‘Yin-yang’ is one of the most,
(if not the most),
dominant concepts within Chinese philosophy…
The very fabric of nature and mind,
‘Yin-Yang’ is…
a ‘cosmic duality’-
a constant, dynamic balance of all things-
(literally ‘all’ things, for
Yin and Yang is contained within everything/
it is exhibited in all existence)-
with natural forms of opposing and complementing cosmic energies
aiding an interaction between the cosmic and human realms…
Heaven & Earth,
Sun & Moon,
Light & Darkness,
Fire & Water,
Time & Space,
Energy & Matter,
Activity & Rest,
Expansion & Contraction,
Round & Flat,
Rising & Descending,
Above & Below,
Male & Female-
(to name just a few examples of yin-yang)-
All such different forces –
they are opposites–
and yet, they are, also, all so interdependent.
Never separate,
Yin and Yang are ‘inexistable‘ without each other,
as is reflected in the Yin-Yang symbol, within which…
the small dots inside each of the two energies (represented by black and white) symbolise that there is always some Yin (black) within Yang (white) and vice versa-
in simple terms; the symbol highlights that it is impossible t o have one without the other-
it is impossible* to have yin without yang,
&,
it is impossible* to have yang without yin…
*(though, not ‘impossible’ in the sense that;
‘it is impossible to have fish without chips’,
but rather, ‘impossible’ in the sense that;
‘it is impossible to have fish without a fish to cook’,
&,
‘it is impossible to have chips without potatoes to cut’-
i.e., it is a genuine ‘impossibility’, not an exaggerated one)…
Despite the importance of Yin-Yang, as explored above, in these modern times, the concept (which, by the way, is at least 3,500 years old), often gets forgotten, being, instead, reduced to nothing more than a ‘cool looking symbol’.
How ignorant of us this is though, when, without Yin-Yang, there would be
nothing…
So ignorant when, to Yin-Yang, we owe
everything.
So, by all means, let’s all continue to appreciate the Yin-Yang symbol/
let’s all continue to get it tattooed on our bodies (if that’s what you’re into),
but, please, let’s all remember it’s true meaning-
let’s all remember that
(& yes, I am going to say it again)…
to Yin-Yang we owe
everything.
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