Re: IM in ur LJ, talkin Eastern Philosophy.saint_of_meMarch 30 2010, 16:54:58 UTC
How about this...it's not really ignorance.
If you imagine a better world, than you're already unhappy in this one. Therefore it is against the Way of Being (the Tao, or wu wei, or whatever) to imagine a Heaven. Do not strive for Heaven. Do not fear Hell. Both exist in myriad forms and for an infinite number of lives. Accept it and move on. In the same vein, it is accepted that what you imagine is always better than the reality. Reality is always somewhat disappointing compared to the ideal that we imagine. But you cannot stop imagining. You could try, but you would fail. Taoists keep trying though. What's funny is that the ways they try to turn off thought/imagination are pretty creative in themselves. Hey, the temples they do it in aren't exactly minimalist either. And what's with all of the supernatural powers you get when you stop imagining and receive Taoist enlightenment? Is it because without all of the energy devoted to thought, you have more energy devoted to affecting reality? But that's a crazy tangent that only shows that I've read too many Western fantasy novels. Good luck finding a real taoist to ask about this stuff too. Tibetan monks aren't real taoists, they're crazy mountain Buddhists. Real taoists live in Hong Kong, maybe Singapore, maybe in the hills in China in secret. It's not organized religion.
If you imagine a better world, than you're already unhappy in this one. Therefore it is against the Way of Being (the Tao, or wu wei, or whatever) to imagine a Heaven. Do not strive for Heaven. Do not fear Hell. Both exist in myriad forms and for an infinite number of lives. Accept it and move on. In the same vein, it is accepted that what you imagine is always better than the reality. Reality is always somewhat disappointing compared to the ideal that we imagine. But you cannot stop imagining. You could try, but you would fail. Taoists keep trying though. What's funny is that the ways they try to turn off thought/imagination are pretty creative in themselves. Hey, the temples they do it in aren't exactly minimalist either. And what's with all of the supernatural powers you get when you stop imagining and receive Taoist enlightenment? Is it because without all of the energy devoted to thought, you have more energy devoted to affecting reality? But that's a crazy tangent that only shows that I've read too many Western fantasy novels. Good luck finding a real taoist to ask about this stuff too. Tibetan monks aren't real taoists, they're crazy mountain Buddhists. Real taoists live in Hong Kong, maybe Singapore, maybe in the hills in China in secret. It's not organized religion.
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