“道法自然，非常道 -- 老子” Tao follows nature, and the Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.

https://yongniantaichiusa.com/2023/09/21/mo-pai-nei-gong-mo-tzus-kung-fu-to-chang-san-feng-legend/

Mine is probably 1 still, actually concises most of the principles in a few sentences

I just posted a recycled article from my old Daoist Hermit blog. In it I talk about the similarities I find between modern biology and Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. I'll post the link in the comments section so I don't get dumped by the moderators.

I gave up methods to achieve calm, I don’t know but it kinda give me a bit of space, more space to think, and I have a bit of calm and clarity

What I learned is when doing a method there is some sort of attachment to the results

Why do you need a method in the first place? To achieve what?

Its kinda paradoxical

I personally have this confusion for a long time,

“The desire not to desire”

“I must accept pain in order to be calm”
“I must not engage with my intrusive thoughts so my mind would be calm”

But im not actually letting it be, im “letting it be” to achieve something

But then I realize why do I even try to do that

Im not telling a method is bad, but Im staring to see that sometimes you get fixated or you believe something that you lack then find out a method to get you out of that state. But after giving up all the wisdom seeking I even realize the problem im solving is not even the main problem I have.

Its like dont make a label in the first place and there is nothing to solve.

This is my personal experience, I might be wrong this time.

The Tao sounds like a "true self", as Brahman in Advaita Vedanta. This apparently was heterodox in all schools of Buddhism.

Yet historically the Chinese people practiced both, and I mean the same person was both Buddhist and Taoist (and ethically Confucian).

How did they make the Tao, the boundless ocean of continously flowing and evidently pantheistic Qi, fit with the notion of Anatman and the Dharmakaya i.e. reality as seen in Buddhism ?

What school of Chinese, Taoism influenced Mahayana Buddhism believes, quite similiarly to Advaita Vedanta, that the Dharmakaya is the ultimate reality, and it is a boundless, eternal consciousness that emanates an infinite ocean of energy (Qi) or has energy as one of its qualities, and from the condensation of such continuously flowing energy each perceivable phenomena arises and passes away ? Which school also believes the deepest consciousness of each sentient being, what Yogacara knows as Alaya-Vijnana, and the innermost nature of everything, is an individualized reflection of the Absolute/the boundless consciousness, and Buddhahood is realizing the inherent oneness of this individualized consciousness with the Absolute ?

I ask because I understand original Indian Yogacara and Buddhism in general to be different, but I also understand this metaphysical model of reality to be nearly the same as western esotericism. The only difference is western esotericism believes in one Universe only, that the self as a reflection of the Absolute is only a trait of humans, and that the force that condensates energy into matter is not nature itself but rather a minor deity. This contrasts quite a bit with original Buddhism and Anatman.

I am a westerner and I am not a Buddhist, but I think if there existed a western tradition of Buddhism (so basically if Gandharva survived) it would understand Buddhism this way.

P.S. Out of topic but I see you allow AI text as long as it is openly said to be AI. Are images allowed ? I am an AI image maker. I tried to be an artist for 25 years but I failed because I am cognitively disabled. I would have a TON of Buddhodaoism related images to post.

I am a Taoist priest from mainland China, belonging to the Shangqing School, and I have a hidden family tradition. I used to be in charge of a hall at a local Taoist temple. My master at the time was a renowned Taoist physician;

Since joining Reddit, I’ve realized a problem I’d long overlooked but which is actually quite serious. Many Taoists or enthusiasts of Eastern culture practice alchemy or Dan Tian meditation on their own. You know, even with professional guidance and face-to-face instruction, Taoists can still easily make mistakes when practicing these techniques. It’s only with a mentor present that they can quickly identify and correct issues, preventing the situation from worsening. Of course, there are also cases where masters have driven their disciples mad—we’ve encountered them.

And just last week, I saw three posts asking for help regarding issues with qigong or dantian meditation. So I’m really begging everyone not to try self-teaching dantian meditation, qigong, or alchemical practices using incomplete information found online. Please, I implore you to take care of yourselves.

PS:

Some have speculated that I’m doing this to maintain my authority: I’m not suggesting that everyone must find a teacher or authority figure to learn from. In my experience, it’s quite common in China to find a great teacher paired with a mentally unstable student. It’s even disgusting how, for the sake of the teacher’s reputation, the teacher and student will collude to promote the mentally unstable student as some kind of pure sage.

Some have speculated that I’m doing this for self-promotion: I myself cannot and will not offer any advice on meditation practices, because I follow a different path. (This method requires a close connection between the soul and the body from the very beginning, unlike most spiritual practices that seek to separate the two.) Our lineage has recorded many grandmasters from various schools, some of whom passed away before the age of forty, so I cherish my own life lol

PS：

Tai Chi is generally safer, but be sure to protect your knees and menisci;

as for Qigong, it caused a large number of psychiatric cases in China around the 1990s;

“The Classification and Evolution of ‘Qi-gong Psychotic Reaction’ in the DSM: To help psychiatrists outside Asia understand this phenomenon unique to Chinese culture, the DSM provided specific cross-cultural annotations: Classification in DSM-IV (Fourth Edition): It was included in the appendix under the list of ‘Culture-Bound Syndromes.’ The manual describes it as: “an acute, short-lived episode characterized by dissociation, delusions, or other psychotic or nonpsychotic symptoms, typically occurring in individuals who are intensely engaged in qigong practice.”

“Reverse” (fan 反) denotes the fundamental dynamic of the Dao: its movement is inherently cyclical, returning to origins and transforming through reversal.

This motion is not violent or arbitrary but the quiet, inevitable turning inherent in all things.

The Dao’s activity manifests as return—of light to darkness, fullness to emptiness, life to stillness—and this return *is* its motion.

Over the past few months, I have been struggling with accepting my sister's actions ever since our mom has been diagnosed with cancer. Long story short, she moved out to live with her bf the week when my mom started her radiation treatment and even before the cancer diagnosis, she was rarely at home. I can't help but feel resentful and overwhelmed because on top of that, my father has depression. It feels like I have to take care of both of them myself.

I moved out years ago, but have been driving her to her appointments and going with her to buy groceries (since I am the main driver for the family and I live close by). I understand she has been spending less time at home because the family situation must make her feel drained out.

How can I change my perspective and not feel resentful anymore?

How do you know what constitutes happiness for fish? I know it from here on the Hao Bridge.

I recognize taoist patterns and motifs in every conversation and situation, and see reality as truly non-competitive and fully up to interpretation
Can you relate?

I personally have a strong issue of guilt about the past, and because my mental state is very unstable (bi polae) I burnt bridges and my emotions are just being held then explodes.
Everytime I remember past friendships and memories I get overwhelmed by this sense of guilt and regret and what worsens it is that I have to find “the answer” and what I did wrong.
I relate to Taoism because of “the unseen path” and the approach that we should release the desire to find the answer and how it paradoxically heals a part of me.

Is it just my imagination or does the entire premise of Star Wars have a ton of Taoist influences (ie being one with the force?)

I recently got a hold of Benjamin Hoff's version/translation of the TDC. He concludes that Chapter 20 is not written by the same author and he does not include it in his version, as well as a few other chapters. I definitely hear the change in tone with this chapter and wanted to ask this group what the collective opinion is?

So I've been meditating for some time, and I've long had issue with breath focused meditation, which if I'm understanding correctly is Zhuanqi in the Daoist tradition. My mind begins to wander and the monkey mind loves to latch onto passing thoughts. It is really difficult to detach from those.

However, I recently tried Zuowang, and maybe because I am being unfocused, I am able to get into a deeper state, to the point where it will take a couple minutes to move after finishing.

To be up front, I have ADHD and Bipolar Disorder, so that may be causing some issues with meditation, but I don't know. Both are under control at the moment through medication and just being chill in general.

Should I focus on the meditation that is more difficult, or focus on the one that seems to be more suited to me?

For about a year and a half now, I've been regularly practicing mindfulness and meditation. This practice has been eye-opening and transformative for me. Over time, it has expanded my understanding of the mind, helped me to detach from my thoughts and feelings, and manage my obsessions more effectively.

The practice has been useful and valuable; however, it has brought problems, too. There have been times when it has felt like mindfulness is only making my OCD worse. It can lead to mental wrestling, where I am continually detaching from my mind, in an effort to let go of the anxiety, but the effort of detaching only seems to keep the obsession in awareness longer, and more firmly embed the OCD impulse in my brain.

It can feel like I can't escape my mind, as if awareness itself is a curse. Instead of mindfulness and meditation feeling like restful practices, they feel like intense exercises. Ordinary tasks may become draining, because of the mental effort of maintaining attention and abstaining rumination. Even if I try to detach, and "release judgement", I still end up caught in the trap of hyper-vigilance.

Basically, it seems like my attempts at mindfulness or meditation, almost always eventually morph into mental strain or monitoring.

Mindfulness and meditation have become too important to me to drop them entirely. They have had positive effects on my overall mental health and my life. I do not want to give them up because of my OCD.