Yin And Yang The Taoist Harmony Of Opposites 'LINK'

Yin and yang (or 陰 and 陽 in traditional Chinese characters) represent duality, or the idea that two opposite characteristics can actually exist in harmony and complement each other. It's the same idea behind quotes like, "there can be no light without darkness." Yin (the black segment) and yang (the white segment) each represent various qualities.

Yin and Yang the Taoist Harmony of Opposites

In the chart below are some of the characteristics each represents. You'll see that, for each one, yin and yang represent a pair of opposites, such as black and white, light and shadow, north and south, etc.

The yin yang symbol represents the interconnectedness of the world, particularly the natural world. There can be no positive without a negative, no open without closed, no light without shadow. The yin yang symbol itself portrays that interrelatedness. Looking at the symbol, you can see it doesn't have a straight line going through the center to represent the divide between yin and yang. Inside, the dividing line is a soft S-shape. It shows how yin and yang are connected and constantly flowing into and out of each other. At the top of the symbol, as yang swells, yin contracts. At the bottom, yin swells as yang contracts. The ideal situation is when there is an equal balance between the two, as that is when harmony is achieved.

So, what is yin and yang? They're two concepts that, together, represent the need for balance, opposite forces, and change. And which is yin and which is yang? Yin (the black section of the symbol) represents shadows, feminine energy, and generally the more mysterious side of things. Yang (the white section of the symbol) represents the sun, masculine energy, and things that are more out in the open. Neither is more powerful than the other, and both are needed in equal amounts for harmony to exist.

This diagram emphasizes the idea that from nothing came two equal and opposite forces that together form the balance of the universe. Although separate forces, the yin and the yang are most influential when combined in harmony with one another (Simpkins 5).

Adding fire and water with koi fish can enhance its meaning and power. Just as yin yang koi fish describes balance in duality, fire and water intensify that balance to create harmony in life. ? ?

A drawing in which black and white teardrops present two koi or male and female inside the yin yang symbolizes the balance between yin yang energies. You can hang this drawing in your living room so that it creates harmony between your family members when they sit together.

Not only does this yinyang-flavored explanation claim to illuminate natural phenomena, it also implies that there is an intrinsic relationship between natural events and political systems. Human beings, especially political leaders, must align their virtuous actions with the morally-oriented universe. If they follow and harmonize with (shun) the order and patterns of the universe, they will be rewarded with prosperity and flourishing, but if they go against and conflict with (ni) it, they will be punished with disasters and destruction. Whether one engages in shun or ni depends upon whether yin and yang are in a state of balance. Thus, yinyang provides a heuristic outlook for human understanding as well as ethical guidance for achieving harmony in action. As chapter 8 of the Huainanzi claims:

Yinyang embodies the harmony of heaven and earth, manifests the forms of myriad things, contains qi to transform the things and completes various kinds of things; yinyang extends and penetrates to the deepest level; begins in emptiness then becomes full and moves in boundless lands.

1. Opposites- Yin and Yang are Opposites. A common yin and yang relationship is day and night. While opposites, they can only be understood as a relationship. For example, Darkness is relative to Ying, while Yang is relative to Light. The balance between the two is always shifting and progressing in a cyclical fashion.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this interconnectivity is understood as a group of four opposites, collectively known as the Eight Principles. The table below shows the inverse relationship of yin-yang.

Yang and yin are opposites, but each contains the seed of the other. At high noon, when the day begins its descent toward darkest midnight; yang transforming into yin. In the depths of winter the seasons start to shift toward spring and summer; yin transforming into yang.

As the Dao De Ching tells us, the yin and yang qualities need to balance in order to achieve harmony inside and outside. The masculine power shows in our action and doing, while the feminine power shows in who we are and how we live. They represent the dual aspects of our spiritual lives, doing and being, productive and potent, logic and love.

HUSTON SMITH: The yin-yang, symbolizing the opposites of life. Not divided by a razor-sharp line -good on one side, evil on the other. Each takes up its abode in the deepest citadel of the other by virtue of the black dot in the white domain and the white dot in the black domain, symbolizing the mystery of the relationship between the opposites that characterize and make up our lives and how they can be united, brought together. 041b061a72