| The Ramblings of an old Taoist |
| Written by Scott |
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Tibetan Buddhism had always fascinated me, the rituals the paintings, the mandalas the colours the sound are all wonderful and appealed to my western mind, I began to get interested in some of their teachings, their cosmology, their understanding of time, space and the moment. I was lucky to meet a Tibetan monk in a small monetary in Wales, he spent lots of time explaining the Tibetan way of life and the evolution of Buddhism in Tibet to me. I found our talks fascinating and enlightening. One day whilst visiting the monetary in southern England I happened to notice one of the monks practicing Tai Chi, I asked him about this practice, his responses opened my eyes. He said he practice tai chi to enhance his meditation and to keep fit, being a monk involves lots of sitting and therefore keeping fit can become a problem so every day he practiced a form that helped keep him supple and physically well. On returning to Bristol I started to look for a Tai Chi class, after months of searching I heard a rumour or a tai chi teacher with a lineage was teaching in Bristol, I booked myself into his class and three years later I was fairly adept at tai chi, I still practice at least twice a day everyday and some say I am reasonably good at it. Tai Chi has its roots firmly founded in Taoism, most of the ancient masters were Taoist, most if not all of the principals of tai chi follow the principals of Taoism, so began my quest to understand this enigmatic philosophy. Taoism is not a religion, it is a way of life, you can be a Buddhist and follow the practices of Taoism you can be a Christian and follow the exact same practices of Taoism, Taoism does not follow a belief system. Taoism concerns itself with the way in which we live our lives in the instant that is now. Alongside my study of Taoism I began to investigate the roots of the natural earth based religions practiced by the North American Indians, Aborigines, and the Welsh, yes that's true the Welsh. The religions of Wales prior to the Christian church bare many similarities to the ancient religions of many tribal cultures. The pre-Christian peoples of Wales were tribal people that incorporated their beliefs into the natural cycles of world based events. There is an underlying thread that appears to be present throughout our world, early peoples believed that there was more to life that what we can experience with our senses, understanding these beliefs without dogma, traditions and manmade religious ceremony is the key. Now the key to what is the crux of the matter. Most people believe in something however lots of people are put off by standard religions, most people want something to believe in, however few are drawn to traditional religions? What is missing or what is present in most religions that seems to make them inaccessible to the average human being? For me there has to be a balance, as the Buddhists would say a middle way, so any extreme is to be avoided or purposefully investigated. There has to be a comprehensive way of life that caters for the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual life that we all have, to neglect any is to deny our human existence on this planet. Any practice needs to focus on the moment, most of us alternate between living in the past and the future, no truth lies that way. What I have learned: Examine everything for yourself, believe nothing unless you fully understand or can experience what it is. Truth is whole, there cannot be contradiction, disagreement, error, if you find any look elsewhere. Find out as much as you can about the teaching, not the rituals that have evolved over time. Have an open mind and dismiss nothing. Realise that there is a way of life and a religious practice, unless of course you become a nun or monk. All of the great traditions are saying much the same things, the choice to practice their teaching is up to you. You cannot have a pick and mix type of believe system where you take somethings from one and others from another. Wherever possible you should practice the religion of your country it is geared to your way of life. Understand change, everything changes, you will need to be adaptable Taoism is a way of life based on that which cannot be named, it cultivates awareness of the moment and accepts everything as being. There is no right or wrong, no morals other than compassion for all life and it will enable you to explore the things that make you human. Taoism focuses on your experience in the moment it happens and teaches you to be non judgemental, to be open minded and continuous in your search for stillness in movement.
Written by Scott follow me on Twitter
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Over my life time I have searched for a path, a way, a method of living my life in tune with the natural cycles of the world and the reality I find myself in. In my early years I messed around with mind altering drugs, various forms of religions and all sorts of mystical methods, most if not all of these detours led nowhere. I turned to mainstream religion and faithfully attended church for well over two years, most people I met there were kind, considerate people that seemed to be happy, however I never really seemed to fit in? Years later I was introduced to Buddhism by a young monk whilst we travelled on a train, we talked about the middle way, compassion, understanding, but most importantly he said, 'believe nothing, investigate everything for yourself,' these words had a profound effect on me. I started to visit Buddhist monasteries studying and practicing Buddhism and considered myself an aspiring Buddhist.