The Yin Yang School

The Yin Yang School

There is a tree that I know. It is a tall tree, and has been in existence for many years. The tree was there before the building that stands next to it. When the building was built, the tree was left standing and has adapted itself around the intrusion of the building. When I look at it though, I see more than most people do. I have spent many years with this tree and know every knot on it, and every branch that it has. When I sit back and look at it from a distance, there is a perfect line that can be drawn up the trunk of the tree, and when that line is discovered, there is a perfect balance in the tree. The tree is nature, and the building is man, and though they are competing for the same space at the same time, there appears to be an understanding between the two of them. This balance that lies within this single tree is what the Chinese yin-yang symbol seems to recognize, where others may not. That there is a balance within everything and it is when this balance is understood and acknowledged that there can be harmony.

The yin yang school was developed with the idea of balance within. The aftereffects of this school is present throughout many different areas of Eastern philosophy, and its reach touches Taoism and Buddhism and its influences are present in many of the great works that rule the Eastern religions and philosophies. The most interesting part of this school is that there is very little written on it, but its influence is everywhere. The union of man and nature, and the necessity of this understanding is key in comprehending the ideas that exist in this way of thinking. There is no official founder of the school, and while Tsou Yen is often associated with the school, there is...

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...g. I also think about man and Nature in this way. There is constant concern about the environment, and whether man is attempting to overcome nature with its onslaught of buildings and roads. There may be cause for concern, but there is a balance point at which point man can create harmony within. There is not going to be a ceasing of building, this in itself would be as unnatural as asking a bird to not build a nest. Man is going to continue to grow in numbers, and in order to survive his environment must also continue to expand. In order to achieve the necessary harmony, it is important that he not forget the theory of balance and harmony. Rather than trying to overcome it, if he takes the theory seriously, there can be a satisfactory co-existence. Like my tree, nature will adjust itself accordingly, and like the building, man must not stand in its way.