Neutralisation in the thought of Laozi

[Yeung]

大小多少,報怨以德
“Whether it is big or small, many of few, requite hatred with virtue” (Translated by Lin Yutang, 1948, Daodejing chapter 63)
“Training yourself thus to see little as large or few as many, then when presented with complaints, you will be able to respond with understanding” (Paraphrased by Paul Brennan, 2007, A Tao Te Ching for Christians, 63
Other quotes on Taiji and Laozi are available from Chen Weiming (1925), “Taiji merging with sayings of Laozi” (Translationed by Paul Brennan, March 2012)

[robert]

The character that is translated as neutralize is 化 - hua - to make into / to change into / -ization / to ... -ize / to transform. This is what you do to neutralize, you don't resist, you change or transform.

Dao De Jing 37 -
道常無為而無不為。侯王若能守之，萬物將自化。化而欲作，吾將鎮之以無名之樸。無名之樸，夫亦將無欲。不欲以靜，天下將自定。

(The exercise of government)
The Dao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing it), and so there is nothing which it does not do.
If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them.
If this transformation became to me an object of desire, I would express the desire by the nameless simplicity.

Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.

Isn't this the idea behind push hands, follow the opponent and await an opportunity?

Translation by Legge.

[Yeung]

天下莫柔弱於水，而攻堅強者莫之能勝，其無以易之。弱之勝強，柔之勝剛，天下莫不知，莫能行。
Nothing is softer than water, yet it defeats the hardest thing through its patient persistence. Weak beats strong, soft beats hard, everybody comprehends this but nobody makes use of it. (Paraphrased by Paul Brennan, 2007, A Tao Te Ching for Christians, 78)

[cloudz]

Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.


Translation by Legge.

That sir, is lovely, thank for sharing it.

Isn't this the idea behind push hands, follow the opponent and await an opportunity?

The TC Classics absolutely draw from the Taoist canon, therefore the art, it's strategy, methods and so on tracks that path for sure I'd say.

[GrahamB]

"A Tao Te Ching for Christians"


wtf?

[cloudz]

I have on my reading list.. made a start but stalled,
this : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/265 ... ternal_Tao
(Christ the Eternal Tao)

it's downloadable free off the web.

from the first chapter(s) or so, it seems pretty great, if you're into that sort of thing. which I guess I am.

[Bob]

Cloudz ya beat me to it (Orthodox Christen):

Christ the Eternal Tao Paperback – March 1, 1999
by Hieromonk Damascene (Author), Lou Shibai (Illustrator), You-Shan Tang (Illustrator)

Not until now has the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu been presented alongside the otherworldly revelation of Jesus Christ in a way that encompasses the full significance of both. Christ the Eternal Tao presents the Tao Teh Ching as a foreshadowing of what would be revealed by Christ, and Lao Tzu himself as a Far-Eastern prophet of Christ the incarnate God.
Through heretofore unpublished translations and teachings of Gi-ming Shien -- perhaps the greatest Chinese philosopher to have ever come to the West -- this book uncovers the esoteric core of the Tao Teh Ching. Then, through the transmission of mystics of the ancient Christian East, Lao Tzu's teaching is brought into a new dimension, exploding with new meanings. Christ, in turn, is seen in a unique light, His pure image shining in the clarity of Lao Tzu's intuitive vision.

With its practical, time-tested advice on how to unite oneself with the incarnate Tao and acquire uncreated Teh, this is both a philosophical source-book and a spiritual manual, touching the heart and leading one to profound inward transformation. It is a long-awaited Answer to those who, having turned away from modern Western "churchianity," are drawn to the freshness, directness and simplicity of Lao Tzu, and at the same time are strangely, inexplicably drawn back to the all-compelling reality of Jesus Christ.

The book is adorned with Chinese calligraphy and seals (created especially for it by well-known Chinese artists), and with traditional Chinese paintings of the life of Christ.

Here is another one I have looked at:

The Tao of Jesus : An Experiment in Inter-Traditional Understanding Paperback – January 1, 1998
by Joseph A. Loya (Author), Wan-Li Ho (Author), Chang-Shin Jih (Author), Yu Peng (Illustrator)

Lines up statements from Jesus alongside statements from Taoism, and compares them, commenting on their similarities and differences. Useful in religious anthropology, comparative religion, and Eastern religions courses.

[Yeung]

[Yeung]

Wise sayings,
"Only he who has accepted the dirt of a country can be lord of its soil-shrines: can become heaven-accepted there.
Who bears evils of the country can become a king.
Who takes into himself the calumny of the world serves to preserve the state."
Straight words seem crooked."
- Translated by Tormond Byrn, 1997, Chapter 78

Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Psalm 89:27
I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

[Bob]

Great find!

Much appreciated!

[Yeung]

The Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches' version of original sin is the view that sin originates with the Devil, "for the devil sins from the beginning (1 John iii. 8)". The Eastern Church never subscribed to Augustine of Hippo's notions of original sin and hereditary guilt. The church does not interpret "original sin" as having anything to do with transmitted guilt but with transmitted mortality. Because Adam sinned, all humanity shares not in his guilt but in the same punishment. And Chinese believe in being born innocent but corrupted in later life. Maybe this is why Western Christian church have problems interpreting Laozi.

[Yeung]

In addition to lengthening muscles to produce strengths, the art of neutralisation in internal martial arts also utilises the weight of the body, movements of the body, and incoming force to stretch or lengthen certain groups of muscles, and the recoils of those groups of muscles.