Yin Yang is perhaps the most known and documented concept used within Taoism.
A starting definition: Yin / Yang: Two halves that together complete wholeness. Yin and yang are also the starting point for change. When something is whole, by definition, it’s unchanging and complete. So when you split something into two halves – yin/yang, it upsets the equilibrium of wholeness. Both halves are chasing after each other as they seek a new balance with each other.
The word Yin comes out to mean “shady side” and Yang “sunny side”.
Yin Yang is the concept of duality forming a whole. We encounter examples of Yin and Yang every day. As examples: night (Yin) and day (Yang), female (Yin) and male (Yang). Over thousands of years, quite a bit has been sorted and grouped under various Yin Yang classification systems.
The symbol for Yin Yang is called the Taijitu. Most people just call it the yin yang symbol in the west. The taijitu symbol has been found in more than one culture and over the years has come to represent Taoism.
Yin Yang illustrated from the Tao Te Ching
When people see things as beautiful,
ugliness is created.
When people see things as good,
evil is created.Being and non-being produce each other.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low oppose each other.
Fore and aft follow each other.
Now forget everything you have learned about Yin and Yang for a moment. Step back from all the descriptions and classifications of Yin and Yang to consider the following passage from the Tao Te Ching:
The Way begot one,
And the one, two;
Then the two begot three
And three, all else.
A clearer understanding of Yin Yang requires looking back into the Tao. The Tao can be considered as the fundamental absolute. Upon examination: the nature of the Tao expands out. This process of expansion defines a pattern, splitting apart into finer and finer patterns. Yin and Yang is the point where perception demarks the Tao’s expansion into one and then one into two.
Taoism as a practice enjoys examining patterns. Over the years countless sects of Taoism have formed and quite a bit of literature written over the delineation and description of these patterns. Often Taoists use the concept of Yin Yang as a familiar starting template to work with patterns.
For example, Qigong is based on the patterns of breath and physical movement. Knowledge of bodily patterns forms the basis of this Taoist practice to keep a body healthy. The human body and its movements are divided according to Yin and Yang categories. So the upper body corresponds to the Yang, while the lower body roots into the Yin. The body’s center is where the Yin and Yang meet. Qi Gong exercises are grouped and explained in terms of Yin and Yang to help classify the body’s harmonies into a working practice. Knowledge of Yin or Yang isn’t required to perform Qi Gong. Instead, it’s an additional filter which helps people connect to the practice.
Another example is Taoist divination within the Book of Changes / I Ching. Divination in Taoism is a practice of examining human interactions based on well known psychological patterns. To generate a result either coins or yarrow stalks are tossed down to form a pattern. The patterns generated correspond to Yin and Yang defined qualities. The nature of the Yin and Yang pattern is applied to the psychology of the moment to return advice for the person asking the question.
Yin Yang is a fundamental aspect of Taoist thought. We always naturally apply human-based values over naturally occurring patterns. However, remember it’s also important not to chase finer and finer descriptions of these patterns, to do so would be to chase down infinity.
Yin Yang is a system of recognizing how to separate out patterns in our life while also relaxing to accept the overall whole and complete nature of the Tao.
1. Neither Yin nor Yang is absolute. Nothing is completely Yin or completely Yang. Each aspect contains the beginning point for the other aspect. For example, day becomes night and then night becomes day. Yin and Yang are interdependent upon each other so that the definition of one requires the definition for the other to be complete.
2. Yin Yang is not static. The nature of Yin and Yang flows and changes with time. A simple example is thinking about how the day gradually flows into the night. However, the length of day and night are changing. As the earth ages, its spin is slowing causing the length of day and night to get longer. Day and night are not static entities. Sometimes changes in the relationship between Yin and Yang can be dramatic where one aspect can just transform into the other. As an example: some species of fish have females that transform quickly into males when the population of males isn’t enough.
3. The summation of Yin and Yang form a whole. One effect of this is: as one aspect increases the other decreases to maintain the overall balance of the whole.
4. The balance of Yin Yang can be skewed due to outside influences. Four possible imbalances exist:
4.1. Deficiency Yang
4.2. Deficiency Yin
4.3. Excess Yang
4.4. Excess Yin
These imbalances can be paired: so an excess of Yin can also simulate a Yang deficiency and vice versa.
As an example, this concept is especially important for Chinese healing practices. So an excess of Yang results in a fever. An excess of Yin could mean the accumulation of fluids in the body.
Chinese healing examines a person’s health by using the eight principles: Internal and External stimuli, Deficiency and Excesses, Cold and Heat and Yin and Yang.
5. Yin Yang can be subdivided into additional Yin and Yang aspects. For example, a Yang aspect of Heat: can be further subdivided into a Yin warm or Yang burning.
6. Additional principles that define Yin and Yang qualities exist. The concepts listed here are merely a starting point to illustrate the nature of Yin and Yang. Usually, as a practice, Taoism does a good job of not codifying life.
Ironically, this wasn’t true about yin Yang, since over history many Taoist’s have tried to codify what is Yin and what is Yang. Typically Taoist texts will list a few examples of Yin and Yang and then meander off to the next topic. As an example go back to the Taoist passage quoted above from the Tao Te Ching.
You will discover a few additional aspects to Yin and Yang, but the reading isn’t a complete definition either. The author of this passage fully expects you as the reader to go out and to explore the ideas on your own.
You can infinitely dig into Yin Yang due to its relative nature.
The Yin and Yang nature of soul and spirit. We travel between these two poles of our nature.
It’s a trap to think of life as only being a single aspect of ourselves: when in actuality we spin in the yin and yang nature of many aspects.
To grab on tightly to only one part of one’s nature creates a dam: upon which rides a flood of chaos: as the larger momentum of the universe will then always pick up to kick things about.
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