Yin Yang
moon : sun
night : day
dark : light
shady side of mountain : sunny side of mountain
cloudy rainy : sunny day
cool : warm
rest : active
feminine : masculine
north : south
winter : summer
right : left
introversion : extroversion
earth : heaven
even : odd
tiger : dragon
receptive : creative
What are the possible relationships between a binary?
and
yet merged together, "unity," "mystery of mysteries," "the door to all wonders"?
Tao Te Ching Chapters 1:7-9, 2:1-8 and 36:1-9
Taoism and the Yin Yang envisions "a naturalistic universe characterized by regularity, without divine intervention or causation"
Yin Yang is often noted as "one of the most useful and insightful principles every discovered that render the infinite multitude of diverse fact intelligible"
Souls:
Shen - embracing yang qualities, and in fact can have indefinite number of shen, immaterial, cosmic soul associated with the ch'i, shifts around the body during one's life and continues after death as a radiant spirit
Kwei - embracing yin qualities, material, substantial soul, terrestrial, returns to Earth at death.
Four Seasons:
T'ai Yang - summer
Shao Yang - fall
T'ai Yin - winter
Shao Yin - spring
Trigrams and Hexagrams of the I Ching - Book of Changes
Eight Elemental Forces
yin (winter - earth) the broken lines ☷ and the yang (summer - heaven) are the unbroken lines ☰
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Trigrams |
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Hexagram |
Ch’ien (Qian) - Heaven: firmness, creativity, strength, force, power (south - summer - yang)
Sun (Xun) - Wind: gentle effects, small efforts, penetrating work
K’an (Kan) - Water: mysterious, profound, meaningful, dangerous, difficult (west - autumn - yang)
Ken (Gen) - Mountain: still, resting, meditating, tranquil, immobile
K’un (Kun) - Earth: yielding, receptive, responsive, devoted, and submissive (north - winter - yin)
Chen (Zhen) - Thunder: arousing, movement, activity, shock, growth
Li - Fire: illuminating, clarity, intelligence, dependence, attachment (east - spring - yin)
Tui (Dui) - Lakes/Valleys: joy, openness, pleasure, satisfaction, excess
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| The flag of South Korea, with the yin/yang Taegeuk in the center, with four trigrams representing Heaven, Water, Earth, and Fire (beginning top left and proceeding clockwise). |
Consult the I Ching Board: the 64 Hexagram elements
Three Summary Points:
1. are we butterflies dreaming we're humans or humans dreaming we're butterflies?
humanity a part of nature - ultimately inseparable
2. Toa is knowable and actionable via for example Tao Te Ching and I Ching, during one's life time, but not easy - a narrow, often hidden path
3. to extent you can align with Toa via Wu Wei, Ch'i will flow and you'll have longevity
this is not Moksha, not Nirvana, not enlightenment, not bliss, not salvation, not Heaven (nor Hell)
contrast with Hinduism and Buddhism
