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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2002 6:05 am
by Louis Swaim
Greetings Show-Hong,

Hao jiu bu jian! Yes, I recognize your name from some forums way back, and I appreciate your critical mind as I did then. I suspect we have more grounds for agreement than it may appear on the face of things.

Thank you for reminding me of these additional compounds, tiyan (to learn or understand through direct experience), tihui (to intuitively understand), and tixian (to embody or give expression to). There’s another: tixing (to embody in one’s own actions).

One thing I want to clarify that may be a point of misunderstanding is that I did not use tidao in my post with the meaning “to embody THE way.” Rather, I wrote: ‘So “tidao,” “to embody” is better understood as “to play out, to practice, to do” a “way” in one’s physical body.’
I found a definition in one Chinese dictionary for tidao, for example, that says it means “gongxing zhengdao” (to personally put into practice the correct way). So that is more what I had in mind. Tidao has this strong entailment of personal practice. This is what Zhuangzi meant, is it not, when he told the story about Wheelwright Pian in the “Tiandao” chapter. His skill at making wheels was not something he could convey with the operations of reason. He said “You can get it in your hand (de zhi yu shou) and feel it in your mind (er gan yu xin). You can’t put it into words (kou bu neng yan), and yet there’s a knack to it (you shu cun yan yu qi jian).” It seems to me that all of these notions—tidao, tiyan, tihui, tixian, and tixing—apply to what Wheelwright Pian was talking about.

And he was just a regular old Joe.

Take care,
Louis

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2002 2:12 pm
by Michael
Show-Hong and Louis,

Like your thoughts.

Zhuangzi points out so much so well whether it is a wheelwright or a butcher, or....

A little side point---"Imortality" is attained IN THE END by NOT trying (striving). And is not "imortality" really more to do with being MORE connected to "reality" and life than being separated from it or being a way out? One cannot avoid the reality of death. There is no other way out, that is reality...Daoist, Buddhist or Christian. "Imortality" is a condition of living this life just as "heaven" and "hell" (personal opinion, no offense to my Christian friends) is. It probably is true for Nirvana also. Followers lacking the "achieved" ones always need to offer a promise or a reward, or they just did not understand their teachers.

Not the place....anyone know of a good Daoist board that is serious and not "foo foo", funky, and not completely obsessed with chigung?

enjoy!!

Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2002 11:21 pm
by Wushuer
Just a quick word about one small aspect. I will the larger alone as I am short on time.
Yang Shao Hou was not doing anything "new" with the small frame. Yang Luchan taught the small frame in the imperial court because of the clothing the courtiers wore, loose, voluminous, long sleeved robes. They tripped over them and got the sleeves tangled doing large frame.
Yang Luchan created small frame to get over this impediement, retaining the true aspects of large frame, just making them "smaller". Quan Yu, an imperial bodyguard, learned this style and it is still prevelant in the forms of the Wu family, through Wu Chien Chuan, Quan Yu's son.
Very legitimate. Very good Taiji. Not "watered down" in any fashion.
That's all I wanted to say.