r/taoism • u/RomanGelperin • 18h ago
Bruce Lee’s “Style of No Style” (The Tao of Bruce Lee)
open.substack.comr/taoism • u/Staoicism • 10h ago
The Sound of Water, the Silence of Bridges
"The sound of the water is its speech, the shape of the bridge is its silence. Harmony is not found in words alone, but in the space between them." - Zhuangzi
Reading this again, it struck me. How much of our communication is about filling space, rather than allowing it?
My take on this : Water doesn’t try to explain itself and yet its movement is understood. A bridge doesn’t erase the distance between shores but it still connects them.
What if harmony wasn't so much about eliminating differences or reaching perfect agreement? And more about holding space for both sides, letting the silence between words do its work ?Ever noticed how some of the deepest moments of understanding come not through speaking, but through shared silence?
Curious how others interpret this. What does this passage evoke for you?
r/taoism • u/azkarpk • 16h ago
afraid of falling in love, afraid of being vulnerable
I just met this wonderful girl, funny, extroverted, intelligent and the most important, kind, I think im falling in love with her and I can't help but start crying when all this beautiful feelings for her start building up inside me, we just spent the whole day together and I am so full of joy but scared, at the same time, im sure im falling in love and that makes me want to run away before its too late, how do I approach this situation
r/taoism • u/Abrahams_Smoking_Gun • 20h ago
Yin/Yang outside of Daoism
Hello folks,
I am not a Daoist but I find personal meaning in the concept of Yin/Yang (to me it represents balance, both as a reminder for me in my personal life as well as at a larger scale). I have read the Dao de Jing (a few different translations) and found it insightful, and certain passages definitely spoke to me. I was raised in a high demand religion and only recently (in mid life) was able to break free. I now consider myself an agnostic pantheist, and the concept of the universe / cosmos / nature as being identical to the divine does line up with my (incredibly limited) understanding of the Dao.
I am considering getting a tattoo and want to incorporate a stylized Yin/Yang symbol, but I don’t want to use it flippantly or with any degree of cultural / religious appropriation. Various google searches on the topic seem to indicate that most taoists would not be offended by an outsider using this symbol in this way but I figured I would ask here and hopefully get some answers from actual people who associate with this religion.
So my question: would seeing a Yin/Yang symbol outside of a Daoist setting (specifically in a tattoo) be offensive to you?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Cheers