretty sure common sense and your natural urges would conclude you drink some water eventually.
>>1343165
Either way, any true taoist would feel compelled to live a very monastic life right?
>>1343154
Going thirsty means you're purposefully not doing anything to get your ass up and drink water.
You know..like an animal, that does this naturally.
>>1343172
So you should let things work themselves out, but to go with the flow also means to answer your urges?
>>1343179
they are not "your" urges, they belong to the being that your soul is experiencing consciousness through. allow natural instincts to fulfil themselves, they are not your concern and that's why they're instinctual. why do you think we developed an ego senpai? without the strong desire for survival our souls would simply stop coalescing all the atoms that make up our bodies or we would jump off cliffs for fun. the fear is necessary so that we get the most experience out of living in this dimension, all our emotional energy is then channelled back into the "tao" so that the physical universe can continue. energy cannot be destroyed, it only changes form. i know you asked for a practical answer but here i am, a true taoist all my life and willing to share my beliefs with you.
>>1343189
Thanks for the insight, although I don't understand everything.
>allow natural instincts to fulfil themselves
Do you mean that one should act based almost exclusively on instinct and spontaneity?
>taoist all my life
How did you become a taoist?
How do you personally apply the "action through inaction" principle? What effect does it have on your daily life, hobbies and interests, and personal relationships?
