Tag: peace of mind
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Where Zen Buddhism and Taoism stand apart
If someone asks me why lions ignore small birds, I’ll reply, I think accurately, that lions don’t willingly ignore small birds. The correct statement would be to say that lions do not even perceive them, at least not on a level that would prompt a lion to react. Physically, lions can of course see and…
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Differences between Taoism and Zen Buddhism
While there are superficial similarities between Taoism and Zen Buddhism, their differences are fundamental. Taoism aims at the achievement of happiness on this earth, especially for the Taoist practitioner. In contrast, the main goal of Zen Buddhism is to reduce suffering, if necessary by withdrawing from the world and taking refuge inside one’s mind. Geographically,…
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Taoism and the art of letting go
When it comes to dealing with failure and disappointments, Taoist insights are often misunderstood. They are presented as “letting go” and “forget about it,” but those formulations lack a crucial element, namely, the need to move from plan A to plan B, that is, from setbacks to recovery. In Chapter 3 of the Tao Te…
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Taoist serenity in hostile environments
According to the Taoist tradition, Chuang-Tzu once rejected a job offer in the royal court. The king had offered a sizeable salary plus lodging in the royal palace. Nevertheless, Chuang-Tzu rejected the proposal right away. Not only did Chuang-Tzu reject the proposal, but he did so rather disdainfully. He answered to the royal messenger that…
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Taoism for stress reduction and inner peace
Taoists routinely achieve stress reduction and inner peace by aligning their actions with the Tao. Their approach is strikingly different from other philosophies because Taoists place themselves on equal footing to the rest of the universe. In contrast to Christians as personified by Tomas of Aquinas (1225-1274) and Augustine (354-430), Taoists don’t place God or…
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Who founded Taoism and why
When confronted with adversity, people react in accordance with their ideas. Sound, consistent ideas enable individuals to solve problems quickly and regain the lost ground. In contrast, confusion and contradictions are bound to make things worse. Lao-Tzu (6th century BC), a contemporary of Confucius, is credited with having initiated the body of thought that we…
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Seneca’s path to serenity
Amongst all paths to serenity, the one delineated by Seneca is the most straightforward. It rests on a single principle that can be applied to all problems and circumstances that we encounter in life. Seneca’s path to serenity has been proven effective through twenty centuries of experience. In contrast to the recipes given by Marcus…
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Seneca on overcoming doubts and fears
I pity those who ignore the lessons from antique thinkers because they are leaving remarkable wisdom on the table. It is a sign of deep ignorance to categorise Socrates (470-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) as impractical, and to sustain that their works are no longer worth studying. Curiously enough, Seneca often…
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Seneca’s formula for achieving tranquillity
The solution to worry must begin by understanding its cause and how it builds over time. Seneca grasped the nature of preoccupations better than most philosophers in history, but his recommendations need to be adapted to our century. Seneca attributed mental strain to the human tendency to go too far, run too quickly, and expect…
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Putting Seneca’s anti-worry recipe into practice
I can understand those who doubt the applicability of Stoic philosophy to today’s problems. Seneca lived a long time ago. How could he possibly foresee the problems we are facing today? Indeed, Seneca’s preoccupations did not resemble ours, but we shouldn’t assume that people in Ancient Rome faced fewer problems than people in our century.…
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Recent Posts
- Lao-Tzu’s quotes on adversity
- The effortlessness of Taoism
- Beware of Lao-Tzu’s paradoxes
- Warnings about Taoism
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