Comments on: Yin and Yang Theory http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/2005/08/05/yin-and-yang-theory/ Bringing traditional balance to modern living - Feng Shui Consultations, Tips and Information Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:37:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: This Land is my Land…I am Chief » Archive » Learn from your mistakes http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/2005/08/05/yin-and-yang-theory/#comment-18492 This Land is my Land…I am Chief » Archive » Learn from your mistakes Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:09:24 +0000 http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/?p=11#comment-18492 [...] Taoism, a main belief is Yin and Yang, which is the concept of balance, like night and day, summer and winter, light and dark. Life is [...] [...] Taoism, a main belief is Yin and Yang, which is the concept of balance, like night and day, summer and winter, light and dark. Life is [...]

]]> By: stevent10993 http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/2005/08/05/yin-and-yang-theory/#comment-18315 stevent10993 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:05:45 +0000 http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/?p=11#comment-18315 As informative as this article was, I found it ironic that the author's focus was on the very thing said pejoratively to be Western, not Eastern; the position of the black and white as a right and wrong as in how many masters are said to be drawing the symbol incorrectly. The point of the "two that are one" is that nature can be known best through fractal relationships rather than through linear data; the Xiangshu school (images and numbers), rather than the Lilu (reason and logic). This means the positions of the light and dark are, at best, only indications of the relationship the observer has to the symbol; his or her perspective, point being, they, too, change. At the same time, I agree strongly that the true depth of this beautifully fractal koan is rarely if ever known. To wit, I feel, at age 61, that I am barely scratching the surface; moreover, that one of the lessons represented by this beautiful symbol is that in a balanced life, the more you know, the more you know you don't know. Thus at best, known and not known are a balanced pair of moving opposites. Perhaps then what is seen as wrong is the part unknown to you. One observation which may be of interest to some is the idea that there are two ways in which masters have tried to tie the nature of the symbol to the nature of the real world. In one direction, yin is discerned from yang by "the nature of the thing" (by how it is). Heaven must be yin as it is emptiness / space. In the other, yin is discerned from yang by "the nature of the nature of the thing" (by how this thing changes). Here heaven is yang as it is energy / force. I myself prefer the second and feel it is more true to the underlying nature of the Tao to represent things by how they change. A Heraclitean truth to be sure. As informative as this article was, I found it ironic that the author’s focus was on the very thing said pejoratively to be Western, not Eastern; the position of the black and white as a right and wrong as in how many masters are said to be drawing the symbol incorrectly. The point of the “two that are one” is that nature can be known best through fractal relationships rather than through linear data; the Xiangshu school (images and numbers), rather than the Lilu (reason and logic). This means the positions of the light and dark are, at best, only indications of the relationship the observer has to the symbol; his or her perspective, point being, they, too, change.

At the same time, I agree strongly that the true depth of this beautifully fractal koan is rarely if ever known. To wit, I feel, at age 61, that I am barely scratching the surface; moreover, that one of the lessons represented by this beautiful symbol is that in a balanced life, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. Thus at best, known and not known are a balanced pair of moving opposites. Perhaps then what is seen as wrong is the part unknown to you.

One observation which may be of interest to some is the idea that there are two ways in which masters have tried to tie the nature of the symbol to the nature of the real world. In one direction, yin is discerned from yang by “the nature of the thing” (by how it is). Heaven must be yin as it is emptiness / space. In the other, yin is discerned from yang by “the nature of the nature of the thing” (by how this thing changes). Here heaven is yang as it is energy / force. I myself prefer the second and feel it is more true to the underlying nature of the Tao to represent things by how they change. A Heraclitean truth to be sure.

]]> By: Feng Shui Tip - Avoiding Extremes http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/2005/08/05/yin-and-yang-theory/#comment-18115 Feng Shui Tip - Avoiding Extremes Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:44:59 +0000 http://www.168fengshui.com/blog/?p=11#comment-18115 [...] about the tai ji - yin and yang. Seek balance in all aspects. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where [...] [...] about the tai ji - yin and yang. Seek balance in all aspects. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where [...]

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