#26 Lao Zhi Chang on the Orphan Raised by a Monk, Taoing the Tao, and Deactivating Triggers

This interview with Taoist (Daoist) Abbot Lao Zhi Chang is so rich and profound, I have decided to separate it into 2 episodes. For best cohesion, I suggest listening to them in order, but regardless, there is abundance to be gleaned separately from each.

Lao was orphaned at the age of 6 and ran feral for 2 years before meeting the Buddhist monk that would raise him. This benevolent monk became Lao’s first teacher, and eventually Lao would travel through more than 50 countries acquiring many more teachers of myriad philosophies.

Both parts of this interview drip with wisdom, and in the collecting pot of this episode, you will find a comparative analysis of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism; sage, fatherly-like advice from a monk; an exploration of triggers as vehicles for inner inquiry; how life symbols are not what is symbolized; and the journey of forgiveness. Lao’s life has been rife with isolated incidences of horror, including being gang raped as a young boy. Yet through all the trauma, and perhaps because of it, he has found healing, love, and compassion.

I could listen to Lao speak for hours and hope to continue fruitful dialogue with him to share with you. His ability to decipher the lessons of the universe and to distill them down into tools for others’ growth is extra-ordinary. His is on one hell of a journey, and our lives are now better because of it. Open up to it, and hang on.

Please enjoy this episode of Salish Wolf with Lao Zhi Chang.

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