Hi Bruce,
I would say, YES, it is possible for a Taoist to be a spiritual person of course. I would also say that it is possible for a person to be spiritual and not believe in a Deity.
Probably the most important thing is not to get too caught up in semantics. Infinity, to use a phrase in your post, is beyond the dualistic reality we live in so does not have constraints we have here in the physical such as time, space, matter and energy.
People often work from only the mental viewpoint. They need or want to put a label on everything. But things that are infinite cannot be adequately described only experienced. Words cannot describe a spiritual experience often enough.
So orthodox religions have their holy texts, deity or deities, and rituals that give people a certain comfort level so they can feel spiritual. And those whose beliefs don't fall into the societal norm religion or whose beliefs don't fall into any category at all are potentially then labeled as "unspiritual."
There is an old quote that I like. See if it works for you:
Enlightenment is not so much making it to the never never land through the secret passageway ~
It's more like getting off your tail and doing something.
Best,
Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by Bruce Paine
Now-a-days, I hear people saying that if one doesn't believeve in a personification of spirit, one is not spiritual.
Can someone as simple as a Taoist who just believes in the yin yang energies (chi or ki) that manifest in all things coming from both the greatest infinity and also the most finite, be a spiritual person?
Or must a person believe in a deity to be truly spiritual?
Can anyone answer these questions in their own words?
Thank you, very much.
Bruce Paine
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