Binary Yin & Yang

[ValleyStream]

As a current student of Computer Engineering i have always wondered about the nature of reality (Yin & Yang) and the nature of computers (1's and 0's).

 

I am seeking some Daoist-educated insight on how these two principles may relate.

 

Also, i am wondering what place computers have in a Daoist lifestyle (beyond utilizing it for forums ).

 

As computers become integrated in more aspects of our life (Internet of Things), can the utilization of computer technology aid or disrupt an alignment with the Dao?

[Bearded Dragon]

It really has not much to do with the Dao. You can understand that the Dao is outside of creation (yin/yang) from the most basic of Daoist theory. That's on an intellectual level. Then there is experiencing it. If you get caught up in creation then how can you experience what's beyond it? Any mind form is part of creation.

 

If you want to start from engineering terms then take the concept of a potential difference and apply yourself in that manner. Our thoughts and concepts are resistors in that network, and those resistances are delusion since you're not really looking at potential across a single resistor but a whole crapload of others. The reference point is unknown so it's worth finding. Then you can work with potential freely without delusion.

 

The method I use mostly is the one Bankei talked about. It's very simple and you don't have to actually spend time doing anything. Check him out.

 

I know what it's like to be in that situation of relating things back to engineering. You can take it so far but in the end it doesn't really get you very far. The only thing that it helped me with is the idea of potential, which you will find that hardly anyone understands.

[ValleyStream]

It really has not much to do with the Dao. You can understand that the Dao is outside of creation (yin/yang) from the most basic of Daoist theory. That's on an intellectual level. Then there is experiencing it. If you get caught up in creation then how can you experience what's beyond it? Any mind form is part of creation.

 

If you want to start from engineering terms then take the concept of a potential difference and apply yourself in that manner. Our thoughts and concepts are resistors in that network, and those resistances are delusion since you're not really looking at potential across a single resistor but a whole crapload of others. The reference point is unknown so it's worth finding. Then you can work with potential freely without delusion.

 

The method I use mostly is the one Bankei talked about. It's very simple and you don't have to actually spend time doing anything. Check him out.

 

I know what it's like to be in that situation of relating things back to engineering. You can take it so far but in the end it doesn't really get you very far. The only thing that it helped me with is the idea of potential, which you will find that hardly anyone understands.

 

Ah, I see. In hindsight, I understand how the Dao is "outside" of creation. This was a concept that I was not recognizing when contemplating this subject. What you said reawakened an aspect of my awareness.

 

Bankei will be moving up my reading list. After reading a quick bio of him I am really excited to research a man of such extraordinary environment.

 

I will be doing my best to refrain from analyzing concepts more intensively than is warranted; like you said, "You can take it so far but in the end it doesn't really get you very far".

 

Thank you.

[Daeluin]

Telepathic communication and highly honed intuitions that can access universal knowledge.... I dunno... personally I'd prefer a society which takes advantage of this natural technology already built into ourselves. Modern computer technology just seems to mimic natural technology, and distract the masses from learning to access their higher capabilities.

 

All in time.

[ValleyStream]

Telepathic communication and highly honed intuitions that can access universal knowledge.... I dunno... personally I'd prefer a society which takes advantage of this natural technology already built into ourselves. Modern computer technology just seems to mimic natural technology, and distract the masses from learning to access their higher capabilities.

 

All in time.

 

 

So do you think that said technology is completely unnecessary?

 

I definitely agree that these technological advancements could be considered to be distracting certain people from personally growing on a natural level but does that mean that everyone is subject to this distraction?

 

If someone is aware of themselves on a universal & personal level could this person still utilize modern technology in a constructive manner? If so, is there still hope that society as a whole could do the same?

 

I appreciate your input and I would like to hear more about your opinion.

[Marblehead]

Yea!!! Another Yin/Yang thread!

 

I see no conflict between Taoism and modern technology.

 

And while the association of "0/1" with "Yin/Yang" is valid we should not parallel 1=Yang and 0=Yin. That would be an error, I think.

 

However, a parallel of 0="wu" (Mystery) and 1="yo" (Manifest) could easily be made.

[ValleyStream]

However, a parallel of 0="wu" (Mystery) and 1="yo" (Manifest) could easily be made.

 

This is very good insight. I can see The Mystery and Manifest correlation but are you sure of the translations of "wu" and "yo"? Not that I know anything about translating languages but I cannot find the translations.

[Marblehead]

This is very good insight. I can see The Mystery and Manifest correlation but are you sure of the translations of "wu" and "yo"? Not that I know anything about translating languages but I cannot find the translations.

Hehehe. I'm not sure of anything except that my butt is sitting on a chair because it didn't hit the floor when I sat on it.

 

However, my understanding:

 

Tao gave birth to One (wu) (potential) (pure energy)

One gave birth to Two (Yin and Yang) (Chi - active energy) (I sometimes call it "life force")

Two (interaction of potential and life force) gave birth to "yo" (the mother of all manifestations)

The Mother gave birth to all "manifest" things.

 

The Three then are "wu", Chi, and the Mother.

[Daeluin]

So do you think that said technology is completely unnecessary?

 

Whatever happens is right.

 

I definitely agree that these technological advancements could be considered to be distracting certain people from personally growing on a natural level but does that mean that everyone is subject to this distraction?

 

From an western astrological perspective, the cycles of the planets can be used to study the slow moving evolution of trends in society. Neptune, for example, is associated with spirituality, idealism, mysticism, music, anything intangible. From '98 through '11 it was in Aquarius, and the Music trended towards electronic, which the web of psyches became connected and equalized with the widespread adoption of the internet. Now with Neptune in Pisces, things like yoga and beer are trending, and I keep hearing about people's parents and grandparents asking about spirituality for the first time. The next ten years should be interesting as the collective psyche synch's up with this subtle spiritual awareness shift.

 

Uranus, the planet of change, invention, technology, equalizing, spent '03 - '10 in pisces where it shook up our spiritual awareness, brought a dose of one'ness to the table, before jumping into Aries for a fresh new start and focus deeply on changing ourselves on the inside. Technology has become more personal, with the smartphone and tablets really taking off, making it easier for us to integrate technology into our every day lives and self-identities - along with facebook and the like.

 

Pluto, the planet of depth, obsession, life and death, paradigm altering change, intensity, has for the first time since the American Revolution entered Capricorn, where we see more grounded and pragmatic changes to the foundations of governments, and deep looks into what is and isn't working.

 

What happens when Pluto takes this energy into Aquarius, 2023 -2043 (ruled by Uranus, all that intensity and change and depth), and then Pisces, 2044 -2068? What of Neptune entering Aries and paving the way for a new spiritual beginning in 2026? Meanwhile Uranus continues from the new beginning we create right now.

 

The point is all of these generational planets have been passing through their end-cycle phases. The beginning is about self understanding. The end is about vision, connecting, equalizing, sharing, connection to the heavens, where there is no separation between self and other. Technology will continue to be influenced by these long phases of growth in collective consciousness of our planet.

 

If someone is aware of themselves on a universal & personal level could this person still utilize modern technology in a constructive manner? If so, is there still hope that society as a whole could do the same?

 

Certainly it is possible. Personally it is difficult to spend time with technology without spending an equal amount of time emptying, but I imagine others are able to maintain their emptiness while in the midst of all manner of affairs. Maybe all this social media and personal device interaction means people will have a lot of difficulty taking those steps to really tune into who they are as individuals. On the other hand maybe the next 50 years will show an increasingly collective enlightenment, nurtured by this technology. Hard to even imagine what that would look like or if it is possible.

 

As the cycles of time unfold, we will continue to develop internally and externally in new and changing ways. Part of Taoism is learning to recognize the influences cycles of change have on us, so we may dissolve them. There is no need to study astrology and understand it - it is more about learning to feel the pull and the way the pull changes, so we may remain ever balanced, even as we observe those flowing with the pulls being led to create and change in new ways.

[Bearded Dragon]

but I imagine others are able to maintain their emptiness while in the midst of all manner of affairs. Maybe all this social media and personal device interaction means people will have a lot of difficulty taking those steps to really tune into who they are as individuals.

 

I didn't watch TV or play computer games much for years. Was on the computer enough at work and felt like too much exposure put me into zombie mode. Only recently did I start doing a bit more of both just to play around with that idea of staying in empty/aware mode. It's not easy, although it seems like it should be.

[ValleyStream]

Whatever happens is right.

 

............

 

As the cycles of time unfold, we will continue to develop internally and externally in new and changing ways. Part of Taoism is learning to recognize the influences cycles of change have on us, so we may dissolve them. There is no need to study astrology and understand it - it is more about learning to feel the pull and the way the pull changes, so we may remain ever balanced, even as we observe those flowing with the pulls being led to create and change in new ways.

 

Outstanding. I must say that you are a wealth of insight.

 

The concept of "pull" is very intruiging. I should take time out of my day to study some astrology to gain a basic understanding of the subject but i am rather busy with my personal Xuanxue and my Computer Engineering studies. Yet, as you said, "...there is no need to study astrology and understand it...". Rather, i will continue my practice of Neidan to acomplish detatchment because it seems to be a effective way to understand more about the "pull" (basically, The Dao, right?).

 

Thank you, Daeluin. Great stuff.

[Wu Ming Jen]

All things work because of natural laws that make it so. We have not invented anything. what works has always existed. New technology makes us do the same old stuff with a new device. Who invented the wheel when round things roll.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

I don't know about computer programming, but I'd say that the internet is an advantage, and, wisely used, advantages are an important part of listening to Dao.

[Brian]

Technology can be used as tools or weapons, as entertainment or distraction.

[ValleyStream]

Technology can be used as tools or weapons, as entertainment or distraction.

 

Simplicity explains things in the best way possible. This is the premise of it all.

[ValleyStream]

All things work because of natural laws that make it so. We have not invented anything. what works has always existed. New technology makes us do the same old stuff with a new device. Who invented the wheel when round things roll.

 

This is so true. I tell people that my goal of my major is not to invent something (like most people in this school), rather it is to apply principles to obtain an ease of living. Certain people look at me like a fool but i guess that this is similar to the Peng bird and the observation of the cicada and the dove...i guess. but what do i know, for i am just a student.

[Daeluin]

The concept of "pull" is very intruiging. I should take time out of my day to study some astrology to gain a basic understanding of the subject but i am rather busy with my personal Xuanxue and my Computer Engineering studies. Yet, as you said, "...there is no need to study astrology and understand it...". Rather, i will continue my practice of Neidan to acomplish detatchment because it seems to be a effective way to understand more about the "pull" (basically, The Dao, right?).

 

It's just about recognizing cycles. The moon is a great teacher - learn to tune into the stages of its cycle. Beginnings, endings, saving, spending, times of pressure, and the way they all spiral, ever returning.

 

After that it isn't much of a leap to recognize the other gravities in cyclical motion around us. But we don't need to project meanings upon them - all that is just knowledge. Feeling the shifts of slow subtle motion and momentum of myriad gravities, and remaining ever balanced, this is what allows us to expand our awareness and stability beyond the edges of our solar system. This post is related to this as well. I imagine there are many ways to align with planetary motion, but I really enjoyed reading that.

 

But in our rapid day-to-day lives, these cycles are also in operation, in myriad layers and time-frames. By studying cycles in nature, we come to recognize them in our modern lives. Often certain stages within the cycle will dominate over others - either due to personal patterns, or societal patterns.

 

The I Ching clearly shows us the patterns of change within cycles, and how to ever remain in balance within change. If your mind is so inclined, this is a great resource at our disposal. In Taomeow's interview it is recommended to study the I Ching even before the Tao Te Ching.

[Daeluin]

Also the I Ching is basically binary yin/yang.

 

The reason for 6 lines is pretty interesting... we have a pair of 3-line symbols. Three can represent yin, yang, and chi. In my theorizing based on taoist cosmology, this dynamic of 3 is in operation before there is a spacial dimension.

 

I assume it begins with absolute nothing, and becomes something. Along with the myriad implications of everything in-between: the conceptual nothing that is no longer absolute nothing, the something that is all but absolute something, and so on.

 

Zhuangzi writes about this in chapter 2 (tl Brook Ziporyn). I'm not sure if many read this as a description of taoist cosmology, but I do:

 

 

Now I will try some words here about "this." But I don't know if it belongs in the same category as "this" or not. For belonging in a category and not belonging in that category themselves form a single category! Being similar is so similar to being dissimilar! So there is finally no way to keep it different from "That."

 

Nevertheless, let me try to say it. There is a beginning. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-be-a-beginning. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-not-yet-begin-to-be-a-beginning. There is existence. There is nonexistence. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-be-nonexistence. There is a not-yet-beginning-to-not-yet-beginning-to-be-nonexistence. Suddenly there is nonexistence. But I do not-yet know whether "the existence of nonexistence" is ultimately existence or nonexistence.

 

Following this principle of something arising from nothing, the 2 polarities divide to become 4, and we arise at spacial dimension, in my opinion. This 4 can be studied in the taoist ideas of the polarity between wood and metal, expansion and condensing, on one axis, and water and fire, flowing and clarifying. And of course the center (earth, balancing) remains, this ever-present in-between of everything where the pathway to Tao forever exists. This 5th, and all the dynamics within, can be studied in 5 phase (element) theory. Here there is a mode of operation pre-existing the division of self and other, whereby there are separate phases of existence, but all flowing in harmony - when change springs forth it is instant, with no resistance to transformation, similar to how light instantly changes when passing through objects. But as we get to 6, we have a polarization of the 3, and the dynamic turns to inside and outside - separation of self and other, and we arrive at the manifestation of physical reality, mass, gravity. The realm of existence we operate on is between this dynamic of 6 (what is physically manifest) and 5 (what is spiritually manifest). And what we call life arises from this merger.

 

So the I Ching's six lines contain much poignancy. They can be read to interpret this dynamic of yin/yang change and transformation within these 6 "dimensions", and they also contain the 5, the 4, the 3, the 2, and the 1.

 

Anyway, most of this is just a unique and personal theorizing on top of taoist cosmology, so please take it with a grain of salt!

[ValleyStream]

The I Ching clearly shows us the patterns of change within cycles, and how to ever remain in balance within change. If your mind is so inclined, this is a great resource at our disposal. In Taomeow's interview it is recommended to study the I Ching even before the Tao Te Ching.

 

I have actually been holding off on researching into The I Ching because i do not have access to a quality "copy". Believe it or not, Northern rural USA has a sparse collection of quality eastern philosophy texts. I can find a couple free "versions" online but i dont know where to start; and i dont want to spend money on a copy with little insight on the different translations and interpretations. Any suggestions on a certain translation/version that will grant a new student, such as myself, a quality introductory read?

[ValleyStream]

Also the I Ching is basically binary yin/yang.

 

I have always attributed the trigrams as being binary. My limited knowledge of the I Ching does not allow me to make much more of an observation than that. I really need to get on that I Ching.

 

Following this principle of something arising from nothing, the 2 polarities divide to become 4, and we arise at spacial dimension, in my opinion.

 

I think that this is some righteous theory. How the nothing between the 2 is "something", therefore there is 3. It just makes sence how this would continue in that fashion into 5 and 6 and how they relate in our spacial/spiritual comprehension. I really need to read more into all of this to understand exactly what you are getting at but i would like you to know that this will be taken with a grain of salt (as you said)...along with a cup of tea and a intensive study. great stuff.

[Daeluin]

The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth, by Ni Hua Ching, is a very good investment, and includes a lengthy primer on taoist cosmology and spirituality. The hexagram and line descriptions are followed up with insightful writing to help capture the essence of the type of change described. Some of the first editions are available fairly cheaply, though subsequent editions have made some corrections.

 

Alternately there is the Taoist I Ching, a Thomas Cleary translation of Liu I-ming's commentaries on the I Ching, with specific notes on the firing process and neidan. Overall a great version to consult for a clear depiction of the interplay of yin and yang from a very objective perspective. I feel it really captures the root. I recommend the taoist classics volume 4 edition, which includes some other writings by Liu I-ming at the end, but the other edition is available a bit cheaper.

[Daeluin]

Actually a fair amount of theorizing came directly after reading the intro in The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth. A bit of study of the Ho and Luo diagrams is also recommended, as well as five element theory, which directly leads to chinese astrology - the 5, doubled (yang/yin) is the energy we absorb from the heavens (the 10 heavenly stems), and the 6, doubled (yang/yin) (the chinese astrology animals) is the energy stored in the earth (the 12 earthly branches). The hexagenary cycle describes how they merge over sixty phase cycles and are mapped out over the year, month, day, and hour in chinese astrology, and in the l'uo pan in feng shui. Ni Hua Ching's book goes into this as well. Having a thorough understanding of how the five elements work within both the pre-celestial bagua and the post-celestial bagua is also important, and again the key lies in the Ho and Luo diagrams. Studying the 12 earthly branches as they flow through the yearly seasons is also very enlightening... or at least it was to me. Learning to feel how the earth month between two elements helps to contain, balance and transform the energies is quite poignant - ie how the "dragon" (known as the entrepreneur, among other things), is positioned between the wood and fire seasons, and is able to position resources where they will best be spent, i.e. placeing wood in the fire pit, so that when it burns the burning is useful. Etc.

[ValleyStream]

Alternately there is the Taoist I Ching, a Thomas Cleary translation of Liu I-ming's commentaries on the I Ching, with specific notes on the firing process and neidan. Overall a great version to consult for a clear depiction of the interplay of yin and yang from a very objective perspective. I feel it really captures the root. I recommend the taoist classics volume 4 edition, which includes some other writings by Liu I-ming at the end, but the other edition is available a bit cheaper.

 

I have acquired a copy of the other edition for close to nothing and i am very excited to delve into it; it has been a long time coming for me and the I Ching. I will be starting tonight after my Calculus test.

 

I want to obtain The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth, by Ni Hua Ching but i am on a sparse student budget and just cannot afford to purchase something of that measure. Perhaps i will sneak it into next semesters "curriculum" of required texts.

 

Thank you for the recommendations, Daeluin.

Edited September 18, 2014 by ValleyStream

[ValleyStream]

Actually a fair amount of theorizing came directly after reading the intro in The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth. A bit of study of the Ho and Luo diagrams is also recommended, as well as five element theory, which directly leads to chinese astrology - the 5, doubled (yang/yin) is the energy we absorb from the heavens (the 10 heavenly stems), and the 6, doubled (yang/yin) (the chinese astrology animals) is the energy stored in the earth (the 12 earthly branches). The hexagenary cycle describes how they merge over sixty phase cycles and are mapped out over the year, month, day, and hour in chinese astrology, and in the l'uo pan in feng shui. Ni Hua Ching's book goes into this as well. Having a thorough understanding of how the five elements work within both the pre-celestial bagua and the post-celestial bagua is also important, and again the key lies in the Ho and Luo diagrams. Studying the 12 earthly branches as they flow through the yearly seasons is also very enlightening... or at least it was to me. Learning to feel how the earth month between two elements helps to contain, balance and transform the energies is quite poignant - ie how the "dragon" (known as the entrepreneur, among other things), is positioned between the wood and fire seasons, and is able to position resources where they will best be spent, i.e. placeing wood in the fire pit, so that when it burns the burning is useful. Etc.

 

The Link to the "Taoist Theory and Practice of Internal Alchemy" document is great. Another thing to be added to the top of my reading list. I Ching, TTC, Zhuangzi, Feng Shui and now "Taoist Theory and Practice of Internal Alchemy" along with Taijiquan, Neidan and all my college work. I truely enjoy being a student.

 

Thanks again, Daeluin.

[Michael Sternbach]

It is very remarkable that the inventor of the binary numeral system our computers are using, the German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, had a keen interest in the I Ching.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Michael Sternbach