Archive for July 2019
七夕 The Evening of the Sevens [Chinese Valentine’s Day]
七夕 The Evening of the Sevens [Chinese Valentine’s Day] —————————————————— The Evening of the Sevens in a China-wide celebrated festival. It is also called the Double Seventh Festival [shuang qi jie 双七节] or the Praying for Skills [1] [qi qiao乞巧] festival, and it could arguable be considered the equivalent of the Western Valentine’s Day, however,…
Read More緣分 Destiny
緣分 Destiny _______________________ Destiny [1] [yuan fen 缘分] is a vast concept in China, which is reflected in the astonishing number of words in the Chinese language[2]. Li Shifu once elucidated that: 三分天注定七分靠打拼。 Three parts are destined by the Heavens, Seven parts rest on one’s [own] struggle. This above sentence is about fortune [yun shi运势].…
Read More天人合一 The Unification of Heaven and Humanity into One (part I)
天人合一 The Unification of Heaven and Humanity into One (part I) ______________________________________________ 其动，止也；其死，生也；其废，起也。此又非其所以也。有治在人，忘乎物，忘乎天，其名为忘己。忘己之人，是之谓入于天。 -庄子·天地- Such movement ceases, [from] such death [comes] born, such discarding is raised [again]. These are also not such results [from humans]. There is governance with humans, [yet] forgetting matters, [and] forgetting Heaven, its name is Forgetting Oneself. People who forgetting themselves…
Read More關羽 Guan Yu, Deity of Martialdom
關羽 Guan Yu, Deity of Martialdom ________________________________________ The 24th day of the sixth lunar month [1] is celebrated in the honour of the birthday of Guan Yu [關羽], who was a Chinese general during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was serving under the command of Liu Bei and played a major part in the…
Read MoreDaoist Medicine II: 道医六个一 Daoist Medicine’s Six Ones 一碗水 One Bowl of Water (excerpt)
Daoist Medicine II: 道医六个一 Daoist Medicine’s Six Ones ______________________________________________ （二）一碗水 （2）One Bowl of Water (excerpt) _____________________ The 《Dao De Jing》 praises water highly, in Catholicism the baptism utilizes water, and the native Americans tribes’ boiling of herbs cannot be separated from ritualistic water [1]. The reason is that the nature of water is very close…
Read MoreSaints & Sages Part V: 王善人 Wang, the Benevolent
Saints & Sages Part V: 王善人 Wang, the Benevolent ______________________________________________ Who was Wang Feng Yi 王鳳儀? What are the underlying principles of his healing system which emphasizes that all diseases spring forth from the Heart-Mind? Could he rightfully be called the inventor of Chinese psychology as an equivalent to Western psychology? The following is the…
Read MoreBodhisattva Guan Shi Yin’s Attainment of Buddhahood 觀世音菩薩成佛
觀世音菩薩成佛 Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin’s Attainment of Buddhahood _______________________________________________ On the19th day of the sixth lunar month Guan Shi Yin’s or Avalokiteshvara’s attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated. Guan Shi Yin, or literally the “Observer of the Cries of the World” is considered to be the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Original a male deity in Buddhism, called…
Read MoreSaints & Sages Part IV: 李白 The Sage Poet Li Bai
Saints & Sages Part IV: 李白 The Sage Poet Li Bai ______________________________________________ Even though the genius poet Li Bai technically speaking is not a sage or saint, he is deserving of the title as “sage” poet. Li Bai formally became a Taoist, after ending his career at court. This fascination with Daoism, internal alchemy,…
Read MoreDaoist Teachings- Daoist Family 道教-道家
道教-道家 Daoist Teachings- Daoist Family _______________________________________________ Before its religious and monastic organisation Daoism was called what could be loosely translated as the Daoist Family [dao jia道家] or the Cultivation of the Dao [xue dao学道]. It could be claimed that the “philosophical” aspect of Daoism already existed, after Lao Zi left riding on the back of…
Read MoreDaoist Medicine I: 道医六个一 Daoist Medicine’s Six Ones
Daoist Medicine I: 道医六个一 Daoist Medicine’s Six Ones ______________________________________________ Daoist medicine is characterised by “Six Items”, referred to as Six-Ones. This post is about its first item: （一）一根/株/炉香 (1) One Stick of Incense ———————————— 通天达地。 [One is able to] connecting with Heaven and communicating with Earth [through incense]. Incense expels epidemics and evils [bi wen…
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