Your channel is one of the first few that helped me realize my life has been increasingly moving towards and easing its way into alignment with the Dao without even knowing it‘s a „thing“. ;-) Getting turned onto Tao te king not only touched me deeply but also helped me feel right at home with some of my less socially compatible ways of thinking (or not thinking) and acting (or not acting) and feeling (or not feeling). Thank you for being among those welcoming me, indirectly, to the fold! And indeed: Isn‘t it a beautiful thing when you, simply following your own way, inspire others to more deeply do so, themselves? Isn‘t this the key to so-called societal change addressed in your intriguing interview? Leading by example is deeply rooted in the Tao te king, and was touched upon in the interview in response to your very good question about how much „non-action“ the world can tolerate in times like these. The trick is to lead without any intent to do so, and with no particular outcome in mind, or rather, with being open to all possible outcomes. And in the case of humanity, perhaps we should also open up to our supreme non-importance (now underscored by our self-elevation) in the face of things as they are. So what if we go extinct? I don‘t think the wind, oceans, sun or earth would take great note of our passing, except for us making room for creatures more in alignment with nature. ;-) In so-called spiritual circles (among light workers and such), I often get told that we, as a species, have been growing in consciousness, and that we are the only beings to be on that path, and that we thus have some kind of god-given responsibility to use our consciousness to raise our vibrational frequency even higher so good things can happen in the world. I suppose those well-meaning spiritual humans wouldn‘t be fond of me for pointing out that we are painting ourselves in the hero‘s role, all in the name of „doing good“, and with quite a fixed (and perhaps self-aggrandizing) goal in mind. Quite the opposite of living in the Dao. For me, your interview is very valuable in that it reinforced my own inner calling to stop trying to make things better or accomplish things, but rather to listen more to what my own gifts are calling me to express in the world. In my case, that means touching souls with music as well as in conversation. Simply and with no intent to improve anything...but apparently it often does create ripple effects out there (as many mirrors are showing me). So I am learning to surrender to rather un-grand strivings devoid of clean objectives, being totally open to rejection or denial or delight triggered in those I touch or who touch me. At the age of almost 60, it feels more than right to settle into the role of having nothing to prove and not needing to „change the world“ to make it somehow perfect. It will never be so, and yet it already is. ;-)
You should look into Lama Rod Owens if you haven't already! He has a new book out called Love and Rage that I'n wanting to buy. He's a Tibetan Buddhist but he talks about social justice from a point of view that you might be interested in
I think we are afraid to know nothing as the Tao says and walk into the dark where babies are in the womb. We all have been so afraid to cross into being what we really are We have been taught to only 'know things' do your duty and be quote good People don't know how to really live anymore as themselves Hugs for you if ok?
I recommend the book "The 7 Taoist Masters" by Eva Wong. That book offers probably the most complete understanding of Taoism. I pushed-hands with Eva Wong back in the early 90's, she has studied this at length and translated several old books.
George, this is the first time I’m responding and I want you to know that I love all your videos and I’m very appreciative for all you do and for Master Gu well. I thoroughly enjoyed this video and just had a couple of comments. The question came up of what our Founding Fathers would’ve been like (and Martin Luther King as well) had they been Taoists. Our Funding Fathers were Deists for most part, with Thomas Jefferson actually creating his own Bible on two different occasions in four languages! Every religion, every faith has an ebb and flow and shows us a “way” that allows us to be in tune and present with the universe when we get out of the way. So, I would think they and other great ones before then, like Mahatma Gandhi were very much following their own flow, their own way and did exactly what they were supposed to do, what they chose to do. The great Joseph Campbell once commented that the world has always been a mess and it is always going to be a mess and we’re never going to really change it. What we have to change is ourselves and how we respond to it. Swami Vivekananda said the same statements almost 100 years before. It’s all about acknowledging, what goes on, our response to it and letting go. Detachment is a great gift. Happy Thanksgiving to you from New York City and thank you for all you do.
Thanks George so much. I am a Chemist and your videos are helping me so much with my climate grief. I am looking at my handheld ying yang sign. I have always cared for non human animals and the Earth as being so wonderful. Prof. Bruya is so smart. I believe Dr. MLK did follow his path which is enlightening to me. I walk everyday in a downtown city for an hour on Lunch break. I want to remind all that nature is everywhere even in downtown NYC so walk wherever you live and enjoy it.
It has saved my world over the last 6 months. Would not have been able to get through the craziness without your channel and the podcast “What this Tao all about?” .
Thank you for this video. I'm a bit shocked after watching it because all the points you are enumerating... Like how people wanting the balance to come back, protecting nature might get only one solution is to reduce your desire first, change yourself and this way you might change people around you... is exactly the thoughts I got after a lot of events in my life and finally the lock down for the virus. It's the decision I took to change my own life, change my job, and go back to a simple life, closer with nature, taking only what I need and nurture/protect it. Make a peaceful living with nature around instead of living in a city and develop more and more desire. I want to teach the importance of nature to my child and maybe people that would like to share a moment of this kind of life with us. Create a community if I meet people understanding this need of change and make it grow. And I'm not a Taoist... I always loved nature and had the feeling that Taoism was maybe the phylosophy closer to my beliefs but... After this video, I'm clearly taking consciousness that this path might be the right path I always searched, especially if someone talking about balance with nature thought about it before! This is stunning. Thanks for the video.
I remember walking down the street with my son Everything was buzzing around me and all of a sudden I'm not there* yet am I swear I was in heaven it was forever there. Very few times I have done this however I remember them compared to the way we live currently Thank-you for being here with us great huggies for all of you if ok?
Thank you . . . however it works, the Tao is the force that centers and brings disparate.wayward trends into alignment. We can neither resist nor promote its effects beyond our actions. I love these conversations with Brian Bruya, George.
Can't remember Sir Charles...that let's me know my true age. This video does discuss my principle conflict/confusion with Taoism, and I was great full to hear the discussion. I read a book once about Taoist monks trying to decide whether or not to leave the monasteries and fight the Japanese during WWII. I don't have a good answer to it yet
I interpret "going with the flow" slightly differently, I don't think it has to be complete inaction (except during mediation I suppose). I see a massive flow of capitalism and fascism and greed consuming the natural world, and a smaller counter flow standing up for the animals, the forests and the oppressed people's. I don't have to fight any natural flow, I simply join the counter flow and peacefully speak out for those without a voice. We can change a lot just by listening to people and participating on democracy. However this is a middle classes white person in Britain's perspective, for others the struggle will be more personal and it may be impossible to stand up for what's right while being 100% peaceful and "going with the flow".
I got lured in by Tsai's little cartoon Laozi. That's legit my childhood. His graphic novels made it enjoyable to study the various Chinese philosophies and he even had a few purely comedic comics as well
Interesting conversation George, Brian is right i think in saying humans mimic what is around or before them so being a good & mindful Soul or example, simply walking ones talk will have an effect on others. Many years ago i didn't understand detachment & even thought it to be unfair & mean & after 11 years in retreat i decided to go in to the world to be of service. What a hurricane of torrential experiences that was, so i understand "detachment" now. Perhaps i see things differently now, > I < cannot save the world nor stop that train before it goes off the cliff, i can however be better version of self & put good Qi in to the world. Good video, enjoyed it 😊 Still doing catch up hehehe. Peace 🙏
Thank you for all of your wonderful videos. I just got my copy of CC Tsai’s Dao de Jing and love it. I also got the Analects and Zhuangzi and also have five of his older books and love them all. I have many shelves of Daoist books as I have been studying and practicing Daoist philosophy for a long time. If I thought Trump would read a copy as you suggested, I would personally send him one. But I think you have to actually read and be in the mindset for change and I’m not sure he’s evolved enough to appreciate this philosophy. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more of your videos in the future.
8:26 How to stop the train in a Daoist way? If anybody cares for my 2 cents: There's no train to stop. The Daoist way of revolution is LIVING it. You already have your values! And a lot of them originate from your experience with the Dao. You even make videos about it and spread it even further that way, but I noticed that people in the street do look and light up for a brief second, when I feel 100% synchronised with the Dao. Even if you live completely secluded from people and don't have the internet: Your Daoist values will guide your actions. You influence the air, the earth and every animal and plant around you. Ultimately, it comes back to that trust, that the Dao always makes you do the right thing as long as you don't use force against it by doing something you don't feel like doing. (My bigger question is: How can you do that, when today's society system has been built SO DRASTICALLY against it. There's forced bureaucracy EVERYWHERE...) Also: We are on the right track! Look at humanity! We took a wrong turn to agriculture and settlement (and bound us to the earth), but it was an important step in a good direction. Humanity has never prospered so much on other levels. Once technology has reached a certain point, where machines do most jobs, we will NEED a Universal Basic Income. Otherwise letting the robots produce for people without money, would ruin the value of the rich! So either one or the other is likely gonna happen. But either way: Wouldn't the entire organism humankind (and therefore organism earth and galaxy and universe and...) be a lot closer to being synchronised? When everybody has a basic income, everybody are much more free to do what they are driven to do! Next step: Largely action-based Direct Democracy! I drifted off again, haven't I?... What I'm trying to say is: Pretty much every life quality statistic from the dawn of agriculture to today, will tell you, that life is more pleasant today. Which suggests, that people are WAY more Wu wei, than they were shortly after the dawn of agriculture, or even in all of our history and beyond. (I want to add, I am still very emotional about all the unnecessary suffering around me and it makes me very sad and angry very often. it's very unpleasant. But I know, feeling this is part of forming my values that influence EVERYTHING around me. The only thing I gotta do is react to what my instinct tells me, basically. It's SO easy to forget that, when you are there, though 🙄) Humans just took the harder way. There will be a reason for this too. Just like it will be a purpose if the climate can't be stopped from rising anymore (It's done it before, just different factors. Our ancestors lived in a very cold climate compared to today. If there was an ice age, there has to be a heat age. Yin Yang.), just like it will be a purpose if humanity killed itself in the process (My whitefly cloud died for a lack of food as well, after killing all of my plants. And it got me to look at which plants I should plant more of, in order to build a stable ecosystem). There is no right or wrong. That's the beauty of it. The less scared you are, the more you are with the Dao and the more you will do the "right" thing anyway. Which might just be the wrong thing! To me it's very painful, seeing this now, and seeing how scared most people are around me. Even if you look at our politicians, you suddenly see how scared the are all of the time: To lose votes, face, power, money, the people they love. Check out the government of Buthan. There are videos. Look how chill they all are in comparison to any other politicians. The higher our's go, the more wobbly becomes their house of cards: All the bureaucracy (an absolute fear-factory for everybody involved. It makes everybody - even the people who HAVE the jobs - feel worse), they've built, houses their entire promises for new jobs! They have turned humans into machines to carry their wealth without even understanding it. And they are scared as sh!t to lose it! Even they fall victim to the fear, this system produces! So, why would they give us something like Direct Democracy or UBI or less bureaucracy in general? It would ruin everything they have thought for, ever since they got into this game. It would ruin the game, that they think they are winning, even though, they are just as scared as the rest. And hey aren't even allowed to show it to anyone. Because don't you ever show vulnerability. Especially not with today's media structure! The higher the ranks, the worse. I bet, we can't even imagine how bad their pain must be. I drifted away again, didn't I? Anyway. It hurts me to see all this seemingly unnecessary suffering. But if you trust the Dao, all this suffering has a purpose to it. Either human kind had to grow so much to colonise other planets or we just grow to starve like my Whitefly plague and nourish the soil with our bodies and spirits for something new to grow out of it. Or something completely different at all. Just because we think something should be TRIED to be prevented, doesn't mean that's Wu wei. It just means, you fell for the propaganda of the people who interpreted climate change from a 100% human-centric perspective, as Professor Bruya pointed out in your beautiful conversation. I my eyes, Wu wei means to just stop trying and just flowing with one's instincts. Because they will tell you to give back to spread joy rather than fear. They will tell you to live symbioticaly. The will tell you to be grateful for everything that's happening around you, for it is one big miracle. Just like the bare fact that you exist at all, having this rich experience, on this tiny grain of dust - Earth - in this vast universe. It's taking the labels off the actions. To me, Wu wei means to just STOP TRYING and ENJOY this amazing experience of conscious life - with all of its ups and downs - that I was gifted. And doing it, being 100% myself in all of my uniqueness (and celebrating the diversity, you mentioned), because it wouldn't work in any other way. I just realised, I just wrote a comment of the size of an ebook that other marketing people would ask an email address for in return. Please check out the ONE video I've uploaded on my channel so far. If people like it enough, there will probably be more of the kind. Thank you either way, for your attention. Again: This is my perspective on the topic, so far. It's still very confusing to me, because I have felt and experienced flowing and I know that thinking about it too logically actually ruins it. It's kind of self ironic, in that regard 🙄 My perspective, my opinion formed so far. Happy to hear other's! Anyway, Happy Decay, everybody! 💚
I do really enjoy this message, it brings contentment to think that these are all inevitable and moreover *necessary* bumps in the road, with the road being the Dao/Way. It does sort of give me flashbacks to Catholic school though, and reminds me of the reason that I study Taoism more as a philosophy than a religion in the first place. To be blunt about it, if genocide and human trafficking and factory farming are just parts of "The Way" that I must accept then The Way is bullshit. Just like I thought to myself back at school that God's Plan must be bullshit for endorsing that everything happens "for a reason" and even for the greater good! I guess I see the Dao more as that force that has been pushing things along since the Big Bang, as every star, planet and living being is sustained by a long series chemical reactions triggered at the beginning of the known universe. Sure even if humans die out the animals will carry on, if everything else dies then cockroaches and microorganisms will carry on, and when our planet dies the elements might go on to fuel new stars. It's all very beautiful in a broad sense, there's no way to fully stop the Way (except heat death of the universe but hopefully an alternative will be found in the trillions of years before that happens!). I went on a tangent too... The point is yes the Dao is always gonna keep pushing on and these are the thoughts that allow me to sleep at night- but I see nothing natural or necessary about the treatment of Uyghur people's by the CPC right now, or the Rwandan genocide in 1994, or the way humans have been systematically and brutally slaughtering many millions of animals every day for decades. I know that suffering is necessary for joy, death is necessary for balance and diversity in the eco system etc. but I can't see the good that comes from these unnatural and preventable acts of cruelty. I think that the balance is not quite there and meditation nor prayer will be enough to restore it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, even if it sounds like I was attacking them!! I'm just young and passionate, still finding my footing both with activism and spirituality :) this "flowing" phenomenon you describe sounds awesome, I hope to one day see the effect it can have on others, for myself. Just centering oneself is a powerful tool as the society we live in is designed to keep us distracted at all times, instead of just sitting with ourselves and listening to our own mind and body. Being able to share this feeling with others would be even more powerful and could play a part in restoring true balance. Thanks again for sharing, it's inspiring to see such a thoughtful corner of the internet here!
@@maggiescarlet I full-heartedly agree with you. And thank you for being so open minded! Telling people that everything has its purpose, often makes them dive straight into their fears, becoming very defensive of their fearful worldview. It's very refreshing to have an open conversation where everybody can voice their opinion and concerns without being neglected. I don't think these bumps in the road are the Dao, to be honest. I think it's what happens when an organism gets out of tune with the Dao. However, in my opinion, the way of making long lasting change is by living 100% by your non-fear-driven instincts. There is no point in getting pissed off over the Uyghur concentration camps, as horrible as they are. Ultimately, as long as your body and mind don't automatically do something about it directly, any kind of fear or anger over these news, will only bring you out of tune with the Dao. Humanity is an organism in and of itself. The more people radiate the Dao, the faster the entire organism humanity can come back in tune with it. Which means, you are not stagnant at all. By being 100% you and acting for joy rather than fear, your ripples will automatically reach China. If your body and mind do it automatically, then by all means, protest in front of a parliament. But if you find a joyful way, it will be more fun and you will attract a very different crowd than the fearful mob. In the example of climate change I've been thinking about blocking off a street, protest style, but instead of shouting in anger and fear, I'd set up stations with different topics, like 'waste', 'transport', 'energy', 'biodiversity' and put a big sign in the middle: "We are the people. We hold the power. We are brainstorming solutions: Join us?" There are a lot of horrible things happening in the world. For my whiteflies it was the shortage of plants to eat, which ended in mass-starvation. For us it's topics like the Uyghur. And the only way, one person can make a difference in all of them is by tuning into the vibrations of the Dao. In my opinion at least. These things are horrible. But being fearful (anger originates from fear) of them only gives them more power. To be honest, I have changed my mind about this only very recently. I've always had a world-saviour complex. This way of thinking is very new for me. And it's the first time, I feel at peace. And I feel like it's the first time I'm actually making a difference on a regular basis. Yesterday I had to wait at the bank for 45min. The information lady wanted to forward me to a college, but nobody was free. But instead of getting angry, as I usually would have, I leaned back and started watching the bureaucratic madness around me. It's absurdly beautiful, what a mess of dehumanising systems we have built. So complex. But also clearly not functioning well. 50% of customers that came to the info desk, left sad or angry - fearful. The people who worked there, were all scared and annoyed of the next customer that comes in. Squeezed into their uniformal suits, they only wear out of existential fear. Everybody was unhappy, stressed and scared. Nobody was in there because it gave them joy to be at the bank. This time I didn't get angry I had to wait. I sat there and smiled at all those scared apes. Smiled because I could see the beauty below all the fear. And people noticed. And you could see the confusion in their faces, until some of them lit up for a brief moment. When I left the bank after getting what I needed, I went up to the info desk and called the first name of the lady's name tag. The turned around, recognised me, was very confused about being addressed by her first name. I smiled at her and I said thank you. Confusion. Then a big smile of pure joy of being recognised for doing her best. It's those moments when you feel that it's those small, daily life actions that can kick over an entire establishment. Just like you, humanity is an organism. And the organism's behaviour depends of the health of every single cell. Fear is like a cancer, growing into this miracle, that we take so much for granted. The Uyghur are suppressed out of fear as well. Together we can shrink this cancer of fear by radiating joy. In my eyes, that's all it boils down to. I understand your concerns. But they don't help you or anybody around you. They just make you more fearful 🙂 Thank you for being so open minded! 🌿
@@ausphilreid Oh, and btw: I don't think there are few! Not at all! Maybe when it comes to humans in "developed society", it's tougher to find people who are in tune with the Dao. But you only have to look at a blade of grass or a dog. They are 100% Daoists. They never try. They just are. (That said, some dogs do experience irrational fears as well, based on how they were raised, I'd argue.) The Dao is all around you. All the time. You are it. No matter if you are in tune with it or not. There aren't few of us. 'We' is everywhere and everything. There are just a lot of humans who are fearful to not be able to live up to a very dark fairytale we tell each other all the time. This is what brings us out of tune, if you ask me. So let's stop telling each other that fairytale and change to one that makes all of us feel more appreciative of life. Before we dissolve into the universe again 🙂
Taking your sense of social responsibly into practical terms with a certain amount of awareness of time - limitations belongs uniquely to our present. I personally would like to see the continuation of the Human Race but not in the human ways belonging to the present sincerely speaking if we were to "disappear " but Mother Earth was to survive and nature along with it in whatever form it may take id would say from my heart "So be it". Im not enthralled by this conversation because this type of thought/philosophy forgets that that there are indeed changes that need to be made on a very simple, human practical and social level as well as the, if I may say, sightly SELF-serving mind and thought patterns displayed right now during this interview. With respect to the Truths delivered within the many philosophies perhaps a little more realistic grounding may be needed right now to make the serious conditions of today and our world that were not present then. They had all the time in the world, today we have not that particular luxury.
I think the fact that the tao being written for emperor's to bring peace to their kingdom is a metaphor for all of us for dealing with ourselves and our own kingdom in self and in the dao itself. Which is the point 😂💞
I believe wu-wei's role in social change is far more profound than either of you let on. Wu-wei is the art of knowing yourself and *trusting yourself* enough to release all doubt, shed all self-awareness, and simply *be* who you are as much as possible. To get to the point of mastering wu-wei, then, means mastering your own nature. Unfortunately for us, there are many forces that seek to control us and prevent us from being fully ourselves. They can be natural forces like the laws of gravity that keep us from flying, or our own biology that prevents us from being able to drink as much alcohol as we'd like. But on another level, there can be social forces which keep us from expressing our full identities---whether that be our cultural, religious, racial, or sexual identities. In nearly all cases we must strive for harmony and balance, but that never means letting ourselves be walked all over. If these forces push us too hard, we HAVE to push back. So if you wouldn't let yourself die of an infected wound by not taking antibiotics, why should you EVER let your soul die because you could not love someone of the same sex, or practice your faith in peace, or simply EXIST without living in fear of violence or oppression? To be a true Daoist, then, you must listen to the part of you that wants to fight back against injustice. That's your theory of social change right there. What many may not like, however, is that being a Daoist also means knowing when not to fight. It means knowing when to rest. On that note, I love what you said at 4:37 about considering our strengths and focusing our energy through those abilities. Not everyone is suited for protesting in the streets on one extreme, or running for political office on the other! Fighting injustice could take many forms from the way you present yourself, to music, visual art, cooking, cleaning, charity, gardening, or having conversations with others.
Nicely put. What are your views may I ask on taking an RNA altering vaccine which is about to be rolled out worldwide? How does one find flow if they don't want to mess with their RNA yet can no longer live without a digital passport?
@@mozy106 We each tap into the Tao in our own ways based on our "one of a kind" minds and bodies. I mention this only because I hope you are not asking me for advice on a potentially life-saving vaccine! My view is inapplicable to you because we are two different individuals with unique environments and experiences. Put another way, you don't know if I am an expert or an idiot! My view could potentially distort your ability to tap into your own flow, something I do not want to take part in. You are the expert on yourself, which is why you must discover *for* yourself if your thoughts and conclusions match with what you know of the outside world and your gut instincts. If they are all in harmony, your qi will flow properly and you will prosper. The best way to do that is to be honest with yourself! That means you are actively seeking the truth, learning about the tao (which includes science!), and not lying to yourself about what you know, do not know, or cannot know. We cannot tap into the Tao with a clouded or confused mind.
@@mozy106 Glad to help! Trust your feelings as your greatest guide. If you feel the truth is too hard to decipher, let introspection and meditation be your tools. =)
I get that we are just another part of the natural way of things and Taoist thinking seems so right but I still become anxious and angry at times because humans are rapidly making this planet an unfit place to inhabit. I live in a comfortable first world country and will probably be inconvenienced by upcoming changes but there are people who will suffer big time as a result of mankind's treachery to the earth. It is difficult not to have an adverse reaction to what is going on. Sorry for the doom and gloom but I am loving your great work George and I am trying in a wu wei way.
Interesting question on whether non-action means doing nothing always. I think MLK jr did apply non-action, as a river flows downhill, in the sense that he did not fight (non-violence) and he was literally just walking with friends down a road. Should the river not flow near rocks. The opposition he encountered brought light to the blockage in the natural order, that some classes of people were oppressed. By contrast, the found fathers in the US took up arms to wage ware against the oppressor. This was not non-action but I am glad they did. Perhaps non-action is not always the best course but good as a general guide.
Listening to this conversation, for some reason I was reminded of the ending speech of Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator"; now, some of it sounds like it could be in the Daodejing ;) (it even says 'we have lost the way' :d), even though it certainly isn't Daoist in its essence. It's funny, I watched that movie in my early teens, and to this day I think about it.
The movies you make are wonderful & greatly helpful, but I do not know how to achieve direct communication. I want to find the books you recommend - actual books, not internet or audio books. I've tried Barnes & Noble, but they can't order books you recommend. Have you a website? Thank you. (LTB, age 77, USA)
If a Buddhist tells the truth it is not Buddhism, it is the truth that someone told who calls him/herself "Buddhist". When a person, who calls him/herself a "Taoist" says the Truth it is not Taoism - it's the Truth. Nothing else than the Truth can set us free - Truth has no limitations. Get over the creations of the mind. Truth has always been and will always be even after millions of years Noone will ever remember something like Taoism or Buddhism or whatever a human mind can create.
i am very sceptical of academicians being practicing philosophers. daosim cannot directly drive any social movement. but a population that is rooted in daoism is better at avoiding the conflicts that need these conflict like 'movements'. when the dao leaves, morality enters, and many similar such sayings imply that.'morality' being doing the right thing when being told this is good, that is not. when dao is present, morality is implicit, insight tells you what is to be avoided........or somthing like that ......:-)
A healthy and honest perception of the world is healthy for the individual, but what does it do for those who are suffering and need our help? One droplet of water does nothing, but if we act together we can be a wave of great change ☺️
@@maggiescarlet you can't change the world by getting together and bullying people to conform, it happens slowly though education and positive role models at a young age.
Just watched this video for the first time, so I'm commenting a little late in the game, but here is my two cents. According to Author Derek Lin Wu-Wei is more unattached action than non-action. It isn't that the Taoist does nothing, but they only interfere when necessary, and only do as much is necessary and no more. A Taoist ruler, emperor, king (we are the rulers of our own lives) should only do what is necessary and have a limited amount of restrictions on the people. When there are too many restrictions and the laws are too complicated this cause chaos and crime and the people will resist. Lately the bills Congress passes are too big to read and too complicated to understand and nobody reads them all the way through until after they are passed, if even then. (I'm of course speaking of the US, but it could be the same for other countries.
The Way of Nature? Um, how does "bloody in tooth and claw" sound? It seems to me that the Chinese philosophies come off well in terms of personal moralities. Put together -- the Japanese rule "moshi, koshi, loshi," (墨子，孔子，老子） i.e. look at everything from three different directions, is one version of putting them together -- works out well as practical advice based on morality. That still leaves a great big weakness: what are your rules for collective action? The West has done OK for the last 300 years on Adam Smith -- the rule that the wickednesses on these will balance the wickednesses of those. That seems to be running out now. Europe is operating fairly well on the notion that there's a wide range for debate within the broad field of social democracy. China is operating on the rule of Thirteen Engineers, One Schoolmarm, and a Nice Old Propped-Up Geezer Left Over From the Long March. But none of those last three is really a morality for political governance from here on out, is it?
Your channel is one of the first few that helped me realize my life has been increasingly moving towards and easing its way into alignment with the Dao without even knowing it‘s a „thing“. ;-) Getting turned onto Tao te king not only touched me deeply but also helped me feel right at home with some of my less socially compatible ways of thinking (or not thinking) and acting (or not acting) and feeling (or not feeling). Thank you for being among those welcoming me, indirectly, to the fold! And indeed: Isn‘t it a beautiful thing when you, simply following your own way, inspire others to more deeply do so, themselves? Isn‘t this the key to so-called societal change addressed in your intriguing interview? Leading by example is deeply rooted in the Tao te king, and was touched upon in the interview in response to your very good question about how much „non-action“ the world can tolerate in times like these. The trick is to lead without any intent to do so, and with no particular outcome in mind, or rather, with being open to all possible outcomes. And in the case of humanity, perhaps we should also open up to our supreme non-importance (now underscored by our self-elevation) in the face of things as they are. So what if we go extinct? I don‘t think the wind, oceans, sun or earth would take great note of our passing, except for us making room for creatures more in alignment with nature. ;-) In so-called spiritual circles (among light workers and such), I often get told that we, as a species, have been growing in consciousness, and that we are the only beings to be on that path, and that we thus have some kind of god-given responsibility to use our consciousness to raise our vibrational frequency even higher so good things can happen in the world. I suppose those well-meaning spiritual humans wouldn‘t be fond of me for pointing out that we are painting ourselves in the hero‘s role, all in the name of „doing good“, and with quite a fixed (and perhaps self-aggrandizing) goal in mind. Quite the opposite of living in the Dao. For me, your interview is very valuable in that it reinforced my own inner calling to stop trying to make things better or accomplish things, but rather to listen more to what my own gifts are calling me to express in the world. In my case, that means touching souls with music as well as in conversation. Simply and with no intent to improve anything...but apparently it often does create ripple effects out there (as many mirrors are showing me). So I am learning to surrender to rather un-grand strivings devoid of clean objectives, being totally open to rejection or denial or delight triggered in those I touch or who touch me. At the age of almost 60, it feels more than right to settle into the role of having nothing to prove and not needing to „change the world“ to make it somehow perfect. It will never be so, and yet it already is. ;-)
Being a Black American and a Taoist, I’ve been looking for this all my life.
I am also a black taoist, but what does race have to do with this discussion?
You should look into Lama Rod Owens if you haven't already! He has a new book out called Love and Rage that I'n wanting to buy. He's a Tibetan Buddhist but he talks about social justice from a point of view that you might be interested in
anyone here from wuxiaworld ?
I think we are afraid to know nothing as the Tao says and walk into the dark where babies are in the womb. We all have been so afraid to cross into being what we really are We have been taught to only 'know things' do your duty and be quote good People don't know how to really live anymore as themselves Hugs for you if ok?
@@autumnburton2091 social justice
I recommend the book "The 7 Taoist Masters" by Eva Wong. That book offers probably the most complete understanding of Taoism. I pushed-hands with Eva Wong back in the early 90's, she has studied this at length and translated several old books.
George, this is the first time I’m responding and I want you to know that I love all your videos and I’m very appreciative for all you do and for Master Gu well. I thoroughly enjoyed this video and just had a couple of comments. The question came up of what our Founding Fathers would’ve been like (and Martin Luther King as well) had they been Taoists. Our Funding Fathers were Deists for most part, with Thomas Jefferson actually creating his own Bible on two different occasions in four languages! Every religion, every faith has an ebb and flow and shows us a “way” that allows us to be in tune and present with the universe when we get out of the way. So, I would think they and other great ones before then, like Mahatma Gandhi were very much following their own flow, their own way and did exactly what they were supposed to do, what they chose to do. The great Joseph Campbell once commented that the world has always been a mess and it is always going to be a mess and we’re never going to really change it. What we have to change is ourselves and how we respond to it. Swami Vivekananda said the same statements almost 100 years before. It’s all about acknowledging, what goes on, our response to it and letting go. Detachment is a great gift. Happy Thanksgiving to you from New York City and thank you for all you do.
Thanks George so much. I am a Chemist and your videos are helping me so much with my climate grief. I am looking at my handheld ying yang sign. I have always cared for non human animals and the Earth as being so wonderful. Prof. Bruya is so smart. I believe Dr. MLK did follow his path which is enlightening to me. I walk everyday in a downtown city for an hour on Lunch break. I want to remind all that nature is everywhere even in downtown NYC so walk wherever you live and enjoy it.
What a lovely channel. Like a drink of water. Aaahhh.
It has saved my world over the last 6 months. Would not have been able to get through the craziness without your channel and the podcast “What this Tao all about?” .
Great work George! So important to see the lighthearted side of a life of 'practice'.
Getting the Tao Te Ching to the White House. Now that would be... interesting. Very interesting, thanks George!
Also ineffective, it says so in the tao te Ching. Let’s try not to forget it’s lessons immediately after reading it.
I find it interesting awesome content George Thompson
Another great conversation and video. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for this video. I'm a bit shocked after watching it because all the points you are enumerating... Like how people wanting the balance to come back, protecting nature might get only one solution is to reduce your desire first, change yourself and this way you might change people around you... is exactly the thoughts I got after a lot of events in my life and finally the lock down for the virus.
It's the decision I took to change my own life, change my job, and go back to a simple life, closer with nature, taking only what I need and nurture/protect it. Make a peaceful living with nature around instead of living in a city and develop more and more desire. I want to teach the importance of nature to my child and maybe people that would like to share a moment of this kind of life with us. Create a community if I meet people understanding this need of change and make it grow.
And I'm not a Taoist...
I always loved nature and had the feeling that Taoism was maybe the phylosophy closer to my beliefs but... After this video, I'm clearly taking consciousness that this path might be the right path I always searched, especially if someone talking about balance with nature thought about it before! This is stunning. Thanks for the video.
Thanks George for helping me uncover the steps of my journey toward Tao
The Law of ONE! When the two become ONE!
I remember walking down the street with my son Everything was buzzing around me and all of a sudden I'm not there* yet am I swear I was in heaven it was forever there. Very few times I have done this however I remember them compared to the way we live currently Thank-you for being here with us great huggies for all of you if ok?
Thank you . . . however it works, the Tao is the force that centers and brings disparate.wayward trends into alignment. We can neither resist nor promote its effects beyond our actions. I love these conversations with Brian Bruya, George.
Thanks for the video! I really enjoyed it. Great discussion. Best wishes from Chile
This is an amazing discussion, thank you!☯️☀️🙂
Excellent question....
i was literally just thinking about this topic earlier today
Can't remember Sir Charles...that let's me know my true age. This video does discuss my principle conflict/confusion with Taoism, and I was great full to hear the discussion. I read a book once about Taoist monks trying to decide whether or not to leave the monasteries and fight the Japanese during WWII. I don't have a good answer to it yet
I interpret "going with the flow" slightly differently, I don't think it has to be complete inaction (except during mediation I suppose). I see a massive flow of capitalism and fascism and greed consuming the natural world, and a smaller counter flow standing up for the animals, the forests and the oppressed people's. I don't have to fight any natural flow, I simply join the counter flow and peacefully speak out for those without a voice. We can change a lot just by listening to people and participating on democracy.
However this is a middle classes white person in Britain's perspective, for others the struggle will be more personal and it may be impossible to stand up for what's right while being 100% peaceful and "going with the flow".
yes this is close to how I see myself currently!
@@George-Thompson I'm glad to hear that, you do a fantastic job documenting your experiences and sharing all this wisdom directly from many sources :)
And yet there is a unity in that. I see people under the f-ism banner speaking up for nature also.
I got lured in by Tsai's little cartoon Laozi. That's legit my childhood. His graphic novels made it enjoyable to study the various Chinese philosophies and he even had a few purely comedic comics as well
Yes! i think Taoism IS revolutionary! xxx
Interesting conversation George, Brian is right i think in saying humans mimic what is around or before them so being a good & mindful Soul or example, simply walking ones talk will have an effect on others. Many years ago i didn't understand detachment & even thought it to be unfair & mean & after 11 years in retreat i decided to go in to the world to be of service. What a hurricane of torrential experiences that was, so i understand "detachment" now. Perhaps i see things differently now, > I < cannot save the world nor stop that train before it goes off the cliff, i can however be better version of self & put good Qi in to the world. Good video, enjoyed it 😊 Still doing catch up hehehe. Peace 🙏
Thank you for all of your wonderful videos. I just got my copy of CC Tsai’s Dao de Jing and love it. I also got the Analects and Zhuangzi and also have five of his older books and love them all. I have many shelves of Daoist books as I have been studying and practicing Daoist philosophy for a long time. If I thought Trump would read a copy as you suggested, I would personally send him one. But I think you have to actually read and be in the mindset for change and I’m not sure he’s evolved enough to appreciate this philosophy. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more of your videos in the future.
glad you've been enjoying the books. yes getting it into the white house is one thing, for it to be read another 😆
Namaskar and thank you.
8:26 How to stop the train in a Daoist way?
If anybody cares for my 2 cents:
There's no train to stop. The Daoist way of revolution is LIVING it.
You already have your values! And a lot of them originate from your experience with the Dao. You even make videos about it and spread it even further that way, but I noticed that people in the street do look and light up for a brief second, when I feel 100% synchronised with the Dao.
Even if you live completely secluded from people and don't have the internet: Your Daoist values will guide your actions. You influence the air, the earth and every animal and plant around you. Ultimately, it comes back to that trust, that the Dao always makes you do the right thing as long as you don't use force against it by doing something you don't feel like doing.
(My bigger question is: How can you do that, when today's society system has been built SO DRASTICALLY against it. There's forced bureaucracy EVERYWHERE...)
Also: We are on the right track! Look at humanity! We took a wrong turn to agriculture and settlement (and bound us to the earth), but it was an important step in a good direction. Humanity has never prospered so much on other levels. Once technology has reached a certain point, where machines do most jobs, we will NEED a Universal Basic Income. Otherwise letting the robots produce for people without money, would ruin the value of the rich! So either one or the other is likely gonna happen. But either way: Wouldn't the entire organism humankind (and therefore organism earth and galaxy and universe and...) be a lot closer to being synchronised? When everybody has a basic income, everybody are much more free to do what they are driven to do! Next step: Largely action-based Direct Democracy!
I drifted off again, haven't I?...
What I'm trying to say is: Pretty much every life quality statistic from the dawn of agriculture to today, will tell you, that life is more pleasant today. Which suggests, that people are WAY more Wu wei, than they were shortly after the dawn of agriculture, or even in all of our history and beyond.
(I want to add, I am still very emotional about all the unnecessary suffering around me and it makes me very sad and angry very often. it's very unpleasant. But I know, feeling this is part of forming my values that influence EVERYTHING around me. The only thing I gotta do is react to what my instinct tells me, basically. It's SO easy to forget that, when you are there, though 🙄)
Humans just took the harder way. There will be a reason for this too. Just like it will be a purpose if the climate can't be stopped from rising anymore (It's done it before, just different factors. Our ancestors lived in a very cold climate compared to today. If there was an ice age, there has to be a heat age. Yin Yang.), just like it will be a purpose if humanity killed itself in the process (My whitefly cloud died for a lack of food as well, after killing all of my plants. And it got me to look at which plants I should plant more of, in order to build a stable ecosystem).
There is no right or wrong. That's the beauty of it. The less scared you are, the more you are with the Dao and the more you will do the "right" thing anyway. Which might just be the wrong thing!
To me it's very painful, seeing this now, and seeing how scared most people are around me. Even if you look at our politicians, you suddenly see how scared the are all of the time: To lose votes, face, power, money, the people they love. Check out the government of Buthan. There are videos. Look how chill they all are in comparison to any other politicians. The higher our's go, the more wobbly becomes their house of cards: All the bureaucracy (an absolute fear-factory for everybody involved. It makes everybody - even the people who HAVE the jobs - feel worse), they've built, houses their entire promises for new jobs! They have turned humans into machines to carry their wealth without even understanding it. And they are scared as sh!t to lose it! Even they fall victim to the fear, this system produces! So, why would they give us something like Direct Democracy or UBI or less bureaucracy in general? It would ruin everything they have thought for, ever since they got into this game. It would ruin the game, that they think they are winning, even though, they are just as scared as the rest. And hey aren't even allowed to show it to anyone. Because don't you ever show vulnerability. Especially not with today's media structure! The higher the ranks, the worse. I bet, we can't even imagine how bad their pain must be.
I drifted away again, didn't I?
Anyway. It hurts me to see all this seemingly unnecessary suffering. But if you trust the Dao, all this suffering has a purpose to it. Either human kind had to grow so much to colonise other planets or we just grow to starve like my Whitefly plague and nourish the soil with our bodies and spirits for something new to grow out of it. Or something completely different at all.
Just because we think something should be TRIED to be prevented, doesn't mean that's Wu wei. It just means, you fell for the propaganda of the people who interpreted climate change from a 100% human-centric perspective, as Professor Bruya pointed out in your beautiful conversation.
I my eyes, Wu wei means to just stop trying and just flowing with one's instincts. Because they will tell you to give back to spread joy rather than fear. They will tell you to live symbioticaly. The will tell you to be grateful for everything that's happening around you, for it is one big miracle. Just like the bare fact that you exist at all, having this rich experience, on this tiny grain of dust - Earth - in this vast universe. It's taking the labels off the actions.
To me, Wu wei means to just STOP TRYING and ENJOY this amazing experience of conscious life - with all of its ups and downs - that I was gifted. And doing it, being 100% myself in all of my uniqueness (and celebrating the diversity, you mentioned), because it wouldn't work in any other way.
I just realised, I just wrote a comment of the size of an ebook that other marketing people would ask an email address for in return. Please check out the ONE video I've uploaded on my channel so far. If people like it enough, there will probably be more of the kind. Thank you either way, for your attention.
Again: This is my perspective on the topic, so far. It's still very confusing to me, because I have felt and experienced flowing and I know that thinking about it too logically actually ruins it. It's kind of self ironic, in that regard 🙄
My perspective, my opinion formed so far. Happy to hear other's!
Anyway,
Happy Decay, everybody! 💚
Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to see, but there's only so few of you. Keep on shining, you diamond.
I do really enjoy this message, it brings contentment to think that these are all inevitable and moreover *necessary* bumps in the road, with the road being the Dao/Way.
It does sort of give me flashbacks to Catholic school though, and reminds me of the reason that I study Taoism more as a philosophy than a religion in the first place. To be blunt about it, if genocide and human trafficking and factory farming are just parts of "The Way" that I must accept then The Way is bullshit. Just like I thought to myself back at school that God's Plan must be bullshit for endorsing that everything happens "for a reason" and even for the greater good!
I guess I see the Dao more as that force that has been pushing things along since the Big Bang, as every star, planet and living being is sustained by a long series chemical reactions triggered at the beginning of the known universe. Sure even if humans die out the animals will carry on, if everything else dies then cockroaches and microorganisms will carry on, and when our planet dies the elements might go on to fuel new stars. It's all very beautiful in a broad sense, there's no way to fully stop the Way (except heat death of the universe but hopefully an alternative will be found in the trillions of years before that happens!).
I went on a tangent too... The point is yes the Dao is always gonna keep pushing on and these are the thoughts that allow me to sleep at night- but I see nothing natural or necessary about the treatment of Uyghur people's by the CPC right now, or the Rwandan genocide in 1994, or the way humans have been systematically and brutally slaughtering many millions of animals every day for decades. I know that suffering is necessary for joy, death is necessary for balance and diversity in the eco system etc. but I can't see the good that comes from these unnatural and preventable acts of cruelty. I think that the balance is not quite there and meditation nor prayer will be enough to restore it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, even if it sounds like I was attacking them!! I'm just young and passionate, still finding my footing both with activism and spirituality :) this "flowing" phenomenon you describe sounds awesome, I hope to one day see the effect it can have on others, for myself. Just centering oneself is a powerful tool as the society we live in is designed to keep us distracted at all times, instead of just sitting with ourselves and listening to our own mind and body. Being able to share this feeling with others would be even more powerful and could play a part in restoring true balance. Thanks again for sharing, it's inspiring to see such a thoughtful corner of the internet here!
@@ausphilreid Likewise! The more we are, the more we will become. Joy spreads just as easily as fear 💚
@@maggiescarlet I full-heartedly agree with you. And thank you for being so open minded! Telling people that everything has its purpose, often makes them dive straight into their fears, becoming very defensive of their fearful worldview. It's very refreshing to have an open conversation where everybody can voice their opinion and concerns without being neglected.
I don't think these bumps in the road are the Dao, to be honest. I think it's what happens when an organism gets out of tune with the Dao.
However, in my opinion, the way of making long lasting change is by living 100% by your non-fear-driven instincts. There is no point in getting pissed off over the Uyghur concentration camps, as horrible as they are. Ultimately, as long as your body and mind don't automatically do something about it directly, any kind of fear or anger over these news, will only bring you out of tune with the Dao.
Humanity is an organism in and of itself. The more people radiate the Dao, the faster the entire organism humanity can come back in tune with it. Which means, you are not stagnant at all. By being 100% you and acting for joy rather than fear, your ripples will automatically reach China.
If your body and mind do it automatically, then by all means, protest in front of a parliament. But if you find a joyful way, it will be more fun and you will attract a very different crowd than the fearful mob.
In the example of climate change I've been thinking about blocking off a street, protest style, but instead of shouting in anger and fear, I'd set up stations with different topics, like 'waste', 'transport', 'energy', 'biodiversity' and put a big sign in the middle:
"We are the people. We hold the power. We are brainstorming solutions: Join us?"
There are a lot of horrible things happening in the world. For my whiteflies it was the shortage of plants to eat, which ended in mass-starvation. For us it's topics like the Uyghur. And the only way, one person can make a difference in all of them is by tuning into the vibrations of the Dao.
In my opinion at least.
These things are horrible. But being fearful (anger originates from fear) of them only gives them more power.
To be honest, I have changed my mind about this only very recently. I've always had a world-saviour complex. This way of thinking is very new for me. And it's the first time, I feel at peace. And I feel like it's the first time I'm actually making a difference on a regular basis.
Yesterday I had to wait at the bank for 45min. The information lady wanted to forward me to a college, but nobody was free. But instead of getting angry, as I usually would have, I leaned back and started watching the bureaucratic madness around me. It's absurdly beautiful, what a mess of dehumanising systems we have built. So complex. But also clearly not functioning well. 50% of customers that came to the info desk, left sad or angry - fearful. The people who worked there, were all scared and annoyed of the next customer that comes in. Squeezed into their uniformal suits, they only wear out of existential fear. Everybody was unhappy, stressed and scared. Nobody was in there because it gave them joy to be at the bank.
This time I didn't get angry I had to wait. I sat there and smiled at all those scared apes. Smiled because I could see the beauty below all the fear. And people noticed. And you could see the confusion in their faces, until some of them lit up for a brief moment.
When I left the bank after getting what I needed, I went up to the info desk and called the first name of the lady's name tag. The turned around, recognised me, was very confused about being addressed by her first name. I smiled at her and I said thank you. Confusion. Then a big smile of pure joy of being recognised for doing her best. It's those moments when you feel that it's those small, daily life actions that can kick over an entire establishment.
Just like you, humanity is an organism. And the organism's behaviour depends of the health of every single cell. Fear is like a cancer, growing into this miracle, that we take so much for granted.
The Uyghur are suppressed out of fear as well. Together we can shrink this cancer of fear by radiating joy.
In my eyes, that's all it boils down to.
I understand your concerns. But they don't help you or anybody around you. They just make you more fearful 🙂
Thank you for being so open minded! 🌿
@@ausphilreid Oh, and btw: I don't think there are few! Not at all! Maybe when it comes to humans in "developed society", it's tougher to find people who are in tune with the Dao. But you only have to look at a blade of grass or a dog. They are 100% Daoists. They never try. They just are. (That said, some dogs do experience irrational fears as well, based on how they were raised, I'd argue.)
The Dao is all around you. All the time. You are it. No matter if you are in tune with it or not. There aren't few of us. 'We' is everywhere and everything.
There are just a lot of humans who are fearful to not be able to live up to a very dark fairytale we tell each other all the time. This is what brings us out of tune, if you ask me. So let's stop telling each other that fairytale and change to one that makes all of us feel more appreciative of life. Before we dissolve into the universe again 🙂
I love your work I find it very valuable and informative thank you very much
Taking your sense of social responsibly into practical terms with a certain amount of awareness of time - limitations belongs uniquely to our present. I personally would like to see the continuation of the Human Race but not in the human ways belonging to the present sincerely speaking if we were to "disappear " but Mother Earth was to survive and nature along with it in whatever form it may take id would say from my heart "So be it". Im not enthralled by this conversation because this type of thought/philosophy forgets that that there are indeed changes that need to be made on a very simple, human practical and social level as well as the, if I may say, sightly SELF-serving mind and thought patterns displayed right now during this interview. With respect to the Truths delivered within the many philosophies perhaps a little more realistic grounding may be needed right now to make the serious conditions of today and our world that were not present then. They had all the time in the world, today we have not that particular luxury.
I LOVE U FAMILY
GREAT WORK
BLESSINGS
The Stephen Mitchell translation just crushes.
Great video........thanks George
Why don't you try and get Jason Gregory on George? I'm not sure if he is accessible, but his knowledge on Taoism seems to be the best these days.
would love see that. Jason has high level knowledge on daoism. He teach traditional daoism, not new age stuff though. Be fun see George talk him.
Thank you for your videos
I think the fact that the tao being written for emperor's to bring peace to their kingdom is a metaphor for all of us for dealing with ourselves and our own kingdom in self and in the dao itself. Which is the point 😂💞
I believe wu-wei's role in social change is far more profound than either of you let on. Wu-wei is the art of knowing yourself and *trusting yourself* enough to release all doubt, shed all self-awareness, and simply *be* who you are as much as possible. To get to the point of mastering wu-wei, then, means mastering your own nature.
Unfortunately for us, there are many forces that seek to control us and prevent us from being fully ourselves. They can be natural forces like the laws of gravity that keep us from flying, or our own biology that prevents us from being able to drink as much alcohol as we'd like. But on another level, there can be social forces which keep us from expressing our full identities---whether that be our cultural, religious, racial, or sexual identities. In nearly all cases we must strive for harmony and balance, but that never means letting ourselves be walked all over. If these forces push us too hard, we HAVE to push back. So if you wouldn't let yourself die of an infected wound by not taking antibiotics, why should you EVER let your soul die because you could not love someone of the same sex, or practice your faith in peace, or simply EXIST without living in fear of violence or oppression?
To be a true Daoist, then, you must listen to the part of you that wants to fight back against injustice. That's your theory of social change right there. What many may not like, however, is that being a Daoist also means knowing when not to fight. It means knowing when to rest.
On that note, I love what you said at 4:37 about considering our strengths and focusing our energy through those abilities. Not everyone is suited for protesting in the streets on one extreme, or running for political office on the other! Fighting injustice could take many forms from the way you present yourself, to music, visual art, cooking, cleaning, charity, gardening, or having conversations with others.
Nicely put. What are your views may I ask on taking an RNA altering vaccine which is about to be rolled out worldwide? How does one find flow if they don't want to mess with their RNA yet can no longer live without a digital passport?
@@mozy106 We each tap into the Tao in our own ways based on our "one of a kind" minds and bodies. I mention this only because I hope you are not asking me for advice on a potentially life-saving vaccine!
My view is inapplicable to you because we are two different individuals with unique environments and experiences. Put another way, you don't know if I am an expert or an idiot! My view could potentially distort your ability to tap into your own flow, something I do not want to take part in.
You are the expert on yourself, which is why you must discover *for* yourself if your thoughts and conclusions match with what you know of the outside world and your gut instincts. If they are all in harmony, your qi will flow properly and you will prosper. The best way to do that is to be honest with yourself!
That means you are actively seeking the truth, learning about the tao (which includes science!), and not lying to yourself about what you know, do not know, or cannot know. We cannot tap into the Tao with a clouded or confused mind.
@@ShdwftheSuN I wasn't asking for advise. Just curious to see from a doaists perspective. Thanks for your reply.
@@mozy106 Glad to help! Trust your feelings as your greatest guide. If you feel the truth is too hard to decipher, let introspection and meditation be your tools. =)
I get that we are just another part of the natural way of things and Taoist thinking seems so right but I still become anxious and angry at times because humans are rapidly making this planet an unfit place to inhabit. I live in a comfortable first world country and will probably be inconvenienced by upcoming changes but there are people who will suffer big time as a result of mankind's treachery to the earth. It is difficult not to have an adverse reaction to what is going on. Sorry for the doom and gloom but I am loving your great work George and I am trying in a wu wei way.
Interesting question on whether non-action means doing nothing always. I think MLK jr did apply non-action, as a river flows downhill, in the sense that he did not fight (non-violence) and he was literally just walking with friends down a road. Should the river not flow near rocks. The opposition he encountered brought light to the blockage in the natural order, that some classes of people were oppressed. By contrast, the found fathers in the US took up arms to wage ware against the oppressor. This was not non-action but I am glad they did. Perhaps non-action is not always the best course but good as a general guide.
Listening to this conversation, for some reason I was reminded of the ending speech of Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator"; now, some of it sounds like it could be in the Daodejing ;) (it even says 'we have lost the way' :d), even though it certainly isn't Daoist in its essence. It's funny, I watched that movie in my early teens, and to this day I think about it.
The movies you make are wonderful & greatly helpful, but I do not know how to achieve direct communication. I want to find the books you recommend - actual books, not internet or audio books. I've tried Barnes & Noble, but they can't order books you recommend. Have you a website? Thank you. (LTB, age 77, USA)
If a Buddhist tells the truth it is not Buddhism, it is the truth that someone told who calls him/herself "Buddhist".
When a person, who calls him/herself a "Taoist" says the Truth it is not Taoism - it's the Truth.
Nothing else than the Truth can set us free - Truth has no limitations.
Get over the creations of the mind.
Truth has always been and will always be even after millions of years Noone will ever remember something like Taoism or Buddhism or whatever a human mind can create.
And is this dialog going to continue? It could. At least three more chapters... No? Loved the format of this one. ❤😊
glad you enjoyed! that's it for now but sure we will chat again xx
i am very sceptical of academicians being practicing philosophers. daosim cannot directly drive any social movement. but a population that is rooted in daoism is better at avoiding the conflicts that need these conflict like 'movements'. when the dao leaves, morality enters, and many similar such sayings imply that.'morality' being doing the right thing when being told this is good, that is not. when dao is present, morality is implicit, insight tells you what is to be avoided........or somthing like that ......:-)
Taoism doesn’t promote self cultivation it says we should go back to our nature which is quite the opposite actually.
there are true statements is it that George talks of us coming out of the water when he says we come from the Tao
do continue the dialogues...
You can't change the world, but you can change your preseption of the world.
A healthy and honest perception of the world is healthy for the individual, but what does it do for those who are suffering and need our help? One droplet of water does nothing, but if we act together we can be a wave of great change ☺️
@@maggiescarlet you can't change the world by getting together and bullying people to conform, it happens slowly though education and positive role models at a young age.
Traduz este vídeo para Brasileiro
Just watched this video for the first time, so I'm commenting a little late in the game, but here is my two cents. According to Author Derek Lin Wu-Wei is more unattached action than non-action. It isn't that the Taoist does nothing, but they only interfere when necessary, and only do as much is necessary and no more. A Taoist ruler, emperor, king (we are the rulers of our own lives) should only do what is necessary and have a limited amount of restrictions on the people. When there are too many restrictions and the laws are too complicated this cause chaos and crime and the people will resist. Lately the bills Congress passes are too big to read and too complicated to understand and nobody reads them all the way through until after they are passed, if even then. (I'm of course speaking of the US, but it could be the same for other countries.
Yep gogogo place the books in the white house
if there are no absolutes ... is harming others... children through actions and policy absolutely bad or not?
Does not Tao change the world on an ongoing basis?
If one's in a hurry, it may not be that obvious.
The Way of Nature?
Um, how does "bloody in tooth and claw" sound?
It seems to me that the Chinese philosophies come off well in terms of personal moralities. Put together -- the Japanese rule "moshi, koshi, loshi," (墨子，孔子，老子） i.e. look at everything from three different directions, is one version of putting them together -- works out well as practical advice based on morality.
That still leaves a great big weakness: what are your rules for collective action?
The West has done OK for the last 300 years on Adam Smith -- the rule that the wickednesses on these will balance the wickednesses of those. That seems to be running out now.
Europe is operating fairly well on the notion that there's a wide range for debate within the broad field of social democracy.
China is operating on the rule of Thirteen Engineers, One Schoolmarm, and a Nice Old Propped-Up Geezer Left Over From the Long March.
But none of those last three is really a morality for political governance from here on out, is it?
Imposible
A daoist path in american history might have avoided the genocide of the original nations.
🙏💞🌍🌎🌏🌱
Yeah, no. My man needs a serious history on white supremacy.