Golden Rule

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who hadworked his crops for many years. One day his horse ranaway. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came tovisit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically."May be," the farmer replied. The next morning thehorse returned, bringing with it three other wildhorses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," replied the old man. The following day, his sontried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown,and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offertheir sympathy on his misfortune. "May be," answeredthe farmer. The day after, military officials came tothe village to draft young men into the army. Seeingthat the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. Theneighbors congratulated the farmer on how well thingshad turned out. " May be ," said the farmer.

Acupuncture:

•It is based on the idea that chi flows along pathways throughout the body called meridians.

•These meridians run just under the surface of the skin and thus the needles can unblock the flow of chi.

•The needles can also drain off excess chi that has accumulated where it shouldn’t.

• Te is a natural Te is a natural thing. Be simple – thing. Be simple – even childlike.even childlike.

• E.g. a duck has E.g. a duck has short legs for short legs for paddling and paddling and diving. A crane diving. A crane has long legs for has long legs for wading. Each has wading. Each has a different Te.a different Te.

• A duck would be A duck would be unhappy with unhappy with crane legs.crane legs.

• Obey your own Obey your own nature while allowing nature while allowing others to obey theirs. others to obey theirs. Those who choose to Those who choose to be engaged in public be engaged in public life.life.

• OR OR

• Go off by yourself to Go off by yourself to enjoy and cultivate enjoy and cultivate your freedom in your freedom in peace and quiet. peace and quiet. Those who want to go Those who want to go off into the off into the mountains and mountains and commune with commune with nature.nature.

When governing :•The best way is to leave people alone as much as possible.

•Don’t make people envious by displaying luxuries or by appearing superior.

•If people cause trouble, stand aside. When they run out of steam they will see you still standing and realize you knew what you were doing and they will feel foolish. You will also not have made an enemy.

The Tao of slacking off:Avoid success, it restricts your Te. You will have too many responsibilities and results in a life of doing things you don’t want to do.

When in business or dealing with red tape:•Don’t be in a hurry: being impatient will just result in people ignoring you till you leave in a huff. So make yourself comfortable and sooner or later someone will help you.

•Don’t be bossy or argue: Listen to the person addressing you and if they cannot help, say “thank you” and try to find help elsewhere. It is easier to use this method of cutting through the red tape – Wu Wei.

•Don’t act like you know everything: if something goes wrong then the person you are dealing with will try and help to find a solution, because they feel responsible.

•Don’t think your problem is the most important or act in this fashion. If you show interest in what the other person is doing they will deal with you more carefully.

Chi or Qi???•Taoist Hygiene and Fitness- mind/body fitness or kung fu or pronounced as gong fu. It is the idea of mental and physical discipline. It includes T’ai chi and Ch’i kung or qigong also.

•Qigong is the mind/body discipline intended to improve the flow of ch’i through the body.

•Ch’i also flows through the environment and in feng shui this is the life force of nature.

•Falun Gong is another form of kung fu. It combines the mind/body discipline with spiritual beliefs of both Buddhism and Taoism. And teaches the ideas of truth, compassion and forbearance.

Food for thought:•The Taoists classify foods according to their supposed effects on the body in the belief that the proper balance of characteristics result in optimum health.

•Taoists also emphasize naturalness and simplicity in their cooking. This is considered healthy, convenient and harmonious with nature.

•Thus as a source of health the preoccupation with food dovetails with the pursuit of immortality.