Matt8800

@Beginner Mind I think Taoism explains it best as not straining or forcing thinks against the flow of the Tao BUT Taoism says that we should use our full effort, without forcing, to flow WITH the Tao. Flowing with the Tao is another way of saying surrendering to the Tao.

@Leo Gura I didnt see that in the list but if someone has attributed that to Taoism, they dont understand Taoism.

@geddie212 You are making the assumption that death is "bad" and fear of death is reasonable. Enlightenment involves the death of fear so if someone is held at gunpoint, let the chips fall where they may. In case anyone says I would react different if I was in that position, that would be false. I have zero fear of death. Your fear of death is causing you to grasp and attach more strongly to life. If the timing of one's death is not under our control, why all the fuss?

@Parththakkar12 Yes, the West will fall but the death of one thing is the birth of another. Its no more the "end of the world" than the fall of Rome was. Climate change will cause massive suffering closer to the equator but that is not the first time there has been massive extinctions. Eventually things will adjust and an evolutionary explosion will occur again. It has to happen and its inevitable. It is the natural cycles of the universe. Its not "bad". Go look at Elliott Wave Theory and then look at the inflation adjusted chart of the US stock Market. You'll see that the market is completing its full bull run that started with the industrial revolution. Things could get very interesting in the next month or so. Its completed its pattern as of last week and can start a corrective downtrend that would last at least 100 years. Dont stress out about it...flow with the Tao.

@Arcangelo By "life", do you mean human cells that are living? By that definition, the placenta is "alive" also. Do you feel there are ethical obligations to the placenta? If you believe that life is defined as anything other than a physical manifestation of consciousness, it creates cognitive dissonance. If you believe human life is synonymous with human consciousness, it cannot be argued that there are any moral implications prior to the fetus developing the physical mechanisms necessary for consciousness.

@Buba People can have whatever opinions they want but Ian Stevenson's research seems to indicate reincarnation is very much a reality. Ive read Stevenson's work and the critiques of his work and I found that every single one of the critiques violated Occam's Razor. People tend to be pulled by their biases depending on the dogma of the spiritual tradition or "teacher" they follow.

@d0ornokey So, in other words, be kind and understanding. Is kind and understanding the definition of safe space to you? Do they differ in some way? If we were to say, "Be kind and understanding. Dont be an asshole", would that solve the safe space issue?

@Parththakkar12 If you are suggesting that we need designated "safe space" areas, thats not realistic. If someone has something that is so traumatic, it would be unwise to share it with anyone that they have not already developed a lot of trust for. If by "safe space", you mean discussing trauma for the purpose of healing with a kind, wise confidant, than I agree but why use the phrase "safe space". If I need to share something painful with my kind, wise significant other, I wouldnt refer to it as a safe space. What is the difference here? Are you suggesting that people should unload their drama in public places? Many times people share with me past trauma and I try to help them. Why is "safe space" a necessary label for that?

@Parththakkar12 How are "safe spaces" relevant in any way if we simply treat others with kindness? What does promoting safe spaces do for people that promoting kindness doesnt?

@tsuki There are genuine victims of things like rape, childhood abuse, etc and there needs to be a healthy way of transcending it. That is not what im referring to. Nobody is saying they shouldnt be listened to but on the other side of the coin, excessively fixating on past hurts is not going to help them transcend it either. There are balanced, therapeutic methods if someone is truly looking to transcend past hurts. Im referring to people that react to "micro-aggressions", political drama, etc..or need to be "heard" regarding their personal drama. If they have a hard time with a micro aggression, what are they going to do when real adversity comes their way? In many ways, its an insult to people in their world with real adversity. Can you imagine great people in history crying about a micro aggression and needing a "safe space"? It would never happen, which is why they were great.

@Parththakkar12 I would disagree with your claim that feeding a needy ego is spiritually healthy. This is enabling with good intentions. It actually reinforces their weakness. You see this concept play out when parents do too much for their children and they end up living unemployed in their parents basement as adults spending their life on video games and porn. Their parents have good intentions because they dont want to cause stress for their adult child but in reality, they are hurting them. My counter-claim is that detaching from a needy and illusory ego is spiritual evolution. Validating unhealthy neediness is just reinforcing an unhealthy ego. I believe that exercising tough love, with trying to minimize hurt, is a way to lift others up. If they reject tough love then there is nothing you can do for them anyway.

@28 cm unbuffed ^^ Great example of how NOT to get laid...just sayin

@LaucherJunge A good book about Tantra is Desire - The Tantric Path to Awakening. More than just sexuality, Tantra has a lot to say about embracing the body, the physical realm, pleasure, etc for spiritual evolution. Im a big fan of Tantra. Rather than rejecting experience, it acknowledges that beauty cannot be embraced if experience is rejected. Its said that Tantra is a faster path to enlightenment than asceticism (I agree) but can be more dangerous due to potential attachments.

@eputkonen If direct experience (another way of saying imagination) isnt real, than nothing is which would make this whole conversation merely semantics. We already know scientifically that there is no foundational reality to "stuff" and "things" but so what? How is this not just mental masturbation? Once someone realizes the illusory nature of reality, the illusion doesnt go away. I agree with Taoism that the illusion ideally needs to be flowed with. If one decides that they reject the illusion, then it is their personal Tao to simply wait to die without taking full opportunity for evolution. We could debate as to whether "evolution" is "real" (whatever "real" means) but my flow in this incarnation is geared towards my highest possible evolution in this incarnation. Yes, physical death is merely a process of transformation but that was not what this post was originally about. It was about people's aversion to that transformation. With that said, I agree that what most people project upon that transformation just ends up being delusion rooted in programmed animal instincts to survive. Im not disagreeing with your position on non-duality....Im just saying that once someone understands it, it becomes irrelevant after that point.

@eputkonen There's no such thing as your "keyboard" and yet you type on it even though it is imaginary. Why is that? The reality of non-duality does not mean that duality does not exist. They paradoxically exist at the same time and to deny that is unhelpful. There may be no such thing as death from a non-dual perspective and yet people that have near death experiences are profoundly and permanently changed from there "not-real" death. There is no such thing as the "self" and yet the Atman continues to be refined AFTER enlightenment. What is this non-existent "thing" that continues to be refined? For every birth, there is a death. Every death is followed by a birth into something else. Nothing dies as in it comes to an end - there is only change.