Shadowing Practice: Taoist Wisdom For Inner Peace - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Taoism is an ancient Chinese mystical, philosophical, and religious tradition that emphasizes living in agreement with the Tao.
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The main work in Taoism is the Daodejing, created by a mysterious author called Laozi, which contains profound wisdom and insights.
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But there are more ancient works that define Taoism, like Zhuangzi and Lizi.
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It can be difficult to make sense out of the poetry, parables, anecdotes, and other forms of writing that Daoist scriptures have to offer.
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Nevertheless, we can find a lot of value in them.
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In this video, I would like to discuss some Daoist wisdom for inner peace.
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Daoism contains a philosophy that almost directly opposes today's culture.
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We're all about work hard, play hard, being proactive, unlocking your full potential,
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social, achieving social status, which often goes hand -in -hand with stretching ourselves beyond our capacities.
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This doesn't mean that accomplishment is evil.
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A certain degree of accomplishment is necessary for survival, and lies at the basis of civilization.
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But the Taoists highlight that there are alternative ways to live our lives.
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Ways that are less burdened, but less glamorous too.
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This all comes down to living more in tune with the Tao.
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Tao, the all -encompassing and thriving force behind the universe.
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Here are four pieces of wisdom that might bring us closer to the Tao.
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Don't stand on your tiptoes.
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In current culture, we're likely to overstretch ourselves in order to achieve our goals.
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Oftentimes we rush, exaggerate our achievements, lie, boast about our abilities, and push too hard.
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But the problem with this behavior is that we often lack the foundation to do what we want to do,
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which results in a very unstable position.
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I quote, Those who stand on tiptoes do not stand firmly.
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Those who rush ahead don't get very far.
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Those who try to outshine others dim their own light.
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Those who call themselves righteous can't know how wrong they are.
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Those who boast of their accomplishments diminish the things they have done.
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End quote.
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So, it's better that we don't rush into tasks, don't buy things that we can't afford, don't lie about our abilities,
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and don't show ourselves off all the time.
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Because if we do, we put ourselves in an extremely vulnerable and stressful position.
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This doesn't mean that we shouldn't go out and accomplish things.
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It's just that we do so in a manner that's sustainable and within our true capacities.
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Let softness overcome the heart.
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As a follow -up to not standing on our tiptoes,
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it could be very beneficial to realize that softness is a way to overcome the greatest of tasks.
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Here's what Lao Tzu wrote about this, and I quote, Water is the softest and most yielding substance,
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yet nothing is better than water for overcoming the hard and rigid, because nothing can compete with it.
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End quote.
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We can interpret this in many ways.
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When we look at how water has carved out mountains and rocks on our planet,
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we could say that repeating the same acts of softness over and over again will eventually overcome the hard.
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If we put emphasis on small tasks and efforts, these eventually add up into one big undertaking.
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This is the power of discipline, which means that we do the same things over and over again to achieve something big.
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A great factor in this process is the virtue of patience, which is also a form of softness,
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in which we simply accept the slowness of a natural process.
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Another factor is the willingness to let go, so the universe can manifest itself.
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We can see this with planting a tree, for example.
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We can't will the tree into growth.
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We can only water it and let nature do the rest.
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Being soft also means being flexible.
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People that are too hard and brittle cannot adapt to new situations easily and are often subdued to external circumstances.
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When we're flexible, like water, we can adapt to these circumstances.
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When a rock breaks off from a mountain by an earthquake, the fall pulverizes it.
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Water, on the other hand, will just find another way to flow.
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Three.
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Appreciate uselessness.
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In the Zhuangzi, there's a story about a useless, crooked tree.
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The lumberjack didn't want to cut that tree because that would have been a waste of his time and energy.
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The tree was so crooked and ugly that he probably couldn't even make one decent wooden plank out of it.
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But then, Zhuangzi came along.
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He observed that the straight trees were all cut down because they were useful for mankind.
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Thus, the uselessness of the crooked tree became the reason for its survival.
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Moreover, people thought… that the tree's deformations and age made it special and began to worship it like a holy object.
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Our society expects us to be useful.
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We're more appreciated when we're intelligent, diligent, good -looking, etc. Being useless doesn't get us any respect, and is even seen as a vice.
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Even the Stoics think that living virtuously includes being useful for the community.
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But the Taoists, as rebellious as they are, go against the grain by saying that uselessness is actually very useful.
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In the case of the tree, uselessness led to its preservation.
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When it comes to humans, we'll see that when we don't possess many desirable traits, we're often saved from a lot of trouble.
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So if you aren't very gifted, don't sweat over it.
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Instead, be happy, because gifted people are often the first ones that get exploited.
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Don't strive, but flow along.
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Zhuangzi observed that striving for external things is the same as striving for an illusion.
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Wealth doesn't buy happiness, and it certainly doesn't buy inner peace.
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On the contrary, being too much encumbered by possessions can evoke anxiety.
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I quote, The ears of the rich are provided with the music of bells,
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drums, flageolettes, and flutes, and their mouths are stuffed with the flesh of fat beasts, and with wine of the richest flavor.
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However, so are their desires satisfied, till they forget their proper business.
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Theirs may be pronounced a condition of disorder.
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Sunk deeply in their self -sufficiency, they resemble individuals ascending a height with a heavy burden on their backs.
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Their condition may be pronounced one of bitter suffering.
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End quote.
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The Taoists see any kind of grasping towards externals and tightly holding on to them as unnatural.
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It's not aligned with the Tao, so to say.
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But current society seems to completely revolve around this, and perhaps this is one of the main reasons why
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so many people are on antidepressants these days and flee in drugs and alcohol.
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A healthier way would be to stop striving and let go.
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And when we flow along with the current of life, we'll find out that many things will come to us, and that it doesn't take much,
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in a materialistic sense, to be satisfied.
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When a bird drinks from a pond, it only fills its belly with enough water to keep on living.
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Even animals in hibernation eat just enough to survive the coldness and scarcity of the winter.
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By following a more natural course, we will most likely end up in places that are more in agreement with our own nature.
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The act of striving often blinds us to the things
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that already are and the possibilities that life presents and that we can simply take without effort.
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So, it can't harm us to lay down the arms for a
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while and just experience what the universe has in store for us, instead of constantly striving for a conceptual future.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación se basa en el vídeo “Taoist Wisdom For Inner Peace”. Las palabras que más se repiten: tree, quote, striving, Tao, Taoist. Este vídeo tiene 75 frases y 1275 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 7:57. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 160 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 79 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| strive verbo | /ˈstɹaɪv/ | esforzarse por, afanar |
| overcome verbo | /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ | sobreponerse a |
| rush verbo | /ɹʌʃ/ | correr, apurarse |
| wisdom sustantivo | /ˈwɪzdəm/ | sabiduría |
| crooked adjetivo | /kɹʊkɪd/ | torcido, chueco |
| survival sustantivo | /sɚˈvaɪ.vəl/ | supervivencia, pervivencia |
| burden sustantivo | /ˈbɝdn̩/ | carga, lastre |
| flexible adjetivo | /ˈflɛk.sɪ.bəl/ | flexible, doblegable |
| observe verbo | /əbˈzɜːv/ | servar, observar |
| adapt verbo | /əˈdæpt/ | adaptar, ajustar |
| satisfy verbo | /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/ | satisfacer |
| circumstance sustantivo | /ˈsɝ.kəmˌstæns/ | circunstancia, tesitura |
| boast verbo | /boʊst/ | alardear, fanfarronear |
| anxiety sustantivo | /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/ | zozobra, ansiedad |
| suffer verbo | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | sufrir, penar |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| come along verbo | avanzar, marchar |
| cut down verbo | talar |
| find out verbo | averiguar, anoticiarse |
| go out verbo | salir |
| lie down verbo | echarse, tenderse |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | Those who stand · Those who rush · Those who try |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | are often subdued · is even seen · are provided |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | have done · has carved |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 32 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, doesn't, we're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “th”: nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/, earthquake /ˈɝθkweɪk/, theirs /ðɛɚz/, thrive /θɹajv/
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: rush /ɹʌʃ/, accomplishment /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ.mənt/, possession /pəˈzɛʃn̩/, worship /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp/, flesh /flɛʃ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: accomplishment /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ.mənt/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/, nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/, sustainable /səˈsteɪnəbəl/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: strive /ˈstɹaɪv/, stretch /stɹɛt͡ʃ/, sweat /swɛt/, stressful /ˈstɹɛsfəl/, scripture /ˈskɹɪpt͡ʃɚ/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: strive /ˈstɹaɪv/, overcome /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/, survival /sɚˈvaɪ.vəl/, observe /əbˈzɜːv/, achievement /əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: wisdom /ˈwɪzdəm/, observe /əbˈzɜːv/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, possession /pəˈzɛʃn̩/, possess /pəˈzɛs/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como strive, overcome, rush.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.