Taoism: A Decolonized Introduction

As I listen to your explanations, I feel the weight of many centuries' understanding in every new concept. It is a joy to stumble across a new academic subject and a new way of thinking. I know it will take many rewatches to fully follow everything you have discussed, but I have learned so much from even the few things i have understood. Excellent video and excellent dissemination of academic and philosophical knowledge! Thank you

I read the I Ching when I was a young child and read the Tao in high school. I worked for a tibetan family that escaped china, then vietnam and eventually came to MN and opened a restaurant. That restaurant still exists in Mpls. It's name is Rainbow Chinese Restaurant. I love your channel. Thank you for producing and sharing and I hope many people will reference your work in scholarly papers.

I will have to listen to this video many times; there is so much information here. And it is all presented with clarity and focus. Much appreciated.

I don't have words to display my gratitude to this presentation. It has taken me 12 days to make notes, process the information, cross reference with my other studies, watch, rewind and repeat. Your work and conduct is second to none. Thank you.

Finally! It is so difficult to find detailed, comprehensive first-hand information about Daoism in the languages I speak. There are good, even university grade courses, but they almost exclusively talk about the Dao De Ging and Zhuang Tse, and focus only on the philosophical aspects, which paints a very incomplete picture. Thank you for this and all the other videos you produce!

I really appreciate your commentaries. A teacher once told me, "The true magic of Tao is found between Wuji and Taiji." From limitlessness to polarity. As you explain, connecting Heaven and Earth is the essence of the Tao; therefore, being the foundation of both Shamanism and martial arts neigong/qigong. The 1 is the limitlessness, which immediately becomes 2 as soon as a limited 1 forms boundaries/limits for itself (1 and not-1) within that limitlessness. This is the classic philosophical expression of Nothing being Something, or "2 Shen born together that become Yin and Yang." The subconscious mind arises ("Heaven," that which is heaved up) from the dead sleep of unconsciousness, and seeks self-identity to "solidify" itself as something powerful. This is the pure Yang, a Something that is Nothing, arising form the chaotic Mother of all Things, or Nothing that is Something. This is how Yang became associated as "solid," or better described as "consistent/unchanging." Yin, however, is described as being fluidly changing, or unformed, yet she manifests in all forms once yang reunites to give her ever-changing nature a direction by which to make ANY form.  This is explained in the first 2 verses of Genesis; [1] "In the beginning cycle of expansion (B'reishit...Big Bang), the powers (Elohim..."Qi") shaped (bara...bar means "son of" which suggests birthing as giving shape to a form) the Heavens and the Earth." There are multiple Heavens, but only 1 earth, who is "void without form." [2] "Ruach hovered like a bird over the Deep." The ruach is the Holy Spirit, that power passed down in forms through the maternal genetics, which is why to be a natural born Jew your mother must be a Jew. Yet, it is this power of consciousness (the fire within the wind) that the earth, after the segregation, is apparently lacking which keeps her formless and chaotically confused...thus, unable to produce any form, since as she moves toward any form she is perpetually distracted toward another form. This is the psychological state known in Buddhist meditation as "Monkey Mind," and characterized as the Stone Monkey King in the Chinese epic, A Journey West. The ruach hovering is the state of Nirvana, "No Wagon," where the mind is "outside" its physical vessel, leaving an empty shell below. Such a state is often assumed to be positive, typical of gaining the Sky View of clear insight (Vipashyana/Vipassana) during meditative practice. It can, however, also be negative as during a traumatic event where the mind escapes the suffering experienced by the shell of the body. This apparent segregation is an illusion, though. Spiritual practice reminds us that reunion is the cornerstone of solving the chaotic suffering in polarity where the opposing ends of a single pole appear to be 2 separate things. Like a thread holds several pearls together in one single necklace, the word Tantra means "continuous weave," as if 1 thread weaves the entire fabric of Life into a beautiful tapestry. Religion literally means "re-link," as -ligion gives rise to the word ligament as well. Heaven, the primal "Father," appears so far away from the Earth where "we" live that the dead ancestors are used as messengers through which we living here may connect. This is how ancestor worship developed across the very ancient world. Shaman can be derived from Sanskrit Sham-an (connecting spirit) as a shaman reconnects the spirits of sick people with themselves, or connects to the spirit of a sacrificial animal in order to ride it like a horse to a particular place/hall in Heaven. This is why calling any sacrificial animal a "horse" became common across the ancient world. A water-horse, therefore, could well be the turtle sacrifice in the Fuxi story of the Bagua/Luoshu. A highly interesting correlation is the Etruscan hippocampus, or water horse that a priest must conquer to ride across the river between living and dying. Norse Sleipnir is the 8-legged horse that is the only one who can ride across the river to the dead and return. The mandala is like a magical shield and the Bagua is an early expression of that cosmological paradigm of 8x3=24 that is also found in the earliest Runic order in the Germanic expression of letters which they received from Etruscans. The most common order of runes, however, has 16, and not 24, which I believe expresses the Etruscan cosmology which was a 16 "sliced pie" shape and they were the divination masters of the early Iron Age. 16 is also important in Bagua practice, as your pictographs here show the 2 arrangements relating to form the 64 Hexagrams of the Yi Jing.  Obviously, I'm fascinated with the common cosmological consistencies/homogeny within Bronze Age cultures through a shamanic priesthood, which was apparently dominated by women before men took over in temple based urbanization coming out in the Neolithic revolutions from nomadism toward settled agriculture. When I can afford to splurge on myself again I will surely be buying your books, because your videos are full of gems for my studies.

What a series of videos you've put out, Benebell! They are absolutely fantasticly informative, and at the same time they carry so much soul.

I learned about Tao from a wise Sensei in martial arts as a child, part of training was philosophical, part meditation, stretches, exercise, and kata. Thank you for this detailed elaboration on some of these more esoteric concepts. As a child I knew magic was real, the process of learning has been more like an intense remembering of times when I was unburdened by the past, and thought not of the future.

Benebell, I so appreciate you sharing your vast knowledge with us ~ this is the first time I've heard such a comprehensive lecture on the historical basis for the Tao cosmology and its relationship to subsequent schools of thought. I have your first book on I Ching but not the latest one ~ and love that you are doing these instruction videos to help us out! We are lucky to get benefit of your years of study and experience of all the topics you have such an obvious grasp of and competence in, so many thanks for generously making this content, your books, and your decks for us! It's very generous of you. Really really appreciate it!

This is the explanation I've been looking for over the last 25 years. Thank you so much!

Looking forward to the Six Ancestral Sage Kings video! This video has been fantastic so far, thank you so much for making it!

Seriously the most underrated channel on youtube

I want to thank you so very deeply Benebell. Your thoroughly authentic educational material on Chinese occultism is fantastic has helped me to settle somewhere I feel much more secure after a long time spiritually wandering. I have landed in Buddhism, but the things I've learned about Daoism thorugh your books and videos have also made a deep impact in my practice. Best wishes to you and thank you enormously once again. ☯​🙏🏻​☸​

Thank you Benebell for providing these teachings in English 💜 I'm so grateful for your well researched resources allowing Asian Americans like myself to study more from reputable sources without the language limitations

She just ment from the point of view of the people who created they system. Aka not from the colonizer’s view point (as a lot of occult practices are); aka decolonized

Through these last few years on a great divine timing you have been with me so powerfulkly. So thank you much Great Lady!

Just pre-ordered your audiobook! So excited. Thank you for this research!!

Your videos are so informative and well organized. This is a great way to get an overview before researching deeper. Thank you.

Great video. Worth 1000 hours of studying books for "westener" interested in Tao. Thanks a lot from Poland. My conclusion: A minute of practice is better than reading for an hour. Tao is everywhere. 🙏☯️🌞

thank you so much for this, you put in so much effort for it and is much appreciated. I love that you included all the sorcery type information too.