| Feature Article
The Many Faces of Yin Yang
–
Chief Instructor Brett Wagland
The philosophy of Yin Yang is usually associated with Tai
Chi. The Tai Chi form is always moving. It teaches you to flow with changes. The only
thing of which you can be certain in life is change.
When people see the Yin Yang symbol, some will think of
opposites while others will think of balance and harmony. The philosophy of Yin Yang
encompasses all these attributes:
Opposites
As opposing forces, one appears to threaten the existence of
the other. Although this may be so, neither one is stronger than the other. Each has an
equal opportunity.
In self defence, when your attacker employs an arm lock on
you, he is not totally in control, and you are not in a completely hopeless situation. You
both have 50-50 chance. If you know how to relax and employ your whole body against one
part of the attacker’s body, for example, his wrist, you can defeat him.
Interdependence
The
existence and meaning of one depends on the other. Black and white, day
and night, male and female etc. can only be understood in terms of each
other. The essential attributes of one are only distinctive when seen in
relation to the other.
Balance and Harmony
The opposites are
always changing and balancing each other. However the changes are so
subtle and gradual that you may not be aware of the constant exchange.
See how the day gradually changes into night and vice versa. It is
happening all the time, but you need to be mindful to notice the nuance.
In Push Hands training on
sensitivity, the degree of yielding depends on the amount of force
applied. You neither over-react nor under-react, so that you are always
in harmony with the situation.
This changing aspect also reveals the impermanent nature of
all things. A lot of human suffering stems from resisting change rather than going with
the flow. Your thinking needs to be fluid and adaptable.
Understanding the law of impermanence helps
you to cope with difficult situations. Even sickness and other
forms of suffering are all impermanent. Just reminding yourself of this
will already make your burden lighter.
Become the Opposite
When one has exhausted itself and reached its climax, it is
beginning to be transformed into its opposite, for example, day into night, activity into
stillness.
The opposites are very much interrelated. A coin has two
sides, and each side on its own does not constitute a coin. When you look at the Yin Yang
symbol, you can see that each of the opposites contains the seed of the other, that is,
the black dot in the white part and the white dot in the black part. If the potentials of
the one were not in the other, it would not be possible for one to transform into the
other.
Learn to apply this philosophy in your daily life and you
will encounter less conflict and stress. Learn to dance in a relationship. Developing the
sensitivity to know when to yield or when to stand firm is the key to harmonious
interactions.
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