Daoism In Practice.

Daoism in practice.

I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed. The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and compassion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.

The Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech - 1989 (via lazyyogi)

Great words from HH.

Good words.

How to heal a broken heart?

Healing doesn’t mean going back to the way things were. Once broken, a heart never goes back to what it once was.

And that is a good thing.

A heart that hasn’t been broken is a heart that hasn’t been used.

The experience of this body and this world displays a whole array of phenomena from the wondrous beyond dreaming to the seemingly endless night of sorrow.

Any heart that genuinely exposes itself will be broken open.

If you wall the heart off and lock it away, the wounds fester and infect your sanity. But if you stay open with the wounded heart, taking care of it but not resisting and running away, then your communion with love becomes stronger than ever.

There is sadness but there is great love.

"There is no remedy for love but to love more." ~ Henry David Thoreau

A cut isn’t made to heal. You give it what you can and the healing happens in its own time. It is similar for the heart. You can’t force it to heal but you can give it what it needs.

Daily meditation and tonglen is the place to begin. I’d also recommend the book The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron.

Namaste much love

Do you have a list of books or other resources on Daoism that you've found to be the most useful?

There's a lot of great books on Daoism, so it's hard to say what have been the "most" useful. Of course, the original text by the old man is probably the best place to start. Most translations are pretty solid, just be careful about those that try to insert their own commentary into the text.

The Dalai Lama's "Beyond Religion" is definitely one of my favorite books on religion and life philosophy, and I highly recommend giving it a read. It's simple and practical and insightful, which I think is the way Daoism should best be approached.

I also recommend "The Tao of Pooh," which I understand to be the gateway book for a lot of people into Daoism. Again, it is a book that is easy to understand and preaches a simple happiness for us all. There are lots of folks who want to write deeply and extensively about the Path, Life, and the universe, but starting with simplicity is the best idea, in my opinion.

Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.

Bell Hooks (via childrenofthetao)

Hey there, I've been reading The Tao Te Ching, books about Lieh-Tzu and listening to Taoist podcasts for almost a year now. Still trying to navigate Taoism in my own life as a university student. I am unsure how the concept of just being fits in with someone like myself who lacks motivation but also has great ambition? I don't know whether to kick back and let my emotions steer or what... what really is the Tao way to approach things there?

I'd say the first thing is to take a moment and step back, to take a breath and try to look at things with fresh eyes.

What is your ambition for? Do you want to make a great impact, or climb to the top of the social ladder, or be widely known across the world, or something entirely different? Defining our goals clearly is one of the simplest things we can do to find direction in life, but it's often overlooked. It's understandable to not know the EXACT path or destination we want out of life, but the more honest you can be with yourself, the better.

And if your ambition is truly great, with it comes the motivation to pursue it. In my experience, when people say they lack motivation it often actually means that they have motivation, but also have a lot of self-doubt or fear preventing them from embracing that motivation. We must all learn to release those doubts and fears, and remind ourselves that our desire to achieve our goals should always outweigh those obstacles in the way.

Letting our passions guide us is the ideal, especially when those passions keep us moving forward towards that which truly makes us happy. This is different, however, than letting our emotions steer us around, which can just as easily lead to heartbreak and sadness as it can to joy. When we find something we are passionate about, we will march on ever forward, through the hard work and setbacks and negative emotions that come along the way. It won't feel like kicking back, but more like running down a hill towards your great ambition. That is where your motivation will come from, and this is how the Path will guide you.