Yin Yang Philosophy

Discussion on the Metaphysics / Philosophy of Yin Yang
The Metaphysics of Space and Motion & the Wave Structure of Matter
On the Harmony of Opposites in the One Universe (Space)
Yin Yang Pictures

The Great One produces the two poles (Heaven and Earth), which in turn give rise to the energies of the dark (yin) and the light (yang). These two energies then transform themselves, one rising upwards, and the other descending downwards; they merge again and give rise to form. (Lu-sih ch'un-ch'iu - Spring and Autumn Annals)

The created universe carries the yin at its back and the yang in front; Through the union of the pervading principles it reaches harmony. (Lao tzu, Tao-te ching)

(Gottfried Leibniz, 1670) Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. ... I maintain also that substances, whether material or immaterial, cannot be conceived in their bare essence without any activity, activity being of the essence of substance in general.

Transformation contains both change and stability, plurality and unity, movement and constancy. It has the nature of life, namely, to connect organically the polar opposites, the stumbling blocks of logic, and to unite them in an all embracing rhythm. (Lama Govinda)

The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
(Erwin Schrodinger)

Introduction to Metaphysics of Yin & Yang

The idea of opposites (Yin Yang, the union and harmony of opposites) has existed in both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. Of the Ancient Greek Philosophers, Heraclitus and Parmenides both understood that the Universe was One and Dynamic. As Bertrand Russell writes on Heraclitus;

For Heraclitus the unity of things was to be found in their essential structure or arrangement rather than their material. This common structure or Logos, which was not superficially apparent, was chiefly embodied in a Single kinetic material, Fire. It was responsible both for the regularity of natural changes and for the essential connexion of opposites - Heraclitus adopted this traditional analysis of differentiation - through balanced interaction. The regularity underlying change was for Heraclitus the significant thing .. (Bertrand Russell on Heraclitus, The History of Western Philosophy)

It is also interesting to read the original fragments of Heraclitus' own writing;

Listening to the Logos rather than to me, it is wise to agree that all things are in reality one thing and one thing only. (Heraclitus)

Things which are put together are both whole and not whole, brought together and taken apart, in harmony and out of harmony; one thing arises from all things, and all things arise from one thing. (Heraclitus)

As a single, unified thing there exists in us both life and death, waking and sleeping, youth and old age, because the former things having changed are now the latter, and when those latter things change, they become the former. (Heraclitus)

Parmenides viewed this Oneness in a different manner to Heraclitus;

The One is infinite and indivisible. It is not, as Heraclitus, a union of opposites, since there are no opposites. Parmenides apparently thought, for instance, that 'cold' means only 'not hot' and 'dark' means only 'not light'. ... Parmenides seems to think of it (the One) as material and extended, for he speaks of it as a sphere. But it cannot be divided, because of the whole of it is present everywhere. (Russell, 1946)

However, it is clear that both Philosophy and Metaphysics are founded on this Dynamic Unity and Order / Harmony of Reality, as Nietzsche (rather grandly) states,

(Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks, 1880) Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition (of Thales) that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the proposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ... That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavours to express it better, we find in all philosophies - the proposition: everything is one!

This understanding of the Unity of the Universe is also shared by many Eastern philosophers (in fact one could say that this the foundation of the Eastern world view - All is One and Dynamic).

Though One, Brahman is the cause of the many. .. Brahman is the unborn (aja) in whom all existing things abide. The One manifests as the many, the formless putting on forms. (Rig Veda)
The word Brahman means growth and is suggestive of life, motion, progress. (Radhakrishnan)

While this webpage is on Yin Yang, it is primarily concerned with the metaphysics of Yin Yang, and what this knowledge is telling us about physical reality.

(Bradley, 1846-1924) We may agree, perhaps, to understand by Metaphysics an attempt to know reality as against mere appearance, or the study of first principles or ultimate truths, or again the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply piecemeal or by fragments, but somehow as a whole.

In particular, it is now quite easy to show that the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) provides a simple explanation of these ancient ideas of the universe (All is One, Interconnected, Dynamic). From this perspective of describing reality in terms of One Dynamic Thing, Space, and its properties as a Wave-Medium (rather than 'particles and fields in space-time) we find simple sensible solutions to many of the current problems of modern Physics, Philosophy and Metaphysics.

The Wave Structure of Matter
Describing Reality from the Most Simple Science Foundation
From 'Particles' & Spherical 'Field's in 'Space-Time', to Spherical Waves in Space.

Please see links at the top of this page for the main articles which explain and solve many of the problems of postmodern Metaphysics, Physics and Philosophy from the new foundation of the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM).

The Ancient Greek Philosophers were often very close to the truth, as reflected in Parmenides realisation that the One existent is material (substance), extended (Space) and a Sphere (caused by matter as Spherical Waves in Space). Further, the Wave-Center of the Spherical Waves, which causes the discrete particle effect, is not a division, but rather, a production from the One Unity, the Focal-Point of Spherical Standing Waves that determine the size of our finite spherical Universe within an Infinite Space.
The Spherical In and Out Waves of the Wave Structure of Matter explains the change and harmony of opposites in the One Universe.

We greatly appreciate any comments on how we can improve this website and its content. So please feel free to write to us.

Geoff Haselhurst, Karene Howie, Email

Yin Yang Philosophy Quotes

Quotations on (the union of) Opposites, One, Transformation & Diversity

There is a good principle, which has created order, light and man; and a bad principle, which has created chaos, darkness and woman. (Pythagoras).

(Gottfried Leibniz, 1670) Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. ... I maintain also that substances, whether material or immaterial, cannot be conceived in their bare essence without any activity, activity being of the essence of substance in general. ... In conclusion, nothing should be taken as certain without foundations; it is therefore those who manufacture entities and substances without genuine unity to prove that there is more to reality than I have just said; and I am waiting for the notion of a substance, or of an entity, which successfully comprehends all these things; after which parts and perhaps even dreams will be able one day to lay claim to reality.

(Lama Govinda, 1977) The fundamental element of the cosmos is Space. Space is the all-embracing principle of higher unity. Nothing can exist without Space. Space is the precondition of all that exists, be it material or immaterial form, because we can neither imagine an object nor a being without space. According to ancient Indian tradition the universe reveals itself in two fundamental properties: as Motion, and as that in which motion takes place, namely Space. This Space is called akasa, and is that through which things step into visible appearance, i.e., through which they possess extension or corporeality.
Akasa is derived from the root kas, 'to radiate, to shine', and has therefore the meaning of 'ether', which is conceived as the medium of movement. The principle of movement, however, is prana, the breath of life, the all-powerful, all-pervading rhythm of the universe.

Transiency is as necessary to immortality (or to the experience of eternity), as the body is to the soul, or as matter is to mind. And in saying so, we might note that these are not irreconcilable or totally exclusive opposites, but rather the extreme points in the amplitude of the swinging pendulum, i.e. parts of the same movement. By becoming conscious of the inner direction and relationship of our transient life, we discover the eternity in time, immortality in transiency- and thus we transform the fleeting shapes of phenomena into timeless symbols of reality.
Liberation is not escapism, but consists in the conscious transformation of the elements that constitute our world and our existence. This is the great secret of the Tantras and of the mystics of all time. (Lama Govinda, Creative Meditation)

Transformation contains both change and stability, plurality and unity, movement and constancy. It has the nature of life, namely, to connect organically the polar opposites, the stumbling blocks of logic, and to unite them in an all embracing rhythm. (Lama Govinda, Creative Meditation, p184)

The perfect mutual interpenetration of forms, processes, things, beings, etc., and the presence of the experiencing subject in all of them - in other words, the simultaneity of differentiation and oneness, of individuality and universality, of form and emptiness - is the main thesis of the great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, who lived in the second century of our era.
His philosophy of the “Middle Way” consists in a new orientation of thought, freed from the rigidity of the concept of “substance” or that of a static universe, in which things and beings were thought of as more or less independent units, so that concepts like “identity” and “non-identity” could be applied to them and form the basis of discursive thought.
Where, however, everything is in flux, such concepts - and a logic derived from them - cannot be adequate and, therefore, the relationship of form to emptiness and vice-versa cannot be conceived as a mutually exclusive nature of as absolute opposites, but only as two aspects of the same reality, co-existing in continuous co-operation. Because “form” (rupa) must not be confused with “thingness” or materiality, since each form is the expression of a creative actor or process in a beginningless and endless movement, whose precondition, according to Nagarjuna is precisely that mysterious “emptiness” (or “Plenum-void,” as it has been aptly called) expressed in the term Sunyata.
In this experience of timeless reality beyond the realm of opposites, the relative is not annihilated in favour of the absolute nor is the manifoldness of life sacrificed to an abstract unity, but the individual and the universal penetrate and condition each other so completely that the one cannot be separated from the other. They are as inseparable as time and space, and like these they represent two aspects of the same reality: time is the dynamic aspect of individual (and therefore incomplete) action and experience; space is the sum total of all activity in its ever-complete and therefore timeless aspect. (Lama Govinda, Creative Meditation, p286-7)

(Fritjof Capra, 1972) In Indian philosophy, the main terms used by Hindus and Buddhists have dynamic connotations. The word Brahman is derived from the Sanskrit root brih . to grow - and thus suggests a reality which is dynamic and alive. In the words of S. Radhakrishnan, The word Brahman means growth and is suggestive of life, motion, progress.
The Upanishads refer to Brahman as 'this uniformed, immortal, moving', thus associating it with motion even though it transcends all forms. The Rig Veda uses another term to express the dynamic character of the universe, the term Rita. This word comes from the root ri- to move; its original meaning in the Rig Veda being 'the course of all things', 'the order of nature'.
The central aim of Eastern mysticism is to experience all the phenomena in the world as manifestations of the same ultimate reality. This reality is seen as the essence of the universe, underlying and unifying the multitude of things and events we observe. The Hindus call it Brahman, The Buddhists Dharmakaya (The Body of Being) or Tathata (Suchness) and the Taoists Tao; each affirming that it transcends our intellectual concepts and defies further explanation. This ultimate essence, however, cannot be separated from its multiple manifestations. It is central to the very nature to manifest itself in myriad forms which come into being and disintegrate, transforming themselves into one another without end. In its phenomenal aspect, the cosmic One is thus intrinsically dynamic, and the apprehension of its dynamic nature is basic to all schools of Eastern mysticism.
Modern physics then, pictures matter not at all as passive and inert, but being in a continuous dancing and vibrating motion whose rhythmic patterns are determined by the molecular, atomic and nuclear structures. This is also the way in which the Eastern mystics see the material world. They all emphasise that the universe has to be grasped dynamically, as it moves, vibrates and dances; that nature is not a static but dynamic equilibrium.

The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
(Erwin Schrodinger)

Links / Yin Yang Philosophy

Govinda, Lama - Tantric Buddhist Lama Govinda correctly realised the importance of Space (Akasa) and Motion (Prana) as the Foundations of Eastern Philosophy and Dynamic Interconnection of Brahman.
Eastern Philosophy: Buddha: Buddhism Religion: Nirvana - 'All phenomena link together in a mutually conditioning network.' The Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains Nirvana (Truth) Karma (Interconnection).
Eastern Philosophy: Chakras - On Resonance, Harmonics and the Seven Chakras. Pictures, Quotations, Chakra Information.
Eastern Philosophy: Kundalini - Discussion of the Philosophy and Metaphysics of Kundalini, the divine / cosmic energy that lies within every human being. When Kundalini is awakened we experience our true nature, Self as Universe.
Eastern Philosophy: Tantra Tantric Sex - 'Tantra' meaning to weave, web. Discussion of the Tantric belief that All is One and interconnected, Sex is a sacred and divine experience.
Eastern Philosophy: Taoism - Ancient Chinese Philosophy correctly realised that One Thing (Tao) must Exist to Connect the Many Things.