A00273 - Book of the Month for the Month of May 2024: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Parallels Between Taoism and Yoga
"From our examination of the oral background and of the title of Tao Te Ching, we have already seen hints of Indian influence on its formation. In this part of the Afterword, I will provide evidence of a close relationship between the Tao Te Ching and the Bhagavad Gita, widely considered to be the most important scripture of Hindu religion." (pg. 140)
"I will begin this section with a brief glimpse at the history of the Bhagavad Gita. Unlike the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita has an explicit narrative context; it forms an essential part of parvan (book) VI of the great Indian epic Mahabharata. This fact is also evident from its very title, which means "Song of th Lord [that is, Krishna]." The Mahabharata (Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty) recounts events that took place between about 1400 and 800 B. C. The Bhagavad Gita and the epic of which it is a part were probably written down sometime between about the fourth century B. C. and the second century A. D. Complicating their dating is the fact that both the epic and the Bhagavad Gita must have undergone a long period of oral transmission before they were committed to writing. In any case, the core of the Bhagavad Gita is probably at least one or two centuries older than the Tao Te Ching." (pg. 141.)
"There are so many correspondences between Yoga and Taoism -- even in the smallest and oddest details -- throughout the history of their development that we might almost think of them as two variants of a single religious and philosophical system. Both conceive of conduits, tracts, channels, or arteries through which the vital breath, or energy, flows. They view the main channel as originating in the "root," or "tail," region of the body, then passing through the spinal column and flanked by two subsidiary channels. At death, the energized soul of both the Yogin and the Taoist emerges from the bregma (junction of the sagittal and coronal sutures at the top of the skull) to merge with the world-soul (Brahman, Tao). This is called the Way to Brahman by Yogis and the Marrow Way by Taoists.
"Both Yoga and Taoism maintain that there are certain points in the body where energy is held, or bound, and that there are supports that guide the vital breath. Both envisage wheels or fields where this energy generates heat. Practitioners of both disciplines are said to possess an outer radiance that reflects a refined inner essence. In their esoteric forms, both are obsessed with semen retention (said to repair the brain) -- not a preoccupation of religious practitioners that one might expect to find springing up spontaneous in two such different cultures.
"Yoga and Taoism also share a close association with internal and external alchemy. Both resort to the use of various charms, sacred syllables, and talismans as aids in meditation and for conveying secret knowledge. And both maintain that advanced accomplishments in their respective disciplines affords the practitioner special powers such as the ability to walk on water without sinking or on fire without getting burned. Claims of levitation have also been announced by those who style themselves Taoists and Yogins. These are only a few of the more obvious analogies between Taoism and Yoga." (pgs. 146-7)
*****
I found it amazing that the adherents of Taoism and Yoga believed that practitioners of Taoism and Yoga could "walk on water" and that adherents of Taoism and Yoga believed such two to three centuries before a certain Nazarene was reported as doing so.
Much to ponder in this world. Much to ponder indeed.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
June 2, 2024
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com>
To:
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 06:21:50 AM PDT
Subject: Book of the Month for the Month of May 2024: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Selected Passages
Without going out-of-doors,
one may know all under heaven;
Without peering through windows,
one may know the Way of heaven.
The farther one goes,
The less one knows.
For this reason,
The sage knows without journeying,
understands without looking,
accomplishes without acting.
{Number 10 (47)}
*****
Sincere words are not beautiful,
Beautiful words are not sincere.
He who knows is not learned,
He who is learned does not know.
He who is good does not have much,
He who has much is not good.
The sage does not hoard.
The more he does for others,
the more he has himself;
The more he gives to others,
the more his own bounty increases.
Therefore,
The Way of heaven benefits but does not harm,
The Way of man acts but does not contend.
{Number 31 (81)}
******
Know masculinity,
Maintain femininity,
and be a ravine for all under heaven.
By being a ravine for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will never desert you,
If eternal integrity never deserts you,
You will return to the state of infancy.
Know you are innocent,
Remain steadfast when insulted,
and be a valley for all under heaven.
By being a valley for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will suffice.
If eternal integrity suffices,
You will return to the simplicity of the unhewn fog.
Know whiteness,
Maintain blackness,
and be a model for all under heaven.
By being a model for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will not err.
If eternal integrity does not err,
You will return to infinity.
When the unhewn log is sawn apart,
it is made into tools;
When the sage is put to use,
he becomes the chief of officials.
For
Great carving does no cutting.
{Number 72 (28)}
*****
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com>
To: Everett Jenkins <skipjen2865@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, May 6, 2024 at 06:02:21 AM PDT
Subject: Book of the Month for April 2024: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
May is AAPI Heritage Month
To celebrate the month, I have decided to visit a volume that has long been on my library shelf, but which has not been read. The volume is entitled Tao Te Ching and the author is Lao Tzu, as translated by Victor H. Mair and with an introduction by Huston Smith. The book cover says this about the Tao Te Ching
"The classic collection of spiritual insights and observations called the Tao Te Ching embodies the search for a way to live based not on arbitrary rules of morality but on achieving harmony with all things. Here can be found an understanding of the essential oneness of the universe, that cosmic energy -- ch'i -- flows within and around us without ceasing, and that wisdom consists not in acting upon the world in order to change it, but in finding and following the Way -- the Tao. Taoism explains the world in terms of contemplation, meditation, acceptance, and reconciliation, striking imagery that penetrates the heart."
*****
I am looking forward to reading this Tao Te Ching. I am hoping that it will provide greater insights for the mystical journey that I have been on now for the last fifty-two years. Who knows maybe it will also provide some insights for the mystical journey that you may be on of your own.
Let us see. Let us begin.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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