From : Gunner

Question :

I would like to give my female Taoist friend a Su-Chu..(Mala-Prayer Beads)
I know she would wear it on her right wrist, but that’s it. We are in America. But I am not sure how many beads are in a Taoist Su-Chu (I think 108), & since she doesn’t own one already, I would need to give her a Mantra or a Sutra, to meditate on while she prayed with the Su-Chu.
So my question is, could you please tell me how many beads are in a Taoist
Su-Chu? And could you tell me a short Mantra or Sutra in English I could share with her? Namaste, Thank you for your help. Gunner

Answer :

Dear Gunner,

First of all, if you study the history of Taoism, back in China Taoism had many sects. Even now, the situation still the same. The difference among the sects are just in their rituals and the path each of them take to reach the ultimate aims as human being. The aims is always the same, to be a better person physically and mentally. Although there are differences, they always repect each other perspective.

As for your friend, we are sorry that we probably do not have the same rituals as her. We do not wear prayer beads. And for the mantra it would be different as well. We are very sorry that we are unable to give any advice.

From : Rudy
Question :
I would like to ask again. If in a house of my relatives there is an altar, and they grieve due a family member passed away, is it true that the altar has to be covered and should not be worshiped? If it is true, what is normally used to cover? And when can we pray there again as normal? Thank you.

Answer :
If the dead is lied down in a public hall, the altar at home need not to be covered and praying can be carried on as normal. However if the dead is lied down at home, and there is no other choice but to use the room when the altar is placed, we should cover the altar with red cloth. It is simply for properness reason. The cover can be removed after the dead is carried for burial and praying can be done as normal.
If there is a proper room at home, the altar could be move there temporarily. There is no covered needed and you can pray as normal.

From : Rudy
Question :
In essence, Rudy mentioned that he pray in the morning and afternoon at home in front of the altar. However, he is confused about the correct rituals and the things he experienced lately. He also asked about how to manage statues on an altar, because he is afraid to make mistakes in this case. He wants to know more about Taoism and learn how to conduct a ritual to put a statue on altar (Khai Kuang).

Answer :
First of all, we are happy to hear that you have interest in Taoism. In Jakarta, you can visit a temple in Duta Harapan Indah, Teluk Gong. You can pass your enquiry and ask for books to read about the true Taoism. And if it is fated, you can learn Taoism in a deeper level and understand about the process of Lien Kung and the rest that have been mentioned in this forum. Lien Kung isn’t the same as reading Paritta.
Due to so many statues at your altar, we think as long you put it in the proper manner, it should be fine. Only one thing should be pointed out that the statue of Du Ti Kong (God of Land) must be put on the altar, not below it. If it is put below the table, it shows lack of understanding. For example: Should the office of Minister of Agriculture build in the middle of jungle or rice field? If you see a picture of you placed below a table, how do you feel?
Things you experienced lately, by noting that you pray very regularly to Kwan Im Goddess, we think they are just signs of hurdles in life. Pray harder and learn the True Tao, find the correct path and understanding, so you wouldn’t be confused any more.
It would be better if you can learn Taoism and be a normal person. Avoid yourself from getting in to incorrect way of learning Tao by practicing Lo Thung.

From : Rudy
Question :
I have a statue of Kwan Im Goddess at home. Usually my grandmother used to lo thung (allowing a spirit to enter a body) there. Now she is not well and very often I see a white shadow at home. Also I feel eerie and fatigue. Does it have to do with the altar which used to practive lo thung in the past? Thank you.

Answer :
If you ask whether it has something to do with the altar of Kwan Im Goddess, the answer is it has nothing to do with It at all.
About the lo thung practiced by your grandmother, I can not give any comment, because I do not know the exact situation there.
Do you always pray to Kwan Im at home? Maybe if you answer this question, I could give you further suggestion.

From : Ruddy
Question :
I would like to ask about whether we need to find a good day to move a statue of God to a new place? If we need to find the day, how could we find them? Thank you.

Answer :
Managing an altar, including relocate and placing a statue of God don’t require a good day to do it. You can do it any time you are able to, depending on your condition.

From : HermanTan
Question :
I would like to ask about the concept of Tao as a religion. Does it like the others who worship Yu Huang Ta Ti or there are more? Please explain.

Answer :
About the concept of Tao as religion you mention in your question is not very clear. Do you mean about creation of universe, or about Almightiness, or about the Highest Rank of God? In essence, according to Tao as religion, the universe exists because it follows the rule of universe (TAO). Every thing in it follows the way of Tao. The Great Thay Sang Law Cin is the Most Supreme God in Tao.

From: Iwan
Question:
I would like to learn about lotung / tangsin (way to let other soul use or enter to a human body), because in my dream, I met my father (the late) and to take care of this tuapekong. Please give some advice. Thank you.
Answer:
We would not give you information about how to do tangsin. Here we explain about Taoism and how to learn Tao correctly. From the information given to us, we suggest you to learn Taoism. The world changes and moves forward, so is our mind and perspective. Your dream (if that really has meaning in it) show that you should keep praying to God who your late father used to pray (not to take care of!). It is very clear the message was not for you to learn tangsin like your late father did. To know more about ways to pray and further about Taoism , you can find them in this forum and links to other sources. So that your understanding about Taoism would improve.

From: Che Ming
Question:
Firstly I want to say thanks for the greatest of God who created the world, and everything inside. I’m glad that apparently many people know TAO today. My question is how can we always control our action and consciousness every time? Why only after we meditate consciousness will come, and automatically it would fade away again and lastly we as a human will regret.
Thank you.
Answer:
Siu Tao is the process to improve ourselves as long as we live, to achieve right way of living, and to look for the perfection in our life. In order to start the process of Siu Tao correctly, we must do it in our everyday life, not only in theory, not only in the mind. To prevent regretting later in life, we should always correct ourselves and always improve the quality of live in every aspect. That is the real process of Siu Tao. We should be fully conscious and responsible, try the best, and be consistent in achieving the positive changes in every aspect of live. That is the real Siu Tao. With the honesty and humility to introspect ourselves. Then only we can improve flaws and always try to attain to be better and perfect.

From: Eko
Question:
About this last two and half months, I was feel terrified that is caused by my imagination. I tried to convince myself that it is only my imagination. Very often the bad imagination comes in to my mind. Some of them said I’m depressed, stressed, etc. I asked and consulted with many people until one day I met with a Taoyu in Surabaya. He gave me a book to read. I want to ask that whether with Sen Kung exercise (meditation), it can help my mind to be more calm and clear? From last time I actually wanted to learn meditation to keep my body and mind healthy. Please help.
Answer:
If you are able to understand that all of them are just your imagination, it shows that there is a huge possibility to get cured. It is very clear that you are in depression, and effect of depression makes you feel scared with no logical reason. To overcome the depression, firstly you should know the root of problem, and then only you can solve them. Meditation is a part of Shen Kung, and that is a method / knowledge from TAO to improve ourselves. In fact meditation can help to neutralize the stresses. However it should be understood that there are many causes of stress / depression. So more important is we should learn theories and philosophy of TAO to help us understand the meaning of that life. So then we can reduce and avoid the possible stress that would come again. If you have a chance to learn Shen Kung, it is better to take the chance, learn it seriously.

From: Go Twan Yong
Question:
I want to ask, what is the meaning from the symbol of Thai Cik/ Yin Yang? Is it meaning dualism (good/ bad, right/ wrong, dark/ clear, etc)? As symbol of TAO, how we can use this symbol as the basis of concept/ idea, to become our life’s direction, or as a basic to evaluate something?
Please help thanks.
Answer:
Thay Cik/ Yin Yang is the symbol of TAO, it means the meaning is very extensive, can clarify everything. Briefly this can be explained that everything in the universe has its dualism, and also can be explained that overall of the universe can be harmonic because of combination from dualism, and it can be explained many other things. For our life as taoyu, briefly I can give the explanation like the following (the principle of Yin Yang):
1. Nothing in this world is absolute, so we should not be hasty in life.
2. In life when we are happy, we should be aware of possibility of sadness occurring. And when we feel sad, we should believe that happiness will come along next time.
3. We should not be too extreme, in other way we should keep the balance and harmony in our life.
And there are many other things that we can find out from the theory of Yin Yang.