Reincarnation vs. ancestral spirits

[Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that]

Good question!

 

Storing yin zhi is like drawing a bow, activating yang zhi is like releasing an arrow. There's no conflict between the bow and the arrow if the archer is skillful at handling both and is acting harmoniously. If she isn't, the arrow will never reach the true mark no matter how sturdy or how sharp it is. Also, not relying on yin zhi, using yang zhi only, is like throwing arrows by hand... not very efficient. So it is a unit, zhi is, but a two-fold unit, one needs to know and master the unified action of the bow and arrow in order to utilize zhi successfully.

 

Thanks Taomeow, I understand and nice analogy by the way. I have one further question. Does yin zhi/yang zhi have a specific field of use? My meaning is you mentioned some others earlier, so I'm wondering if each one is divided into a specific area of usage or is it a general usage?

 

Thanks in advance

[Taomeow]

Thanks Taomeow, I understand and nice analogy by the way. I have one further question. Does yin zhi/yang zhi have a specific field of use? My meaning is you mentioned some others earlier, so I'm wondering if each one is divided into a specific area of usage or is it a general usage?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Yes, the Five Shens are responsible for different tasks, which are thought of as "virtues," and unbalanced ones lose these virtues or even generate "vices."

 

Yi is the closest to "thought," "consciousness," and I've seen it translated as "consciousness of potentials," which I like very much. It is the spirit that assesses situations and decides what is likely, what is possible, it evaluates reality and forms opinions about it. It facilitates creative motivation and helps new manifestations come into being. The main virtue that flows from this spirit is sincerity (xin) and traits resulting from it -- reliability, loyalty, faithfulness.

 

Hun, when it is healthy, spontaneously produces acts of kindness toward self and others. Kindness (ren) is its main virtue. Damaged or disturbed Hun causes people to be unkind to themselves and/or others, producing envy, jealousy, and hatred not justified by any harm incurred (classical taoism doesn't view justified negative feelings as abnormal, by the way.) Hun is connected to one's ability to feel and endure pain and suffering, and in a healthy scenario, to learn compassion from the experience. Without this ability to feel suffering in oneself and/or in others and relate deeply to one's own and other people's humanity, the person is thought of as bu ren -- numb. Transforming suffering into unfeeling numbness and indifference is a sign of compromised Hun. (As an aside, whole religious and social systems run on this fuel, on compromising people's Hun ideologically and causing them to lose their deep, authentic humanity.) From a healthy Hun's perspective, pain and suffering are not there to escape, but to realize one's true human nature and transform suffering into compassion and kindness.

 

Heart Shen is the most visible of the Five, and is in charge of connecting with other people, communicating with them and being able to harmonize one's interactions with others, facilitate interactions and (sic) form attachments to real people and real places (an unhealthy Heart Shen will try to severe all "attachments" to real things and instead latch onto something or someone imaginary, not immediately here in one's life, like some Father in Heaven or other, a Land of Supreme Purity, a non-dual Source, a doctrine of non-attachment, and the like.) Heart Shen is in charge of what the Chinese call "face" -- it calculates appropriateness of one's behaviors and reactions, proper demeanor and style, in general "manners." It is the spirit that enables one to look other people in the eye and answer questions in a manner that makes sense. If Heart Shen is troubled or damaged, it results in social awkwardness, ranging from being shy or clumsy in one's interactions to being autistic or delusional.

 

Po is sometimes translated as the "animal soul" -- it is the emotional soul, the most immediate one in its reactions, it is the one that "lives in the present" and responds with plain knee-jerk reactions to whatever is going on in the "now." Its virtue is justice (yi, another character, not the same as yi the shen). It is fair and spontaneously truthful and just. Reactions of a healthy Po are appropriate and timely. When it is troubled, they are not -- one can be emotionless or, alternatively, hysterical, a haughty stiff-upper-lip or a drama queen, take your pick. Another virtue of Po is bao -- "preciousness." It is the spirit that captures and appreciates the perfection of a single moment or a short time period, and this moment may lie in the past, not just the present -- like a great work of art perceived and "grokked," or a whole magnificent civilization gone, not existing anymore -- Po can appreciate its perfection and "get it" in a flash of inspiration. If Po is not working properly, "fluidity" of interactions is lost, one can get stuck in feelings that never get resolved, and have difficulty appreciating any new developments and reacting accordingly.

[Birch]

"bu ren"

 

barren?

[Maddie]

Yes, the Five Shens are responsible for different tasks, which are thought of as "virtues," and unbalanced ones lose these virtues or even generate "vices."

 

Yi is the closest to "thought," "consciousness," and I've seen it translated as "consciousness of potentials," which I like very much. It is the spirit that assesses situations and decides what is likely, what is possible, it evaluates reality and forms opinions about it. It facilitates creative motivation and helps new manifestations come into being. The main virtue that flows from this spirit is sincerity (xin) and traits resulting from it -- reliability, loyalty, faithfulness.

 

Hun, when it is healthy, spontaneously produces acts of kindness toward self and others. Kindness (ren) is its main virtue. Damaged or disturbed Hun causes people to be unkind to themselves and/or others, producing envy, jealousy, and hatred not justified by any harm incurred (classical taoism doesn't view justified negative feelings as abnormal, by the way.) Hun is connected to one's ability to feel and endure pain and suffering, and in a healthy scenario, to learn compassion from the experience. Without this ability to feel suffering in oneself and/or in others and relate deeply to one's own and other people's humanity, the person is thought of as bu ren -- numb. Transforming suffering into unfeeling numbness and indifference is a sign of compromised Hun. (As an aside, whole religious and social systems run on this fuel, on compromising people's Hun ideologically and causing them to lose their deep, authentic humanity.) From a healthy Hun's perspective, pain and suffering are not there to escape, but to realize one's true human nature and transform suffering into compassion and kindness.

 

Heart Shen is the most visible of the Five, and is in charge of connecting with other people, communicating with them and being able to harmonize one's interactions with others, facilitate interactions and (sic) form attachments to real people and real places (an unhealthy Heart Shen will try to severe all "attachments" to real things and instead latch onto something or someone imaginary, not immediately here in one's life, like some Father in Heaven or other, a Land of Supreme Purity, a non-dual Source, a doctrine of non-attachment, and the like.) Heart Shen is in charge of what the Chinese call "face" -- it calculates appropriateness of one's behaviors and reactions, proper demeanor and style, in general "manners." It is the spirit that enables one to look other people in the eye and answer questions in a manner that makes sense. If Heart Shen is troubled or damaged, it results in social awkwardness, ranging from being shy or clumsy in one's interactions to being autistic or delusional.

 

Po is sometimes translated as the "animal soul" -- it is the emotional soul, the most immediate one in its reactions, it is the one that "lives in the present" and responds with plain knee-jerk reactions to whatever is going on in the "now." Its virtue is justice (yi, another character, not the same as yi the shen). It is fair and spontaneously truthful and just. Reactions of a healthy Po are appropriate and timely. When it is troubled, they are not -- one can be emotionless or, alternatively, hysterical, a haughty stiff-upper-lip or a drama queen, take your pick. Another virtue of Po is bao -- "preciousness." It is the spirit that captures and appreciates the perfection of a single moment or a short time period, and this moment may lie in the past, not just the present -- like a great work of art perceived and "grokked," or a whole magnificent civilization gone, not existing anymore -- Po can appreciate its perfection and "get it" in a flash of inspiration. If Po is not working properly, "fluidity" of interactions is lost, one can get stuck in feelings that never get resolved, and have difficulty appreciating any new developments and reacting accordingly.

 

Facinating , thanks