Does this symbol mean anything to you, what does it represent for you?
If you're unfamiliar with the symbol, what do you think it means? What does it feel like it represents?
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Yin Yang
- Thread starter The Hammer
- Start date
Does this symbol mean anything to you, what does it represent for you?
If you're unfamiliar with the symbol, what do you think it means? What does it feel like it represents?
IndigoChild5559
Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
The Yin-Yang is one of the oldest symbols from China, associated with Taoism, but going back even before that. It embraces the concept that life can be divided into opposites -- up/down, mountain/valley, male/female etc. It has nothing to do with right/wrong. The black is not evil and the white is not good. Rather goodness, or wholesomeness, comes from the proper balance between Yin and Yang.
Polarities, and that everything has a bit of its opposite in it.
(thought you might like this one.
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(thought you might like this one.
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Heyo
Veteran Member
^^^ This.
One of favorite quotes: from Chou Tun-i' Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate
Therefore it is said, "In establishing the Tao of Heaven yin and yang are spoken of; in establishing the Tao of Earth the soft and the hard are spoken of; in establishing the Tao of man humanity (sometimes translated as love) and righteousness are spoken of."
dybmh
דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
It is the dance of 無 ( "Wu" ) and 有 ( "You" ) in the 常道 ( "Chang Dao" ). Ref: Dao De Jing Verse 1.
From the Encyclopedia of Daoism [emphasis mine]
wu and you -- Isabelle ROBINET
無 · 有
Non-being (Non-existence, Emptiness, Void) and Being (Existence)
The term wu (non-being) usually has the same meaning as xu 虛 or “void”
and kong 空 or “emptiness” (the latter term has a Buddhist flavor). The
notion has different levels of meaning, however, which imply some
distinctions.
Metaphysical or ontological “void.” The notion of a metaphysical or
ontological “void” (or “emptiness”) is found in the Daode jing and the
HZhuangzi, and later evolved under the influence of Buddhism. It negates
the naive belief in a fundamental entity that lies behind existence, and in an
ultimate beginning (Zhuangzi) or foundation for the world, and states that
the Dao, the Ultimate Truth, is invisible and inconceivable, and has neither
form nor name. Everything is fluctuant, and every being is caught in a net
of relations and depends on others, so that no one can exist on its own.
From the Encyclopedia of Daoism [emphasis mine]
wu and you -- Isabelle ROBINET
無 · 有
Non-being (Non-existence, Emptiness, Void) and Being (Existence)
The term wu (non-being) usually has the same meaning as xu 虛 or “void”
and kong 空 or “emptiness” (the latter term has a Buddhist flavor). The
notion has different levels of meaning, however, which imply some
distinctions.
Metaphysical or ontological “void.” The notion of a metaphysical or
ontological “void” (or “emptiness”) is found in the Daode jing and the
HZhuangzi, and later evolved under the influence of Buddhism. It negates
the naive belief in a fundamental entity that lies behind existence, and in an
ultimate beginning (Zhuangzi) or foundation for the world, and states that
the Dao, the Ultimate Truth, is invisible and inconceivable, and has neither
form nor name. Everything is fluctuant, and every being is caught in a net
of relations and depends on others, so that no one can exist on its own.
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Constant change and constant balance...diversity in oneness...
dybmh
דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Here is the entry on Yin Yang from the Encyclopedia of Daosim: [emphasis mine]
Yin and Yang -- Farzeen BALDRIAN-HUSSEIN
陰陽
In the Chinese worldview, the cosmos is generated from the
undifferentiated Dao through the interaction of Yin and Yang, two
principles or “pneumas” (Hqi) that are aspects or functions of the Dao itself.
Their continued hierogamy engenders everything within space and time,
giving rise to the material and spiritual manifestation. The cosmos thus is
not static but in constant change.
The term yin originally denoted the shady or northern side of a hill,
while yang was its sunny or southern side. This early definition, found in
sources of the Spring and Autumn period, was later expanded to include all
that is shady, dark, and cool, and all that is sunny, bright, and warm,
respectively. The notions of Yin and Yang were thus applied to various
complementary entities and phenomena, such as female-male, dark-light,
night-day, low-high, earth-heaven, passive-active, and so on (see table 1).
This categorization, however, is relative: a minister, for instance, is Yin in
relation to his ruler, but Yang in relation to his subordinates. Moreover, Yin
and Yang are not absolute, since each contains the seed of the other: the Yin
of winter is transformed into the Yang of summer and the process is
reversed in a ceaseless continuum. This cycle of coming and going is also
expressed as contraction and expansion.
Fig. 84. Yin (black) and Yang (white). The two inner dots represent Yin
within Yang and Yang within Yin. Around the circumference are shown the
eight trigrams (Hbagua), which in this case represent different stages in the
cycles of increase and decrease of Yin and Yang (clockwise from the lower
left corner: zhen , li , dui , qian , sun , kan , gen , and kun ).
Hu Wei 胡渭 (1633–1714), Yitu mingbian 易圖明辨
(Clarifications on Diagrams Related to the Book of Changes; 1706), j. 3.
Around the third century BCE, the notion of Yin and Yang was merged
with the theory of the Hwuxing. Water and Metal correspond to winter and
autumn (Yin), Fire and Wood to summer and spring (Yang), and Soil is the
neutral center. These associations gave rise to finer distinctions within the
cycle of Yin and Yang, now defined by four terms (for further correlations
with the wuxing see table 25):
1. Minor Yang (or Young Yang, shaoyang 少陽): East, spring
2. Great Yang (taiyang 太陽): South, summer
3. Minor Yin (or Young Yin, shaoyin 少陰): West, autumn
4. Great Yin (taiyin 太陰): North, winter
Another important development dating from around the same period was
the combination of Yin and Yang with the eight trigrams (Hbagua) and the
sixty-four hexagrams of the Yijing. From the Han period onward, these
associations integrated all forms of classification and computation—Yin
and Yang, the wuxing, the Hganzhi (Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches),
the trigrams and hexagrams of the Yijing, and other symbols of the endless
cycle of phenomenal change—into a complex system of categorization,
giving rise to the system of so-called correlative cosmology.
The workings of Yin and Yang affect everything within the universe, and
humanity is no exception. When Yin and Yang alternate according to the
natural order, the cycles of seasonal changes and those of growth and decay
follow each other harmoniously. When humanity (especially represented by
the emperor) acts in disagreement with the natural order, harmony of both
society and the cosmos is disrupted, and calamities such as droughts,
eclipses, and rebellions are the result.
While these notions are largely common to Chinese culture as a whole,
they play a central role in Taoism. The early school of the Celestial Masters
(HTianshi dao) sought to ensure the proper functioning of Yin and Yang
with their sexual rites for “merging pneumas” (Hheqi). In other milieux,
strict seasonal rules of diet and self-cultivation were followed since
illnesses were deemed to be caused by a pathological and unseasonable
excess of Yin or Yang in the bodily organs. On the other hand, the search
for longevity required in some instances going against the laws of nature, in
an attempt to invert (ni 逆) the sequence that leads to degeneration and
death (shun 順, lit., “continuation”). HNeidan alchemists obtained a pure
Yang self through the elimination of Yin from the inner organs, this being
the source of decay and death. Others practiced sexual techniques
(Hfangzhong shu) to retain the Yang essence. Rites and methods were also
devised to keep the myriads of Yin and Yang spirits within the body from
dispersing, thus avoiding illness and death.
Cheng Anne 1989; Fung Yu-lan 1952–53, 1: 383, 2: 19–30; Graham
1986c; Graham 1989, 330–40; Granet 1934, 115–48; Ho Peng Yoke 1985,
11–17; Major 1987b; Major 1993, 29–30; Needham 1956, 273–78; Robinet
1997b, 8–10; Sivin 1987, 59–70
※ Dao; wuji and taiji; yi [oneness]; COSMOGONY; COSMOLOGY
Yin and Yang -- Farzeen BALDRIAN-HUSSEIN
陰陽
In the Chinese worldview, the cosmos is generated from the
undifferentiated Dao through the interaction of Yin and Yang, two
principles or “pneumas” (Hqi) that are aspects or functions of the Dao itself.
Their continued hierogamy engenders everything within space and time,
giving rise to the material and spiritual manifestation. The cosmos thus is
not static but in constant change.
The term yin originally denoted the shady or northern side of a hill,
while yang was its sunny or southern side. This early definition, found in
sources of the Spring and Autumn period, was later expanded to include all
that is shady, dark, and cool, and all that is sunny, bright, and warm,
respectively. The notions of Yin and Yang were thus applied to various
complementary entities and phenomena, such as female-male, dark-light,
night-day, low-high, earth-heaven, passive-active, and so on (see table 1).
This categorization, however, is relative: a minister, for instance, is Yin in
relation to his ruler, but Yang in relation to his subordinates. Moreover, Yin
and Yang are not absolute, since each contains the seed of the other: the Yin
of winter is transformed into the Yang of summer and the process is
reversed in a ceaseless continuum. This cycle of coming and going is also
expressed as contraction and expansion.
Fig. 84. Yin (black) and Yang (white). The two inner dots represent Yin
within Yang and Yang within Yin. Around the circumference are shown the
eight trigrams (Hbagua), which in this case represent different stages in the
cycles of increase and decrease of Yin and Yang (clockwise from the lower
left corner: zhen , li , dui , qian , sun , kan , gen , and kun ).
Hu Wei 胡渭 (1633–1714), Yitu mingbian 易圖明辨
(Clarifications on Diagrams Related to the Book of Changes; 1706), j. 3.
Around the third century BCE, the notion of Yin and Yang was merged
with the theory of the Hwuxing. Water and Metal correspond to winter and
autumn (Yin), Fire and Wood to summer and spring (Yang), and Soil is the
neutral center. These associations gave rise to finer distinctions within the
cycle of Yin and Yang, now defined by four terms (for further correlations
with the wuxing see table 25):
1. Minor Yang (or Young Yang, shaoyang 少陽): East, spring
2. Great Yang (taiyang 太陽): South, summer
3. Minor Yin (or Young Yin, shaoyin 少陰): West, autumn
4. Great Yin (taiyin 太陰): North, winter
Another important development dating from around the same period was
the combination of Yin and Yang with the eight trigrams (Hbagua) and the
sixty-four hexagrams of the Yijing. From the Han period onward, these
associations integrated all forms of classification and computation—Yin
and Yang, the wuxing, the Hganzhi (Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches),
the trigrams and hexagrams of the Yijing, and other symbols of the endless
cycle of phenomenal change—into a complex system of categorization,
giving rise to the system of so-called correlative cosmology.
The workings of Yin and Yang affect everything within the universe, and
humanity is no exception. When Yin and Yang alternate according to the
natural order, the cycles of seasonal changes and those of growth and decay
follow each other harmoniously. When humanity (especially represented by
the emperor) acts in disagreement with the natural order, harmony of both
society and the cosmos is disrupted, and calamities such as droughts,
eclipses, and rebellions are the result.
While these notions are largely common to Chinese culture as a whole,
they play a central role in Taoism. The early school of the Celestial Masters
(HTianshi dao) sought to ensure the proper functioning of Yin and Yang
with their sexual rites for “merging pneumas” (Hheqi). In other milieux,
strict seasonal rules of diet and self-cultivation were followed since
illnesses were deemed to be caused by a pathological and unseasonable
excess of Yin or Yang in the bodily organs. On the other hand, the search
for longevity required in some instances going against the laws of nature, in
an attempt to invert (ni 逆) the sequence that leads to degeneration and
death (shun 順, lit., “continuation”). HNeidan alchemists obtained a pure
Yang self through the elimination of Yin from the inner organs, this being
the source of decay and death. Others practiced sexual techniques
(Hfangzhong shu) to retain the Yang essence. Rites and methods were also
devised to keep the myriads of Yin and Yang spirits within the body from
dispersing, thus avoiding illness and death.
Cheng Anne 1989; Fung Yu-lan 1952–53, 1: 383, 2: 19–30; Graham
1986c; Graham 1989, 330–40; Granet 1934, 115–48; Ho Peng Yoke 1985,
11–17; Major 1987b; Major 1993, 29–30; Needham 1956, 273–78; Robinet
1997b, 8–10; Sivin 1987, 59–70
※ Dao; wuji and taiji; yi [oneness]; COSMOGONY; COSMOLOGY
Wu Wei
ursus senum severiorum and ex-Bisy Backson
all things change, nothing is totally positive or negative but there is always a type of balance
It doesn't mean anything to me or represent much of anything to me - it's not part of my culture or upbringing. I know what it is and have studied it academically in the course of my religious education, I guess, but to me that's a very different beast than meaning. It's not like the symbol of the Awen, my current avatar, that really has meaning for me because I've lived, breathed, and walked a religious path that deeply and directly relates to what it is about. A symbol that would be analagous to Yin/Yang in my tradition could not be limited to a binary because I am not a dualist; I don't view reality in binary terms, I think in threes or fours or eights or thirteens.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
For me, it's the illustration of the dynamics of positive and negative ever moving , ever entwined in a relationship of balance , harmony, and extremes where neither becomes completely dominant, yet possessing the traits of opposition that is never gone and always present even when one seemingly takes dominance for a time.
It's a big influence on my avatar where positive and negative is actually in harmony nestled among extremes that rise and fall.
For a static symbol, it's amazingly animated when you look at it.
I actually live by that iconic symbol. Great thread.
Threes tend to be my common go to as well, and 9. But yes, while religiously this symbol is not within my wheelhouse. Having studied some religions academically I am familiar with how some use them, and for this thread imterested in others uses as well
Best it is for mans thorns, to seek peace when it is possible.Polarities, and that everything has a bit of its opposite in it.
View attachment 83690
(thought you might like this one.