YIN YANG SYMBOL

The most well-known of Taoist visual symbols is the Yin-Yang symbol, also known as the Taiji symbol. The image consists of a circle divided into two teardropshaped halves - one white and the other black. Within each half is contained a smaller circle of the opposite color.

The Yin-Yang Symbol & Taoist Cosmology:

What is the meaning of the Taiji symbol?

In terms of Taoist cosmology, the circle represents Tao - the undifferentiated Unity out of which all of existence arises. The black and white halves within the circle represent Yin-qi and Yang-qi - the primordial feminine and masculine energies whose interplay gives birth to the manifest world: to the Five Elements and Ten-Thousand Things.

Yin & Yang are Co-Arising and Interdependent The curves and circles of the Yin-Yang symbol imply a kaleidoscopelike movement. This implied movement represents the ways in which Yin and Yang are mutually-arising, interdependent, and continuously transforming, one into the other. One could not exist without the other, for each contains the essence of the other. Night becomes day, and day becomes night. Birth becomes death, and death becomes birth (think: composting). Friends become enemies, and enemies become friends. Such is the nature - Taoism teaches - of everything in the relative world Heads & Tails - Another Way of Looking at the

Yin-Yang Symbol
The black and white halves of the Yin-Yang symbol are similar to the two sides of a coin. They are different, and distinct, yet one could not exist without the other. The circle itself - which contains these two halves - is like the metal (silver, gold or copper) of the coin. It is what the two sides have in common what makes them "the same." When we flip a coin, we will - in terms of the imprints - always get either "heads" or "tails," one answer or the other. Yet in terms of the essence of the coin (the metal upon which the "heads" and "tails" symbols are imprinted) the answer will

Smaller Circles Within The Larger Circle

What's great about the Yin-Yang symbol is that the smaller circles nested within each half of the symbol serve as a constant reminder of the interdependent nature of the black/white "opposites." It reminds the Taoist practitioner that all of relative existence is in constant flux and change. And while the creation of pairs-of-opposites would seem to be an aspect of our human software, we can maintain a relaxed attitude around this, knowing that each side always contains the other, as night contains day, or as a mother contains" the infant that she will, in time, give birth to.

Existence & Non-Existence In The Yin-Yang Symbol and "non-existence" is a polarity which we can "Existence"
understand, also, in the way suggested by the Yin-Yang symbol: as mutually-arising and interdependent opposites" which are in constant motion, transforming one into the other. The things of the world are appearing and dissolving continuously, as the elements of which they are composed go through their birth-and-death cycles. In Taoism, the appearance of things" is considered to be Yin, and their resolution back into their more subtle ("nothing") components, Yang. To understand the transit from "thing" to "no-thing" is to access a profound level of

ABOUT YING &YANG

In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin-yang (which is often called "yin and yang", is

used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as female and male, dark and light, low and high, cold and hot, water and fire, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept. The concept lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine,[1] and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan (t'ai chi), and qigong (Chi Kung) and of I Ching. Yin and yang are actually complementary, not opposing, forces, interacting to form a whole greater than either separate part; in effect, a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The concept of yin and yang is often symbolized by various forms of the Taijitu symbol, for which it is probably best known in Western cultures. There is a perception (especially in the Western world) that yin and yang correspond to evil and good. However, in Taoist metaphysics, good-bad distinctions and other dichotomous moral judgments are perceptual, not real; so, yin-yang is an indivisible whole. In the ethics of Confucianism on the other hand, most notably in the philosophy of Dong Zhongshu, (c. 2nd century BCE) a moral dimension is attached to the yin-yang idea

Nature : Yin Yang

In Daoist philosophy, dark and light, yin and yang, arrive in the Dodjng () at chapter 42. It becomes sensible from an initial quiescence or emptiness (wuji, sometimes symbolized by an empty circle), and continues moving until quiescence is reached again. For instance, dropping a stone in a calm pool of water will simultaneously raise waves and lower troughs between them, and this alternation of high and low points in the water will radiate outward until the movement dissipates and the pool is calm once more. Yin and yang thus are always opposite and equal qualities. Further, whenever one quality reaches its peak, it will naturally begin to transform into the opposite quality: for example, grain that reaches its full height in summer (fully yang) will produce seeds and die back in winter (fully yin) in an endless cycle. It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite, since yin and yang are bound together as parts of a mutual whole (for example, there cannot be the Bottom of the foot without the top). A way to illustrate this idea is[ to postulate the notion of a race with only men or only women; this race would disappear in a single generation. Yet, men and women together create new generations that allow the race they mutually create (and mutually come from) to survive. The interaction of the two gives birth to things.[4] Yin and yang transform each other: like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the earth and grow upwards towards the skyan intrinsically yang movement. Then, when it reaches its full potential height, it will fall.

Toponomy :ABOUT YING &YANG

Many places in China, such as Luoyang, contain the word yang, and

a few, such as Huayin, contain the word yin. This is a very old way to assign place names. Classically, when used in place names, yang refers to the "sunny side." The word (simplified ), tiyng, refers to the sun, and literally means "great yang." In the northern hemisphere, sunlight comes predominantly from the south, and so the south face of a mountain (or the north face of a river valley) will get more direct sunlight. Therefore, yang means a place is on the south slope of a mountain (or on the north bank of a river valley). For example, Luoyang is on the north bank of the Luo River valley. In the same way, yin would be the opposite, the "shady side." Yin means that a place is on the north slope of a mountain (or on the south bank of a river). For example, Huayin is on the north slope of Mount Hua.

Symbolism and importance : YING &YANG

Yang is the white side with the black dot on it, and yin is the

black side with the white dot on it. The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and a valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity and nighttime. Yang, by contrast, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime