eXPerience Posted November 16, 2011 Hi again from me! I'm total newbie to Taoism (and Eastern philosophy at all) and I'm sure my question is simple but I can't find the answer and I need your help, guys. It's about Yin and Yang characteristics. I've read some different sources about them and every source says different thing. For example, one of the sources says that Yang is on right direction and Yin - on left. Other says vice versa. One says that Yang is male and is about logical thinking, Yin is female and is about intuition and feelings. Other says that Yin is about logical thinking (and is still female) and Yang is about intuition (and is still male). So I'm very confused. Of course, I have my own opinion and feeling about all this but I'm afraid that I can mistake Western and Eastern philosophy. Where to find a list with the true characteristics of Yin and Yang? And, please, excuse me about my bad English and if I had mistaken the section. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
konchog uma Posted November 16, 2011 http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/5259-yin-and-yang-foods-tcm-medicines-meridians-enhancement-refinement-etc/page__p__58801__hl__yin%20yang%20difference%20between__fromsearch__1entry58801 good thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiverSnake Posted November 16, 2011 Yin and Yang is relative to what it is being compared to. A Yang man may be yinner than other men. -My 2 cents, Peace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lienshan Posted November 16, 2011 Where to find a list with the true characteristics of Yin and Yang? Laozi's list in his chapter 42 is the shortest available: 萬物負陰而抱陽 Everyone carries yin on the back and holds yang in arms. (his list was made before the perambulator was invented) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChiDragon Posted November 17, 2011 Hi again from me! I'm total newbie to Taoism (and Eastern philosophy at all) and I'm sure my question is simple but I can't find the answer and I need your help, guys. It's about Yin and Yang characteristics. I've read some different sources about them and every source says different thing. For example, one of the sources says that Yang is on right direction and Yin - on left. Other says vice versa. One says that Yang is male and is about logical thinking, Yin is female and is about intuition and feelings. Other says that Yin is about logical thinking (and is still female) and Yang is about intuition (and is still male). So I'm very confused. Of course, I have my own opinion and feeling about all this but I'm afraid that I can mistake Western and Eastern philosophy. Where to find a list with the true characteristics of Yin and Yang? And, please, excuse me about my bad English and if I had mistaken the section. Yang is attributed as active, high, strong, and masculine..... Yin is passive, low, weak, and feminine..... Use these attributes, in general, to determine others. Some of the charts aren't correct. Keep these in mind as facts for filtering out others as fallacies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eXPerience Posted November 17, 2011 Thanks for all your help, guys! Maybe I should search more before asking... ^^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deci belle Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) Edited November 17, 2011 by deci belle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harmonious Emptiness Posted November 18, 2011 Then you have: yin is "weak" or yielding, yet it is the best way to defeat something of greater strength. Yin energy is also cultivated in Taoist longevity practices more so than Yang (maybe because it's more subtle and harder to obtain), "still waters run deep, "one who knows does not speak," etc... just know that neither is greater than the other. Just like our lungs must contract AND expand. Harmony, wisdom, and recognizing the bigness of smallness, the smallness of bigness. Those are some more basics, but none of it can really be absolute since you will also see that there are later the 5 elements which has futher compartmentalization with greater yin or yang and lesser yin or yang I guess what I'm also getting at is the basic Taoist (and or Buddhist for that matter) premise not to take things as written down but as they have manifested in our own realities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lienshan Posted November 18, 2011 Maybe I should search more before asking... ^^ Search... and you'll find no nothing! Yin is the shady side of a mountain and Yang the sunny side of a mountain. The mountain itself is neither Yin nor Yang ... that'll say Yin and Yang aren't objective phenomena. Yin, the shady side of a mountain, is in the morning, when seen from south, to your left. Yin, the shady side of a mountain, is in the morning, when seen from north, to your right. That'll say left and right, subjective phenomena, aren't Yin and Yang. That's why an ironical Laozi wrote: Everyone carries Yin on the back and holds Yang in arms. because what can be carried on the back but not be hold in arms? because what can be hold in arms but not be carried on the back? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eXPerience Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) Thanks again for your advices! I asked for some basic characteristics because I wouldn't know is a given effect a result of more Yin or more Yang. And the information in Internet is confusing. For example: From what I've learned I know the Yin-Yang symbol shows the balance between Yin and Yang. But I've found a book in which was written that the closer Yin and Yang are to 50:50, the more imbalanced is the given thing. Anyway, now it's more easy for me to filter the right information. Edited November 19, 2011 by eXPerience Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
