~ * ~

The practice of offering incense, with a bow, to the Taoist altar is called Baibai. As the incense burns, smoke rises, and ashes fall.

The ashes represent impure air that sinks; the smoke, pure air that rises. So the offering represents the separation of pure from impure - the refinement and purification of internal energies.

It also symbolizes the human body as being the meeting-place of Heaven and Earth: as the smoke rises, and the ashes fall, we make a connection with both earth and sky ... read more

Zombies: inconceivable, conceivable but not metaphysically possible, or metaphysically possible?

Sam Crane over at The Useless Tree takes this question -- drawn from a survey of professional philosophers -- as seed for a nascent Tao of Zombies.

To begin, he wonders: How would a Confucian respond to said question? -- Not metaphysically possible, given their emphasis on the inherent goodness of human nature:

"Would it be possible, then, for the goodness of Humanity to transform, or deform, into a returned-from-the-dead, mindless, flesh-eating monster? I think not. It would simply be beyond the bounds of Confucian ontology."

For Taoists, however -- metaphysically possible:

Please consider adding your name in support of this petition to the 110 Presidents and Prime Ministers negotiating in Copenhagen:

"We call on each one of you to make the concessions necessary to meet your historic responsibility in this crisis. Rich countries must offer fair funding, and all countries must set ambitious targets on emissions. Do not leave Copenhagen without a fair, ambitious and binding deal that keeps the world safe from catastrophic global warming of 2 degrees."

If you're inspired also to make some phone calls, here's how.

Earlier this year I wrote about my flotation tank experiences -- implying, toward the end of the essay, that this kind of experience might be comparable to Taoist dark retreats. But perhaps this isn't necessarily a valid comparison.

William Bodhri -- longtime student of Nan Huai-Chin -- has an interesting essay exploring the flotation-tank phenomena, in terms of the Abhidharma system of understanding consciousness. Unless one has a highly-developed meditation practice, what's likely to happen, he claims, is a sliding into the du-yin or "solitary consciousness":