/fringe/ - Fringe

>>139520

>A message from Zeek (the writer and artist) to the reader

This work is dedicated to THE MASTERS OF THE PAST & THE HEIRS OF TOMORROW and this work was written for THE TRAVELERS OF TODAY.

Greetings fellow traveler,

be your journey to the supermarket on a bicycle or another galaxy by starship. Each must start with a single step & embark on that uncertain road which is life. A toast to you who did not hide in some dark room waiting for death, but dared to set forth & face the unknown. Without such as you Magellan would not have reached Cape Horn nor Columbus the New World.

Therefore intrepid voyagers, walkers of dirt tracks & passengers on fine yachts, may this modest work contain something for you. With contributions from across our planet's spectrum I have sought this first edition to concisely resurrect the ancient skills of "Shen Ku," the philosophy of which though simple in text is profound & timeless in concept - & devastatingly applicate to absolutely every logically aware being in the universe - PARTICULARLY YOU! In conclusion, may I (your humble scribe) wish you safe passage - perhaps our paths will cross one day (the sea-shore is very restful) - God willing we might swap a yarn over a pot of Yang Yang Tea (or something stronger if you would prefer)!

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN - ZEEK (end of message)

If you have any questions surrounding the artform, or want to know more about the philosophy, I will be here to answer them. Here are a few ones I might as well answer early.

>Why is the artform deemed as "intergalactic"?

If the universe is infinite, then not only are there infinite amounts of solar systems and planets, but also there is an infinite amount of lifeforms. This also means that there exists an infinite amount of far more intelligent lifeforms, albeit they are far away from us. But intelligence is not defined by wisdom: it is defined as the efficacy of the brain in sensing things and performing tasks. Intelligence is nothing without knowledge and wisdom, and therefore: Mastery of within and of outside, is the mark of a wise creature. The moment you are intelligent enough to comprehend the wisdom, is when you can apply it. And so every intelligent being is led towards the same wisdom, or the same Intergalactic Artform.

>What are some examples of Esoteric knowledge in the book?

How to: Control your body temperature, Get rid of depression, Use a pendulum, Harness reflexology, Hypnotize yourself, Understand and enhance your Ki life force, Get energy from the sun, Control your emotions, Perform deep breathing, Perform handreading, Perform clairvoyance and more.

>What are some examples of Exoteric knowledge in the book?

How to: Grow and store food, Hunt, Make shelter, Defend yourself, Protect yourself from radiation, Treat yourself and others with Accupressure, Beat sex problems, Treat allergies, Treat parasites, Navigate, Lose weight, Remove stains, Treat skin problems, Improve eyesight and more.

Something interesting has appeared. Thanks OP. Just in time after I have finished "Hagakure". What I have got from Hagakure was the confirmation of my suspicion that the Japanese are the deranged subhumans that they are now not only since after WW2, but basically since ever, even back in the day. But the book has also good things to teach one, like not being afraid of death, being prepared to die any time, being brave and strong of will and spirit, rather dying in honor by your own hand than selling out and living a shit life as a faggot until you die anyway. I think those are good qualities.

Shen Ku seems interesting. I'm confident to have arrived at the point where I can get all the important wisdom and real guidance from my own spirit, but still I always love to read a good book for additional guidance, inspiration on the spiritual path and entertainment. I'm usually only focused on the esoteric or what you call the Yin because I see no value in this "physical" world and human society and I regard it as nothing more than a illusory shithole prison of the mind so I'm curious about what this book will offer me to maybe help me advance.

We may discuss it after I have finished it if you are still around and up for it.

>>139522

>I see no value in this "physical" world and human society and I regard it as nothing more than a illusory shithole prison of the mind

There is no Yin without the Yang, there is no Yang without the Yin. There is no spirit without the body, there is no body without the spirit. There is nothing beyond this point. You've made it, you've always made it.

If you want to escape suffering, then you'll also escape pleasure. You'll go back to nothingness, you'll reduce your spirit to it's raw form, only to be recreated again. The spirit is energy, and it must have a catalyst.

Am I telling you to go towards everythingness, to feel all suffering and all pleasure, or to transcend and embark onto greater suffering and pleasure? No. You're not God, but you're not nothing either. You're something inbetween. You're a balance of Yin and Yang, as is perfectly meant to be, as everything is.

Taoism is optimistically pessimistic, and pessimistically optimistic. Life is meaninglessly meaningful, and meaningfully meaningless. The fact that nothing matters, matters. The fact that everything matters, doesn't matter. Again, you made it. Realizing this is called enlightenment: To once be dark, and to find light. From nothingness, onto everythingness. Your roots are in hell, and your leaves are towards heaven.

>>139524

>Going to higher dimensions is more like it,

The higher dimensions allow your spirit to embark onto greater suffering. Think of it this way: An ant is only able to feel a minuscule amount of suffering compared to a human being, however the ant is a lesser creature, and therefore the ant's spirit is weaker. So the stronger the spirit, the greater sufferings the body must be able to feel.

If your spirit is too strong for your body, then your spirit will naturally seek to go to greater dimensions. If your spirit is too weak for your body, then your spirit will naturally seek to go to lesser dimensions. Yin attracts Yang, Yang attracts Yin. To escape suffering is to regress backwards, back to a form where your spirit can withstand the suffering. To embrace suffering is to advance forwards, towards a form where your spirit can withstand more suffering.

Both of these paths are perfectly fine. It's just the primordial balance doing it's work. Everything is preordained. You're not doing anything wrong, you're doing just fine. You made it.

>but studying it is extremely hard due to the lack of pure and uncorrupted material

What's there to study? You say the Tao seems to be the "real" spirituality, and that's because it's the simplest. Everything is self-explanatory. All it takes is the realization. After that, no word or language is ever needed. All that's left is the here-and-now, and the true peace of living in harmony with the balance of nature.

There is Tao mythology (most likely borrowed from Hinduism, especially the stuff about the serpents which are basically a different interpretation of the Kundalini serpent), but it's not needed. It's all commentary. This is why so many orthodox Taoists are obscurantists: because the silence and peace of the here-and-now is all there is.

>>139525

>chad taoist

>makes daoism obsolete

What the fuck?

>>139533

>What exactly makes this thread "/x/-tier"?

Just ignore all the contentless, braindead one word or one phrase posts. Ever since it's revival last year fringe is in a very bad state indeed but your thread is alright. There is basically just nobody left here to post anymore, except for bots.

>Taoism is the way of life, whereas Daoism is the religion that spawned from the philosopher Zhuang.

It's basically the same with the teachings of Christ/Buddha and the degenerated religions Christianity and Buddhism. Maybe the same with Mohamed and Islam but I'm not educated about those….tough it wouldn't surprise me.

>>139525

>The higher dimensions allow your spirit to embark onto greater suffering.

Yeah, allow but not necessary and not force as far as I know. You have much more freedom and more tools to deal with it too. I have contemplated at lenght if the suffering increases the more advanced you get (and after enlightenment and attaining immortality) and how different it will be compared to the suffering of the regular human. I believe no matter what happens, nothing is a shitty as being unenlightened with a weak spirit and trapped in the physical human realm.

>If your spirit is too strong for your body, then your spirit will naturally seek to go to greater dimensions.

That is obvious and makes perfect sense. Some other things in your post I can't agree with, because you make it seem like everyone already made it by default and everything is perfectly fine and balanced by nature, there is no need to do any work or attain any enlightenment. This is a misunderstanding of the Tao and of Wei Wu Wei imo. It seems like a stagnant, spiritually dead state. This thinking comes from the corruption of the spiritual truths. It's anti-enlightenment as pushed by new-agers and religions. It's not much different than just returning to nothingness. Quite frankly you still have to do all the work and put in a lot of energy and mind-effort to reach enlightenment and reach a state of liberation. Liberation is the keyword here. Otherwise the buddha wouldn't had have the resolve to sit under the biddhi tree and meditate until he breaks through, or dies. Otherwise there would be no /fringe/ and nobody would know of the Tao, nobody would meditate and study right? Since everyone is balanced and everyone made it. The reality is is you just stay a fool trapped in this plane and then die. Real spirituality is the quest for immortality and for liberation and involves work. Work of the mind and spirit. Now if you are fine with just navel gazing and not achieving anything and seeing yourself as already enlightened, it's fine because in the end everyone must give life their own meaning and do what they think is right. Because even liberation, enlightenment and immortality only carry the meaning that you give them. In the end, nothing actually matters and nobody cares but yourself.

Wei Wu Wei implies action without action, but it means invisible action of the mind/spirit instead of visible action of the physical body.

Btw, do you have a good english translation of the Tao Te Ching that you can recommend me?

>>139534

>you make it seem like everyone already made it by default and everything is perfectly fine and balanced by nature, there is no need to do any work or attain any enlightenment

I meant "you made it" as in you are perfectly the way you're meant to be. Clearly, your spirit is strong, and so it seeks liberation, it seeks more tools. Everyone who seeks enlightenment/immortality/self-perfection/whatever you want to call it, is in accordance with the balance of nature: Their spirit is strong, and so it is reflected through their actions. Everyone made it, in the sense that everyone's heading exactly the way they're meant to. That's preordainment.

Some are content with their current existence, and so they do not seek to regress or evolve, their spirit is just where it needs to be. Many others cannot handle the suffering on earth, and so they seek to regress through hedonism or other "anti-enlightenment" practices. Both of these cases, too, are perfectly meant to be. They, too, made it. They're just where they're supposed to be and they're going just where they're supposed to go. Do I wish that everyone seek enlightenment? Of course I do, but that clearly isn't the case with the balance of nature.

Honor those who have the spirit strong enough to seek self-perfection. Respect those who are just fine where they are. Accept the fact that most people are just too far down the road. In Gnosticism, these three kinds of people would be referred to as: Pneumatics, Psychics and Hylics respectively.

A fundamental rule of thumb is this: If something is/exists, then it's meant to be. In some way or another, often incomprehensible to our human mind, the balance of nature meant it to be. Else it wouldn't be. This is part of this peace of the here-and-now that I talked about: Acceptance and humbleness are the virtues that mark all the wise of wise men.

>do you have a good english translation of the Tao Te Ching

The best one I know of by far is the Gia-Fu Feng translation. Here's the PDF in this post and the libgen link.

https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=86CC2692299F61A254AEE15E94AA3A87

>>139539

If we are so clearly uneducated, why not educate us? May the mouth of wisdom open to the ears of understanding. Or are you so defeatist and ignorant that you'd rather see us rot in our unawareness? I did not mean to "shit all over" this community's memory, for as you've said: I am a Teenage-brained retard. I don't know any better, will you help me know better? Or shall you passive-aggressively complain some more?