This article will teach you about a proper Taoist greeting and why you should do it properly instead of “unintentionally and rudely” without realizing the problem. It is a newbie subject but also failed by many seniors who have forgotten the basics after “maturing.” It’s a great article for newbies and also for seniors to review from time to time.
Why Greeting
Why do you have to do greetings? It is because you want the other person to acknowledge you.
Why do you want the other person to acknowledge you? It is because you want their heart to connect to you.
What do you want their heart to connect to you? It is because you want the relationship to get better. When a heart connects to a heart, the heart energy flows over and starts harmonizing as if water from two fish tanks got connected by a hose in the middle, water will blend, and fish can then travel from tank A to tank B whenever they want.
The goal of doing all these is to improve the relationship, making the other side love you more. Maybe you would think that saying “good morning” to someone every day is just so natural, and it doesn’t feel very loving or caring. However, because you have been doing it every day for many years already, the relationship and feeling between you and the other person will grow and develop better because of this practice. Compared to seeing each other daily and not even doing any greeting at all, imagine how horrible it feels.
How to Greet
The greeting must be done accordingly, which means you use the method that the other side accepts and not just any method you desire or want. For example, if a Chinese using some Chinese phrases to greet a non-Chinese, do you think it makes any sense? Or imagine you are the father and your son comes to you saying, “Hey bro, whassup.” You are not his “bro,” and that is already rude to treat your father as a “bro.” Therefore, greeting must be done properly and acceptably.
We have an old saying – you follow the village’s rules when you enter the village. Same as “lineage” or cultures. Just like the Chinese will use western handshakes when doing business in western society. Our Taoist greetings are done between Taoists in the lineage or when we want to represent ourselves as Taoists on occasion. For example, meeting with a client, teaching in public, etc. If your friends are not Taoists and maybe even Christian or Buddhist, it would be very weird for you to greet them in a Taoist way. They would even feel offended too. That is when you will go back to the ordinary people’s method and say Hi or Bye, wave your hand, and so on.
I am a Taoist master, but if someone greets me with a Buddhist method, I would immediately feel bounced because we are “not the same group.” I would return with a Taoist greeting to show my identity, which meant “we are not friends.” If you want to say “neutral” and be friendly, you should use a common greeting method so no one feels weird and awkward during the meeting.
Common Mistakes
One of the common mistakes I have been seeing is that people tend to get “robotic” with their daily greetings. They need to get on the chatroom and say the greeting daily as a “routine.” However, they never talked for real, and they never cared much about what I posted and said. What this kind of greeting does to the relationship is nothing but harm. You are building an image in my heart daily, and this image you presented by doing the robotic greeting is that “you are a robotic disciple who never talks but just greets the wall.” Do I like you more? Did our relationship improve? Did you impress me? Nope. So greeting was done but also not effective. The greeting was done, but the meaning of it was lost, just like saying “I love you” robotically instead of with true feelings.
When you greet, you should have the desire for the other party to show up or be around so you can greet them for real. When you have a chance to “catch” them, it is best to do a LIVE greeting instead of “leaving a message.” However, sometimes people “drop a message” to greet and disappear. In their mind, maybe they think that they have at least “done what they HAVE to do today” by greeting. It’s foolish, selfish, and meaningless. Not only that, it doesn’t help, but it also harms. It damages their image in my heart and worsens daily if this continues. This disciple only comes to greet the air and is not here to talk or greet me. The fact is, they never really greeted me at all; how rude.
In the old days, greetings are done within the family daily as a common practice. In the morning, people have to get up before the elders, get ready and dress up properly; then, they will wait for the elders to come out. When they see the elder, they will greet them formally and then have breakfast together. In the royal family, people have to get up early and walk to another palace to greet the elders before they start the day. As elders, they will get ready and sit in the room to wait for people to come and greet them. It’s a super formal and respectful act w respect. It’s not a CHORE or a robotic aca mechanical what most people think these days.
It's a shame that many modern families are not doing this kind of formal greeting anymore because the school doesn’t teach you about it, and most people only know to greet during “business meetings” because it is “formal.” Just because it is in the house, within the family, the respect could be put away; what a sad situation to witness. Even if you are doing it less formally, greetings should not be ignored!
the goal of the greeting is to build a better relationship and make the other side love you more. If what you are doing doesn’t make this happen, your greeting is not even a real greeting. That is why people do greetings AFTER they have dressed up nicely and look GOOD and charming; they can give the best impression to the other side! The tone, attitude and even mindset are very important too. If you want to achieve the goal of greeting, think about what you are doing, and see if you are doing the right thing or not.
Greeting the Gods
We greet the gods daily at the altar. Even if you are new and don’t have an altar, there is also a way to greet the gods. The same thing applies to this. You must use the PROPER method taught in the lineage to greet the gods in this lineage, or else you are being rude. If you want to show the gods your respect, you need to follow their methods and their way. Also, make sure you are doing it to make the gods LOVE you more, and not just do it because it is part of your daily “routine.” The mindset will change everything!
What do you do after greeting the gods? Don’t just greet and go away. That’s like being a “hi” and “bye” friend with someone; no relationship is built! As you do this hi/bye greeting daily, you are also ruining your image in god’s heart! Talk to the gods, tell your feelings, show your love, express your appreciation, or even talk to the gods about your plan for the day. Don’t just say hi and leave! You might say you are in a hurry in the morning because you must go to work, so you can burn incense and leave. That is very wrong even to think that way. It only means that you have not set aside the time for your gods in the morning, which is why you are all jam-packed. Imagine you have to drive your kid to school in the morning; you would get up an hour early to ensure it can be done. Then why not do the same for your gods?
Ordain today to learn more about this wisdom of virtue! The best way to learn is to put them into actual practice!
