Taoism

Just before registering here I started to read up on Taoism. Seems to me there is a lot of force type beliefs that are fundimental to Taoism. Has anyone studied this much?

Many here have “studied” the Tao Te Ching and Taoism, or soon will.

Alexandre Orion has done an extensive report on the Tao T Ching in his journal… perhaps you could pick his brain on it!

I read it once, but I just read, and passed...

I should go and study it again

If you can contact Alexandre Orion, he can help you a lot... he told me he studied it since the past 17 years (lol, same as my age!!!)

Taoism is beautiful because it doesn't claim to know anything. That's the best part. It acknowledges that answers are beyond the "word" and that it takes careful pointing to find it.

You're correct in that there is a lot of resonance with Taoist beliefs here. But then again, not everyone feels that way. That's the beauty of a syncretistic faith

However if you wish (as many of us do) to study Taoism with a Jedi perspective, there's a version of the Tao Te Ching in the library that might help you out:
http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Training--Library/24989-81-JEDIISM-RITE-SPIRITUAL-LITERATURE--THE-FIRST-BOOK-OF-JEDIISM#24989

You only really need the first part of the Tao.

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

After reading this you might as well close the book and head out for a walk because the rest is just saying the same things in different, equally vague, words.

If you are looking for something with less Eastern wisdom(vagueary) you should look in to stoicism. Many of the same concepts presented for a western mind

And, although not a professed stoic himself, Marcus Aurelius had much stoic influence in his meditations (since he was taught stoicism as a philosophy in private schooling).

Andy is correct. The first part says everything that it needs to say.

The first part does indeed say a lot about the Force and its nature but the rest of the book offers insights into behaviour, conduct, connections to the Force, and guidance for those that are in a position of responsibility. As such, it is unwise to dismiss it so readily.

I found a lot to reflect on while reading. One of the things was about exercising. The idea of slow rhythmic movements, which makes me think of Tai chi. Since I've read that I've tried it a few times a day. I'll keep you posted.

Then there is the idea of staying in harmony of your life and life, we are a spirit dwelling in a body and you are what you think. Stuff to reflect on. These are things that have wondered through my internal abyss from time to time. Good stuff.

Ok, so here is the essence of Taoist thought and practice summed up in a couple paragraphs,

Suppose you and I have an argument. Suppose you win and I lose. Does that mean you’re really right and I’m wrong? Suppose I win and you lose. Does that mean I’m really right and you’re wrong? Is one of us right and the other wrong? Are we both right and both wrong? If we can’t figure it out ourselves, others must be totally in the dark, so who could we get to settle it? We could get someone who agrees with you, but if they agree with you how could they decide who’s right and wrong? We could get someone who agrees with me, but if they agree with me how could they decide? We could get someone who disagrees with both of us, but if they disagree with both of us how could they decide? We could get someone who agree with both of us, but if they agree with both of us how could they decide? Not I nor you nor anyone else can know who is right and who wrong. So what do we do? Wait for someone else to come along and decide?

What is meant by an “accord reaching to the very limits of heaven”? I’d say: right isn’t merely right; so isn’t merely so. If right is truly right, then not-right is so far from being right that there’s no argument. And if so is truly so, not-so is so far from being so that there’s no argument. When voices in transformation wait for each other to decide, it’s like waiting for nothing. “An according reaching to the very limits of heaven:” because it’s endless, we live clear through all the years. Forget the years, forget Duty: move in the boundless, and the boundless becomes your home.

y